The worst is trying to repair one end of an existing cable and having to think really hard about whether to use A or B wiring.

sometimes, it's easier to replace both ends. or replace the same end, twice

Random anecdote: I worked at a company with an on-prem server room and the building got struck by lightning. It fried some servers and quite a few nic cards on employee computers. Our CTO decided since we'd be in the building doing hardware replacements anyway, now was the time to redo our wiring closest as well.

That was my introduction to wiring up CAT-5 cables and rj45 connectors and, with so many to make, I needed a way to remember the wiring diagram without having to read it over and over or use a visual reference. The mnemonic rhythm I used to remember the pattern was "orange/white, orange... green/white, blue... blue/white, green... brown/white, brown". Of course, said out loud, you couldn't tell if it was "orange/white, orange" or "orange, white/orange" and I kept confusing the rest of the team when I'd say it, but it worked for me.

This was circa 2005/2006 and I still say it like that. It just stuck.

Stripey orange

Orange

Stripey green

Blue

Stripey blue

Green

Stripey brown

Brown

Thanks for the memories!