Help: Acronym or mnemonic for geological periods

Ted Andresen

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Aug 29, 1994, 1:40:51 PM8/29/94

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I'm looking for an acronym, mnemonic or sentence to help students remember the
sequence of geological periods starting with the Cambrian and ending with the
Pleistocene

Gerard Middleton

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Aug 29, 1994, 4:54:10 PM8/29/94

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When I taught freshman geology, I used to offer a prize for the best
student-invented mnemonic. Unfortunately I have forgotten most of them,
but here is an old favourite:

China Owls Seldom Deceive Clay Pigeons; They Just Chase Past Each Other
Making Preposterous Puns
--
Gerry Middleton
Department of Geology, McMaster University
Tel: (905) 525-9140 ext 24187 FAX 522-3141

Meredith Y. Denton

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Aug 29, 1994, 4:05:46 PM8/29/94

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In article 6...@spacenns.space.honeywell.com, tand...@space.honeywell.com
(Ted Andresen) writes:

Here's the one I taught (with apologies to my gay friends):

Can Cambrian
Oscar Ordovician
see Silurian
down Devonian
my Mississippian
pants Pennsylvanian
pockets? Permian

Tom Triassic
Jones Jurassic
can. Cretaceous

Tom's Tertiary
queer. Quaternary

It always worked really well because it's sort of funny and that seems
to help them remember it.

Meredith
--
Meredith Denton, Geophysicist | "When I go to the beauty parlor, I
myde...@amoco.com | always use the emergency entrance.
| Sometimes I just go for an estimate."
My opinions, not Amoco's | Phyllis Diller

Robert Tucker

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Aug 29, 1994, 4:04:26 PM8/29/94

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My favorite from Geology 1 at UCLA for the Paleozoic Era:
Can Oscar See Down My Pants Pocket?

MINDBENDER

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Aug 29, 1994, 11:18:09 PM8/29/94

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In article <33t6j3$6...@spacenns.space.honeywell.com>,
tand...@space.honeywell.com (Ted Andresen) writes:

Need mnemonic:
Campbells orindary soup does make peter paler.
Put eggs on my plate please peter

cambrian ordiv.sil.dev.miss.(carboniferous) Pensylv. perm. etc.
hope it works for you as it did for me in Geol.1a in 1952. I haven't
forgotten it yet, or have I?
walt

John Dunlevey

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Aug 30, 1994, 2:24:14 AM8/30/94

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Great for the USA but most of the rest of the world puts the
Mississippian and Pennsylvanian in to a single unit called the
Carboniferous.

--
John Dunlevey Internet: dunl...@pixie.udw.ac.za
Department of Geology, University of Durban-Westville,
Private Bag X54001, DURBAN 4000:
Republic of South Africa.

cla...@ccc.govt.nz

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Aug 31, 1994, 6:50:53 AM8/31/94

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In article <33t6j3$6...@spacenns.space.honeywell.com>, tand...@space.honeywell.com (Ted Andresen) writes:

Cambridge Often Secretes Devout Catholic Preists; These Jovial Clerics
Pursue Emus Over My Plush Purple House.

Bryan Clarke
Christchurch N.Z.

Flyinggoat

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Aug 30, 1994, 9:27:04 PM8/30/94

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Can
Oscar
See
Down
Charles'
Pants?

Tom
Can.

Tom's
Queer.

Better? I hope this sticks, 'cause it was an easy thing to remember
in the first place.........Flyinggoat@AOL.com(Betty Cunningham)

Thomas Fisher

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Aug 31, 1994, 9:55:37 AM8/31/94

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For the Tertiary periods try:

People = Paleocene
Eat = Eocene
Oysters (and) = Oligocene
Mussels = Miocene
Predominantly = Pliocene
(in the)
Pleistocene = Pleistocene

Thom :-)>

Richard Marsden

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Aug 31, 1994, 9:47:12 AM8/31/94

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You beat me to it!

The version I had drilled into me, went as follows:

China Owls Seldom Devour Clay Pigeons - They Just Creep Past Each Other
Making Preposterous Puns Ha!

The difference being the addition of the Holocene.
Looking in Stephen Jay Gould's "Wonderful Life", we have:

Cheap Meat performs passably,
Quenching the celibate's jejune thirst,
Portraiture, presented massable,
Drowning sorrow, oneness cursed.

And, for the Caenozoic:

Rare pornography, purchased meekly
O Erogeny, Palaeobscene.

Although the latter has something going for it, I think the China Owls is
the best!

