I needed to figure out how to select the last four rows of a database table without reversing the order of the rows. After a little digging, I got to this point:

SELECT * 
FROM (
    SELECT * 
    FROM table_name 
    WHERE whatever 
    ORDER BY date DESC LIMIT 4
) AS tbl 
ORDER BY tbl.date ASC;

So, as long as you have something to order by, you can reverse and re-reverse the order, and it will come out right in the end.

Note: Originally written September 2, 2010