Birthdays and Anniversaries

Remembering birthdays and anniversaries means associating the persons and events to the month and day. There are three methods available:

First, make a peg word for every day of the year, and use those pegs. That's a lot of work.

Second, associate the persons and the event to a peg for the month, and put a peg for the date into the picture.

Example:

Your friends John and Mary Smith married on May 23.

Your peg for May is "flowers" ("April showers bring May flowers"), so you picture John and Mary hip-deep in a giant wedding cake with flowers growing out of them and the cake.

A "gnome" (23) is trying to pull all the flowers out. Your picture gives you all the information you want: who, what event, what month, what date. Mission accomplished.

The third method is the simplest, but less exact.

Associate the persons and the event to the month and a symbol of the quarter of the month in which the event happens.

If the date falls in the second eight days of the month (9-16), put a quarter into the picture.

If the date falls in the third eight days of the month (17-24), put a half grapefruit into the picture.

If the date falls in the last part of the month (25-31), put three quarters of a pie (or just a pie) into the picture.

If the day falls in the first eight days of the month (1-8), put nothing extra into the picture. Lack of anything extra means the birthday or anniversary falls in the first eight days of the month.

Appointments

Memorizing appointments means making a picturable equivalent for the appointment (e.g., doctor) and associating in some ridiculous way with your peg for the day and time of the appontment.

Day/time pegs are mostly stolen from your number pegs. Most people treat Monday as the first day of the business week, so treat it as "one," Tuesday as "two," and so on. Then think of the hour as the second digit of a two digit number. So, Monday at 4 is "14." Tuesday at 9 is "29." If your doctor's appointment is at 4 on Tuesday, associate the doctor to "toro" and you will remember the day and time of the appointment by thinking of the doctor.

What about 10, 11, and 12 o'clock?

For ten, use zero. So Wednesday at 10 is "30," or "Mose."


For 11 and 12, treat them as "non-standard one and two." That is, make a peg words for them that are not your peg words for 1 and 2.

If your peg word for Monday at 2 is "tone" (12), then let your peg word for Monday at 12 be "thane" or "teen" or "ton" or "tuna" or anything that fits the pattern but isn't your basic peg word for 12.

If your peg word for Friday at 1 is "lota" (51), then let your peg word for Friday at 11 be "late," "light," "lute," or another word that fits the pattern but isn't your basic peg word for 51.

What about a.m. and p.m.? Not really necessary, since you'll know anyway. But if you feel you must, remember that you don't need markers for both a.m. and p.m. One or the other will do. For example, work one or more peas into your association for p.m. appointments, and you're covered. No peas in the association? Must be an a.m. appointiment.

What if the appointment isn't on the hour? Again, probably unnecessary (you'll remember naturally if the day and hours are recalled). But if you feel you must, put a quarter in the picture if the appointment is in the second quarter of the hour (between minutes 15 and 29). Put a half grapefruit into the picture if the appointment is in the third quarter of the hour (between minutes 30 and 44). Put three quarters of a pie into the picture of the appointment is between minutes 45 and 59. That's close enough. Worst case, you're fifteen minutes early.

What about appointments within the first fifteen minutes after the hour? Well, if there's no quarter, half grapefruit, or pie in the picture, the appointment must be in the first quarter of the hour!

(This principle of "close enough" applies to memorizing birthdays and anniversaries as well. If you associate the persons and the event to the month, and put a quarter in the picture for 9-16, a half grapefruit for 17-24, and (three-fourths of) a pie for 25-31, you'll either trigger your recollection of the exact date, or you'll be close enough to send a card or gift in timely fashion.)

Peg works for playing cards

Playing card peg words are constructed from a consonant representing the suit and a consonant representing the card value, connected by the vowel "a." The numerical value of the tens is zero, for convenience. There are exceptions for the royals. The pegs for the jacks are the suit names: club, heart, spade, diamond.

The consonants for the suits are C, H, S, and D. Mnemonic: "chased."

Whether the "a" is long or short varies by suit. Clubs, generally short. Hearts, generally short. Spades, generally long. Diamonds: generally long. Mnemonic: "The Cat in the Hat Saved the Day."

