HOMES and the Great Lakes

I prefer Super Man Helps Every One, because this gives them from West to East and also (effectively) in the order of water flow.

I say "effectively" in the order of water flow because hydrologically speaking, lakes Huron and Michigan are just one lake (separated by the Straits of Mackinac), so water doesn't actually flow between them.

The Superman mnemonic also very nearly gives the lakes in order of size. Once again Michigan and Huron are the fly in the ointment, because Lake Huron is slightly larger than Lake Michigan.

Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron are quite similar in size, and so are Erie and Ontario; but the smallest of the big three (Michigan) is over twice the size of the larger of the two smaller ones (Erie). The actual sizes are (in square miles):

Superior	Michigan	Huron	Erie	Ontario
31,700	22,300	23,000	9,910	7,340

I found the Superman mnemonic on WikiHow, which has a wealth of information on the Great Lakes – aimed at kids, but all of it potentially useful to the quizzer. I don't recommend the video at the end (after the Q&A section, but before the Tips) though.