Remembering the Planets

I've always been fascinated by the heavens so it's not surprising that clear back when I was a kid I learned the mnemonic to help remember the planets in order from the Sun.  I've encountered quite a few people who know this same one or with slight variations but I'm always surprised by how many people don't know it at all.  In the interest of sharing for those who are less enlightened and in the interest of humor for those who do, here it is, along with an experience I had passing it on to the next generation. 

Many Very Early Men Just Sat Up Nights Playing

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the first letters stand for the first ones in the respective planets.  However, a few years back when I was a Merit Badge Counselor teaching this to a roomful of about 30 Boy Scouts as part of the Space Exploration Merit Badge (No, it wasn't Astrology--not yet!) they didn't seem to catch on.  So, to help them get the concept I proceeded to go through it letter by letter to illustrate.  So go with me here:  "Many - Mercury; Very - Venus; Early - Earth; Men - Mars; Just - Jupiter; Sat - Saturn; Up - Uranus....."

As you can imagine that one brought the house down and there I stood trying to recover from an incredible faux pas, though I must admit I laughed myself silly all the way home and I'm sure not a person in that room ever forgot it.  In fact, I know they never forgot it because years later I was still receiving announcements when those boys went on to earn their Eagle Scout Awards.  And I'll bet you'll remember it now, too!