Here's the list:

Clubs

CA = cat
C2 = can
C3 = cameo
C4 = car
C5 = Cal (Coolidge, California)
C6 = cash
C7 = caca
C8 = caff (cafe, cafeteria)
C9 = cap (baseball cap, redcap)
C10 = Cass (Elliot of the Mamas and Papas)
CJ = club
CQ = cream
CK = king

HA = hat (of Cat in the Hat)
H2 = Han (Chinese; Chou Enlai)
H3 = ham (pig)
H4 = hare
H5 = hail
H6 = hash
H7 = hag (witch)
H8 = half (grapefruit)
H9 = Hap (smiling Gen. Hap Arnold)
H10 = haze (note long "a"; exception to rule)
HJ = heart
HQ = queen
HK = hinge (exception)

Spades

SA = sate (a happy, sated Buddha)
S2 = sane (Sigmund Freud)
S3 = same (Siamese twins)
S4 = Sayre (Dorothy Sayre typing with glasses on)
S5 = sail
S6 = sage (tumbleweed)
S7 = saki (rice wine; note short "a"; exception)
S8 = safe
S9 = sabe (= Kemo Sabe = Lone Ranger; exception to long "a" rule)
S10 = sase (self-addressed stamped envelope)
SJ = spade
SQ = steam (exception)
SK = sing (Elvis; exception)

Diamonds

DA = date (fruit)
D2 = Dane (Hamlet - Olivier?)
D3 = dame
D4 = dairy
D5 = Dale (Evans)
D6 = Daitch (grocery)
D7 = dago
D8 = Dave
D9 = dabe (a painter; made-up word)
D10 = daisy
DJ = diamond
DQ = dream (sleeper; exception)
DK = drink (golden goblet)

Peg words (nouns) from 00-99

The peg words in the following list are constructed from the consonant sounds of the two digits, connected by a long "o." There are some necessary exceptions.

00 Sosa
01 soda
02 Sony (a boom box)
03 soma (a pill)
04 sore (a scab)
05 sole (of a shoe)
06 soja (soldier)
07 soak (in a tub)
08 sofa
09 soap

0 sew (needle & thread)
1 dough
2 Noah
3 Mo (Three Stooges)
4 roe (fish eggs)
5 Lo (Jennifer Lopez)
6 Joe (St. Joseph statue)
7 Go (shiny black stone)
8 foe (devil)
9 Poe (Edgar Allan)

10 toes
11 tote
12 tone
13 tome (dictionary)
14 toro (bull)
15 toll (booth)
16 Tojo
17 toga
18 tofu
19 tope (drinking man)

20 nose
21 note
22 nun
23 gnome
24 knower (brain)
25 knoll
26 notch
27 Nokia (cell phone)
28 nova
29 nope (naysayer shaking head)

30 Mose
31 moat
32 moan
33 mome
34 mower
35 mole
36 mojo (doll)
37 mocha (w/Mickey on side)
38 mauve (a grape)
39 Moby (a whale)

40 rose
41 rota (helicopter rotor)
42 roan (red horse)
43 Rome (capitol dome)
44 rower
45 roll
46 roach
47 rogue
48 Rove
49 rope

50 Loew's (movie marquee)
51 lota (crystal goblet)
52 lone (Lee Harvey Oswald)
53 loam
54 lore (book of spells)
55 Lola
56 loge
57 logo
58 loaf
59 lobe

60 shoes
61 shoat
62 Shona
63 chum
64 shore (straight; see 78)
65 shul
66 judge
67 choke
68 Jove
69 shop (an exception; note short "o")

70 cosy (a teapot wrapper)
71 coat
72 cone
73 comb
74 core
75 coal
76 coach
77 Coke
78 cove (curved; see 64)
79 cope (hooded cape)

80 foci (foe-see: burning points under magnifying glasses)
81 photo
82 phone
83 foam
84 fore (golf ball)
85 foal
86 voyage
87 folk (an acoustic guitar)
88 fauve (wild animal -- Taz)
89 phobe (shivering coward)

90 pose (Rodin's Thinker)
91 poet (Homer)
92 pone (cornpone)
93 pome (apple)
94 pore
95 pole
96 poach (egg)
97 poke (hot poker)
98 pauve (impoverished ragged man; Raggedy Andy)
99 Pope

Peg words (nouns) from 00-99

The peg words in the following list are constructed from the consonant sounds of the two digits, connected by a long "o." There are some necessary exceptions.

