Here are some examples from the food & beverage industry.
Restaurant;
In the old days, servers would just shout the orders to the cooks.
Diner lingo
These are some good examples of mnemonic imagery from that list;
Adam and Eve on a raft – two poached eggs atop toast
&
Wreck 'em – scrambled eggs
Baled hay – shredded wheat
Echo – repeat of the last order
Put wheels on it – carry-out order; to go
Bar;
In a bar, the server calls in their drink order to the bartender in order of alcohol color, light to dark. In some regions it’s dark to light.
In your mind, you would recite it like a jingle:
“Vodka, rum, gin, tequila, scotch, bourbon, whiskey.”
As the server called the order, you would set the glass that is appropriate to the drink on the mat, in order left to right.
This was important for short term recall.
Let’s say they’ve called in seven drinks and you’ve set the glasses on the mat. The leftmost glass is a rocks glass. You know it’s the lightest alcohol. It could be a vodka tonic or rum and coke or any light alcohol drink that is served in a rocks glass.
The type of glass and its position are cues for recall.
A tall glass is likely a drink with juice, like a Tom Collins or a screwdriver. If it’s a tequila sunrise, the glass would be after any vodka, rum, or gin glasses.
Grocery Stores;
I’m curious, how do supermarket employees know which aisle a product is on so well? There must be an industry standard training system.
As a customer I know a few of the product codes:
4011
40 = produce
11 = banana. I picture the 11 as two bananas.
“A 4-digit code means conventionally grown, while a 5-digit one starting with 9 means organic and a 5-digit code starting with 8 means genetically modified,” says Dan Vaché, a supply chain consultant and former vice president of the International Fresh Produce Association.