Mendeleev's Periodic Facepalm

Dmitri Mendeleev created the periodic table as a logical system to organize elements based on their properties so scientists wouldn't need to memorize each element individually. The ultimate cheat sheet! But then chemistry teachers everywhere completely missed the point and forced generations of students to memorize the entire table anyway. The look of utter betrayal on "Mendeleev's" face says it all - like watching your revolutionary invention designed to make life easier become the very torture device you were trying to prevent. It's the scientific equivalent of inventing a calculator only to have teachers ban it during exams!