The top 30 things we are most likely to remember from school have been revealed – including ‘i before e except after c’, photosynthesis and how to use a Bunsen burner.
Other lingering nuggets of knowledge retained by our brains from our classroom days are Pi = 3.142, The Lord’s Prayer and “30 days has September”.
On a lighter note the study by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! London showed the majority of us can still recall singing hymns the morning assembly, playing the recorder and studying Shakespeare plays in class.
The study also found a percentage remember playing the triangle, working out the value of ‘x’ and E=MC2.
A spokeswoman for Ripley’s Believe it or Not! London, said: “While you’re at school, you might feel like your mind is being filled up with lots of uninteresting or useless information.
“The outcome of this survey has proved that it’s very much the opposite and your mind is able to retain little nuggets of information that will help you in one way or another later in life.
“And now many parents will be able to pass over any little pieces of information to their own children.
At Ripley’s London we are filled with bizarre yet educational facts ranging from how ancient tribes used to shrink heads in the Amazon to being able to sample how cold the water was when the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean.”
The poem about the order of Henry VIII’s six wives is well-remembered by many, as is Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain (how to remember the colours of the rainbow).
Physical education has made a big impact on our lives too, as many are still practicing or advising on the technique of both forward and backward rolls.
While several Brits have the baton from running a relay race ingrained into their memories from their school days.
Three in ten UK adults are using the “Never Eat Shredded Wheat” trick to remember their direction of travel
Prime numbers, Pythagoras Theorem and doing the nine times table on your hands are all still remembered today.
While many still remember not to walk through the school field during javelin lessons are taking place there.
The research found that many parents use the little nuggets of information from their school years to help their own children.
E=MC2 is the most commonly use piece of information between parent and child, followed by The Lord’s Prayer.
And it’s not just parents who pass the information on, many adults will remind friends and other family members of the tricks learned at school, and one in five will fill the room with nostalgia in the process.
But a further 18 per cent admitted the response they’ve received from friends in this situation was laughter.
But more than two thirds of Brits admit this information they use or pass down were all seen as ‘pointless’ when they themselves were in education.
TOP 30 MOST REMEMBERED NUGGETS FROM SCHOOL
1. I before e except after c
2. Bunsen Burners
3. Joined up handwriting
4. The Lord’s Prayer
5. Hymns in assembly
6. The calendar poem (30 days has September)
7. Pi = 3.142
8. Playing the recorder
9. Working out the value of ‘x’
10. Forward rolls
11. Running a relay with a baton on sports day
12. Never Eat Shredded Wheat
13. E = MC2
14. Prime numbers
15. Photosynthesis
16. Studying Shakespeare plays in class
17. Pythagoras Theorem
18. Having to stand behind your chair before being allowed to sit
19. A ton of feathers weighs the same as a ton of watermelons
20. Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain
21. The Henry VIII six wives poem
22. Playing the triangle
23. Backward rolls
24. Ancient Egyptians used to pull brains through the nose when preparing a mummy
25. How to climb a rope
26. Symbols of the periodic table
27. Osmosis
28. Doing the nine times table with your hands
29. Oxygen will re-light a glowing splint
30. Never walk across the field during javelin practise.
