When I was first learning these symbols in kindergarten, I understood how to use them, but I couldn't read them right. If I saw 2 < 3 and had to say what it was out loud, I'd say "3 is greater than 2." I learned the proper way quickly though with some help from my teach though. No idea why that memory stuck with me.

Do they teach this in Primary School now? I’d have thought it was still addition, subtraction, timetables, long division etc; I first encountered these symbols learning BASIC at home.

big > small
as in the symbol is big and open on one side and small and closed on the other. It could not possibly be more literal than that.

Wait… was I the only one that got taught: small number on the small side, big number on the big side?

No cute little metaphor, just deal with the bleakness of the world, kids!

When I taught math to young students I used alligators.......Muh haa/0/

****I'm leaving the random characters that have been added to my evil laugh. They were added by Zip the orange 3 month old terror kitten

I really don't get why you would need a mnemonic for a symbol that itself already is a mnemonic? How could it ever be confusing that big side is bigger than small side?

How childish!

It's obviously Pac-Man.

I saw the angles and assumed this was a joke about Dirac notation, which I'm still convinced is a massive joke to get mathematical physicists seriously talking about bras and ket in the staff room.

I remember learning about these in first grade and the explanation we got was "the beak of the little chick is pointing towards the bigger number" and I can't stress how much more confusing an explaination that is compared to the crocodile. Picture the following scene:

 O>
\0/
/ \

Yes that's a bird shut up. Observe the beak. Where is it pointing in this case? That's right, it's pointing the wrong way. Why did they choose this stupid explaination? Who knooooows

My teacher said “Pac-Man wants to eat the number that gives him the highest score” and that sooo stuck with me

I just use both with a footnote that reads "one of these symbols always lies, one tells the truth. Determining which is which left as an exercise for the reader"

I know someone who did their entire thesis purposely without using effect/affect, because they didn't know the difference. Instead used "impact" and other similar words.

Why not just remember that the bigger side of the symbol points to the bigger number?

I used to even draw in the teeth.

I still think "Pervert Naruto" for PV=nRT

in other words:

I feel this deeply as a 30 year old that has to repeat in my head "Never Eat Soggy Waffles" every time I use a cardinal direction

This never made sense. The larger animal would eat the smaller one.

I learned "L" for Less than

I have to read random passwords to people, nobody knows which is the greater (>) and less (<) than symbol.