00 Sosa
01 soda
02 Sony (a boom box)
03 soma (a pill)
04 sore (a scab)
05 sole (of a shoe)
06 soja (soldier)
07 soak (in a tub)
08 sofa
09 soap

0 sew (needle & thread)
1 dough
2 Noah
3 Mo (Three Stooges)
4 roe (fish eggs)
5 Lo (Jennifer Lopez)
6 Joe (St. Joseph statue)
7 Go (shiny black stone)
8 foe (devil)
9 Poe (Edgar Allan)

10 toes
11 tote
12 tone
13 tome (dictionary)
14 toro (bull)
15 toll (booth)
16 Tojo
17 toga
18 tofu
19 tope (drinking man)

20 nose
21 note
22 nun
23 gnome
24 knower (brain)
25 knoll
26 notch
27 Nokia (cell phone)
28 nova
29 nope (naysayer shaking head)

30 Mose
31 moat
32 moan
33 mome
34 mower
35 mole
36 mojo (doll)
37 mocha (w/Mickey on side)
38 mauve (a grape)
39 Moby (a whale)

40 rose
41 rota (helicopter rotor)
42 roan (red horse)
43 Rome (capitol dome)
44 rower
45 roll
46 roach
47 rogue
48 Rove
49 rope

50 Loew's (movie marquee)
51 lota (crystal goblet)
52 lone (Lee Harvey Oswald)
53 loam
54 lore (book of spells)
55 Lola
56 loge
57 logo
58 loaf
59 lobe

60 shoes
61 shoat
62 Shona
63 chum
64 shore (straight; see 78)
65 shul
66 judge
67 choke
68 Jove
69 shop (an exception; note short "o")

70 cosy (a teapot wrapper)
71 coat
72 cone
73 comb
74 core
75 coal
76 coach
77 Coke
78 cove (curved; see 64)
79 cope (hooded cape)

80 foci (foe-see: burning points under magnifying glasses)
81 photo
82 phone
83 foam
84 fore (golf ball)
85 foal
86 voyage
87 folk (an acoustic guitar)
88 fauve (wild animal -- Taz)
89 phobe (shivering coward)

90 pose (Rodin's Thinker)
91 poet (Homer)
92 pone (cornpone)
93 pome (apple)
94 pore
95 pole
96 poach (egg)
97 poke (hot poker)
98 pauve (impoverished ragged man; Raggedy Andy)
99 Pope

Peg adjectives 0-99

It aids and speeds learning peg words if you learn the adjective with the noun. The adjectives use short "a" and the nouns use long "o" whenever possible.

00--------sassy-----Lady Sasquatch
01--------sati-------flaming widow
02--------sani------toilet (sanitary pottery)
03--------Sammy--Davis
04--------sari
05--------Sally-----Flying Nun
06--------sashy----sash window
07--------sacky----burlap sack
08--------saffy-----saffron-robed
09--------sappy----syrupy

0----------hassy-----hassock
1----------hatty------top hat
2----------hanny----mermaid (Hannah in "Splash")
3----------hammy---covered in ham
4----------Harry----Lorayne
5----------Halley----comet
6----------hashy----short-order cook, or pipe
7----------hacky----cab driver
8----------haffy-----half grapefruit
9----------happy----smile button

10--------tassy-----toes
11--------tatty------tote
12--------tanny-----tone
13--------tammy---tome
14--------tarry-----toro
15--------tally------toll
16--------tashy-----Tojo
17--------tacky-----toga
18--------taffy-----tofu
19--------tappy----tope

2o--------nassy-----nose
21--------natty-----note
22--------nanny----none
23--------Nammy--gnome
24--------narry----knower
25--------nally-----knoll
26--------nashy----notch
27--------knacky---Nokia
28--------navvy-----nova
29--------nappy----nope

30-----massy
31-----matty
32-----manny
33-----mammy
34-----marry
35-----mally (mallet)
36-----mashy
37-----macky (raincoat)
38-----maffy (mafia)
39-----mappy (b&w; cf. Nally)

40-----rassy
41-----ratty
42-----rani
43-----rammy
44-----rare
45-----rally
46-----rashy
47-----racky
48-----raffy (RAF)
49-----rappy

50-----Lassie
51-----latte
52-----LANny
53-----lamby
54-----Larry
55-----Lally (column)
56-----lashy (eyelash)
57-----lackey (Igor)
58-----laffy
59-----lappy (lapping)

60-----chassis
61-----chatty
62-----Channy (Charlie Chan)
63-----chamois
64-----charry (charcoaled)
65-----chally (doused from a chalice)
66-----chachy (tchotchkes)
67-----chacky (biting -- shark)
68-----chaffy
69-----chappy (chapped)

