I refused to memorize that stuff. My sibling loved it. Sometimes I actually did learn it but would refuse to tell them I knew it and so would just skate by enough to pass the exam. Stuff like that pissed me off, unless they put it into some context I agreed was important. For some reason I didn't mind memorizing poems or plays or anything like that. But states, countries, and lists of people -I drew a line in the sand. I like big world maps and putting it up on the wall to show how they've changed -that fascinates me. I drove my mother to despair over why why I would not work for an A or a gold star unless I found it interesting.