More confusing than (then?) a monkey with gloves

There have been a lot of words that I have frequently confused in my life, but none have caused me more confusion than effect and affect.  These two words have always caused me trouble because I always mix them up in meaning.  I have looked up the appropriate way to use them several times and still have trouble remembering.  From what I have learned, affect is a verb and effect is a noun.

I have tried to think of several different ways to remember the difference between the two, but I have not succeeded.  Recently, I have starting hammering into my head that special effects are things, or nouns.  This has helped me recently because I have been able to always think, “What is a special effect?  Is it a verb, or a noun?”  This always helps me remember that special effects are nouns, thus, the word ‘affect’ is a verb. 

I used to always struggle with the difference between “then” and “than.”  Once I figured out the difference, I had no problem with it.  I had to instill in my mind that the word “than” is used as a comparison.  For example:  “I have more trading cards than my brother.”  I am comparing to my brother.  Confusing these two words can cause a dramatic misunderstanding. 

The picture used isn’t necessarily a grammatical error, but it is still rather amusing.  I see these memes all over the internet with the grammar correcting gentleman.  This one didn’t need any correction but it is a funny take on the correction.