I know we've talked about leaderboards in the past that would let us compete in terms of time studied, characters learned, etc. but can we have some way to compete with mnemonics? There are few things on the site that give me as much pleasure as reading other people's hilarious/absurd/excellent mnemonics.

becauase some of mine fall into that category I don't often make them public. I know full well they wouldn't help others but just help me. But i must admit, I love reading them too. Sometimes makes my day.

They help me a lot, for new characters I always check the mnemonics and most of the time are very usefull.

Maybe there's scope for something more here ...
Perhaps mnemonic writers could submit their favorites for use in a newsletter (or maybe just a forum topic on 'my favorite mnemonics')? Most of us only get to see a subset of the mnemonics out there, and there might be some zingers that would encourage me to learn a word that I might not ordinarily put on my list.

Also, I like to use highlighting (bold, italic, caps, etc.) to differentiate the word being defined, the character components, and all the other words needed to flesh out the mnemonic, as do many others. It would be nice if we could standardize on this ... or are there those who don't like this kind of markup?

I like the idea of having a favorite mnemonic in each newsletter, or even a dedicated space on the homepage for a favorite or random mnemonic along with a 'add this to my queue' button.

@KenM it seems to be highly personal. Some people use one system, others have their own system, some (like me) just want to have the mnemonics reflect the component breakdown while others actually put the components into the mnemonic, etc. I'd be surprised if we could come up with one system that could please everybody.

The next newsletter is pretty full; I'll ask George about squeezing a mnemonic in there. I can also post a short list of some of the top-rated mnemonics in the forum, if anyone's interested.

I know every inch the site is super packed these days, but it would be really cool if you had a spot to display a random mnemonic for the level we specified. Say, instead of that history blob at the bottom of the homepage? Things that change when I click them keep my attention for a ridiculous amount of time and could amount to a lot of swift learning if filtered by top mnemonics.

On the other hand, I'd much rather see that iPhone app... Any news on that?

Thanks for giving me my easy excuse! I'm working on the iPhone app and don't have time to build the random mnemonic display thing, see. ;)

It's still going to be a long time for the iPhone app. I've got it converting simplified and traditional, adding tone marks to pinyin, and starting to load words from the server. So slow progress is being made.

@Nick, I'd personally be interested in that list of top mnemonics, I imagine it would be both helpful and provide a good laugh or two.

I'll save the top ones for future newsletters, but here are some near the top, chosen at random from the Chinese list (some might apply to Japanese as well):

错 (Grahameh): Using ancient metal is a mistake
旅 (Grahameh): For your trip: decide the direction, lie down, then pack your clothes.
对 (Grahameh): Again an inch is Correct!
像 (Grahameh): The person resembles an elephant
笑 (Denbeau): laughing at death under the bamboo
作 (Brocerius): The person suddenly did some work!
特 (ulyart): a cow in a temple is rather unusual
级 (sarac): *silk* robes are for students who *reach* the highest *grade*s
家 (jww1066): home is a pig under a roof
意 (crenz42): The sound of my heart = my ideas/wishes
虽 (LuoKai): Although his Mouth was closed an Insect got in.
呢 (Brocerius): Buddhist says what?
示 (webmagnets): *2 small* to show
当 (rgwatwormhill): SHOULD MANAGE to eat a SMALL PIG-SNOUT
集 (muer): Birds gather on a tree.
健 (muer): *build* a _healthy_ *person* (body)
朋 (missb): Two moons hanging out together are friends.
累 (mcfarljw): Lay on the *silk* blanket in the *field* if you're _tired_.
忙 (mcfarljw): A _busy_ *heart* will often *die or perish*.
难 (jww1066): once again the short-tailed bird is causing trouble
越 (jww1066): even more, I can walk carrying my battle axe
次 (jww1066): how many _times_ have we *lacked* *ice*?
察 (jww1066): _inspect_ the *roof* over the *worship* hall
告 (jww1066): inform the cow with your mouth
舞 (crenz42): *forty* steps, *one* couple, standing *opposite* of each other
睡 (crenz42): When your eyes start drooping, better go to sleep.
找 (crenz42): The warrior is *looking for* his enemy with the *halberd* in his *hand*.
城 (bart): SOIL is TURNED INTO a CITY
喜 (Xerxes314): Yum! Putting *ten* *beans* in my *mouth* makes me _happy_.

呢 (Brocerius): Buddhist says what?

GENIUS