Richard Marsden
redb...@cix.compulink.co.uk

Chuck Campbell

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Aug 31, 1994, 11:52:41 AM8/31/94

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I only learned one of these, and it doesn't cover the entire timescale, but
here it is:

Can Olive See Down My Primrose Path
for Cambrian to Permian

Thanks to Dr. Alan Keller (a FEW years ago).
-chuck

"Integration means more than having all the maps at the same scale!"

Jim Joyce

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Aug 31, 1994, 12:06:31 PM8/31/94

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In article <33t6j3$6...@spacenns.space.honeywell.com>

Here's the one I learned:

Paleozoic:
Carl's Old Shirt Doesn't Match Pete's Pants

Cenozoic:
Pigeon Egg Omelets Make People Puke

Jim :)

pe...@cc.usu.edu

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Sep 1, 1994, 7:11:50 PM9/1/94

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In article <3429q7$s...@cville-srv.wam.umd.edu>, jo...@next09wor.wam.umd.edu (Jim Joyce) writes: > In article <33t6j3$6...@spacenns.space.honeywell.com> > tand...@space.honeywell.com (Ted Andresen) writes: >> I'm looking for an acronym, mnemonic or sentence to help students remember > the >> sequence of geological periods starting with the Cambrian and ending with the >> Pleistocene > Jim :) I use this one in class: Cold Oysters Seldom Develop Many Precious Pearls The Juices Congeal Too Quickly Peter Kolesar Dept of Geology - USU Logan, Utah internet: pe...@cc.usu.edu Isn't this gneiss?

Richard Marsden

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Sep 2, 1994, 9:44:40 AM9/2/94

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Being a Cantabrigian, I ain't seen none! :-)
The geologists there teach "China Owls Seldom Devour Clay Pigeons..." -
and this is where I picked it up.

Richard Marsden
redb...@cix.compulink.co.uk

Paul Howell

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Sep 2, 1994, 10:39:14 AM9/2/94

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> In article <33t6j3$6...@spacenns.space.honeywell.com>
> tand...@space.honeywell.com (Ted Andresen) writes:

>> I'm looking for an acronym.... [deleted]

Since the version I originally learned could easily be considered offensive as
both sexist and homophobic, I ask my historical geology students to make up
their own for extra credit. Here's a compilation of the better ones from among
200 original entries, with attribution in case any become famous one day:

1. Periods of the Phanerozoic

Carl Offered Sam Deliciously Made Pickled Peppers That Just Cost Ten Quarters -
Robin Cheatham (1994)

Corn Omelettes Served Dry Move Precarious Prostates To Jiggle, Causing Terrific
Quakes - Allison Erven (1994)

Countless Ordinary Students Detest Manufacturing Papers Plus They Just Contest
Taking Quizzes. - Sally Jones (1993)

Can Old Sexual Deviants Mold People's Perceptions To Justify Crazy Titillating
Qualities? - Keen Wilson (1994)

Can Other Students Decipher Metamorphic Pieces (of) Peaks? They Just Can't,
They Quit! - Jamie Compton (1993)

Could One Student Do My Psychology Paper Tomorrow? Just Cut The Quotations. -
Kristin Kehl (1994)

Cutting Out Smoking During My Pregnancy Period Terminated Joe Camel's Tough
Questions - Justin Lloyd (1994)

2. Epochs of the Cenozoic

Please Elaborate On More Post-Paleozoic History - Arneda Malone (1993)

Paul Eats Old Meat, Purchases Preparation H - Keith Bednarz (1993)

Pa Eats Orphans, Ma Piles Plates High - Dave Butler (1994)

People Everywhere On Mars Prefer Paul Howell - Allison Erven (1994)

Pig Ears Often Make Pleasantly Palatable Hors (d'oeuvres) - Yuka Sugimura
(1994)

Perhaps Every Old Man Performs Private Heroism - Keen Wilson (1994)

People Emphasize Ordinary Milestones, Putting Pressures High - Kristin Kehl
(1994)

Damian Taylor

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Sep 5, 1994, 7:22:27 AM9/5/94

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For the Brits.

Camels Ordinarily Sit Down Carefully, Perhaps Their Joints Creak.

Not fully up to date I'm afraid!

Stanley J. Sramek

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Sep 9, 1994, 3:49:00 PM9/9/94

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In article <340m98$n...@search01.news.aol.com>,
flyin...@aol.com (Flyinggoat) writes:

[Paleozoic deleted]

> Tom <=== Betty, I think you forgot
> Can. <=== the Jurassic in here! :-)

[Cenozoic deleted]

Stanley Sramek; Houston, Texas, USA; I don't speak for my employer.
[Usual longer sig deleted to save bandwidth]