Usefulcharts.com: Charts…useful ones

Lacey Mason, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – Remember that time in junior high school where you had to memorize all the classifications of animals?

Yeah, there were classes and phyla, kingdoms and domains. You studied really hard, made flash cards and aced that baby – followed immediately by a complete mental purge of any and all animal classification that deviated from “cat” and “dog.”

But if you want to remember that information, no worries: UsefulCharts has you covered. A quick glance at the Classification of Animals & Living Things chart and you’ll have a renewed understanding of the entire Eukaryote Domain and be impressing your friends with knowledge of the Sarcopterygii Class.

According to UsefulCharts creator Matt Baker, the site is created for the “visual learner.”

In a politically fueled place like D.C., you wouldn’t be caught dead stumbling over the Political Spectrum. But if you’re more interested in the politics of our northern neighbors, UsefulCharts has a – you guessed it – chart for that.

What I also found interesting was UsefulCharts’ bizarre choices. A personal favorite: Muppet Voices Chart. Did you know that Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Animal, Bert, Grover, Cookie Monster and Yoda (not a Muppet, know I) were all voiced by the same person? I didn’t, until I read the chart.

Curious about personality? The Myers-Briggs Chart outlines the various types of personalities, with descriptions. There’s also a chart for mental disorders.

While the charts are free to view, downloadable copies for print cost $1.95. Once downloaded, Baker says an unlimited number of copies can be printed and distributed as long as they’re free. Posting onto public websites is prohibited, however.

If you love a chart and want something fancier, some are available as posters.

“The goal is to present useful information in the form of charts so that students, teachers or simply those interested in increasing their general knowledge can absorb the information quickly and visually,” says Baker in his FAQ section.

Even if you aren’t cramming for a test or trying to impress friends with your vast knowledge of Hindu Gods & Goddesses, UsefulCharts is just that … useful.

Because even though those in the Proboscidean Order never forget, sometimes we do.

Follow @LaceyWTOP and @WTOP on Twitter.

(Copyright 2013 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up