70-----cassy (Kasse -- cash register)
71-----catty
72-----canny
73-----cami (camisole)
74-----Cari (Caridad)
75-----Kali
76-----Kashi
77-----khaki
78-----caffy (jittery from caffiene)
79-----cappy (bottle caps)

80-----fassy (Fassler)
81-----fatty
82-----fanny
83-----fammy (famished, skeletal)
85-----fally (phalli)
86-----fashy (fashion model Tiegs)
87-----facky (cigarettes)
88-----faffy (French Air Force, berets)
89-----fappy (slapping: FAP!)

90-----passe (of a certain age)
91-----patty (butter pats)
92-----panny
93-----pammy (Pam spray)
94-----parry (Paris -- Eiffel Tower)
95-----pally
96-----pashy (Pasha's flying carpet)
97-----packy (backpack)
98-----paffy (Paphos; puffy with excitement)
99-----pappy (pap is milk-softened bread)

Two-digit adjective peg words based on "a"

A quick way to learn an auxiliary set of peg words for the numbers 0-99 is to have a pattern for them. The following words generally have a short "a" as the vowel and end in "y" or at least an "ee" sound. The single digits with the leading zeroes differ from the card words for spades in that the latter use a long "a." Hence, e.g., 03 = Sammy, while S3 = same (a Siamese twin).

All the explanations assume the beginning "associated with [a]."

0-----hassy----- hassock
1-----hatty------hat like Uncle Sam's
2-----hanny-----fish tail like a mermaid's (Daryl Hannah in "Splash")
3-----hammy----ham steaks
4-----Harry----- Lorayne!
5-----Halley----- comet
6-----hashy------corned beef hash
7-----hacky------hacking cleaver
8-----halfy-------half-grapefruit(s)
9-----happy----- smile button(s)

00-----sassy-----involving Sassiah the Sasquatch (Bigfoot)
01----- sati----- -burning widow (sati)
02----- sani -----toilet bowl (sanitary pottery)
03----- Sammy --like Sammy Davis Jr.
04----- sari----- sari (Hindu dress)
05----- sally -----Flying Nun (Sally Field)
06 -----sashy----sash window ("I opened the curtains and threw up the sash")
07----- sacky---- like a burlap sack
08----- saffy---- saffron robes like a buddhist monk
09----- sappy--- drenched in maple syrup

10----- tassy----- in a coffee cup (eine Tasse)
11----- tatty------ blessed with tatoos
12----- tanny----- well-tanned
13----- tammy---- wearing a tam o'shanter
14 -----tarry------ covered with tar
15----- tally ------tall
16----- tashy----- carrying a purse (eine Tasche)
17----- tacky -----covered in thumbtacks
18----- taffy ------wrestling with stretch candy
19----- tappy----- tapping with a cane

20----- nassy----- all wet (nass means "wet" in German)
21------ natty----- gnatty
22----- nanny----- involved with nan (bread)
23---- nammy ----wearing a Vietnamese peasant hat
24----- narry----- very gnarled
25----- nally------ engaged with great color maps (Rand-McNally)
26----- nashy------ blessed with Ramblers (Nashes)
27----- nacky------ blessed with knick-knacks (tchotchkes)
28----- naffy------ blessed with navvies (swabs)
29----- nappy----- blessed with nappy hair

30-----massy-----having lots of mass
31------matty-----blessed with welcome mat(s)
32-----manny-----blessed with little men
33-----mammy-----like Aunt Jemima
34-----marry-----tricked out like a bride
35-----mally-----blessed with mallets
36-----mashy----like mashed potatoes
37-----macky----wrapped in or wearing a Mac
38-----maffy-----related to the Mafia (wearing a Mafia hat)
39-----mappy----blessed with black-and-white ancient map(s)

40-----rassy----very white-skinned
41-----ratty-----covered in horrid rat fur
42-----ranny---dressed like a princess (rani)
43-----rammy--blessed with ram(s)
44-----rarry-----red inside like rare meat
45-----rally-----dressed for a rally (cheerleader's letter sweater)
46-----rashy----leprous like Lazarus
47-----racky----on the torture rack
48-----raffy----blessed with rubbish
49-----rappy---being rapped on (by hard knuckles)

50-----lassy-----blessed with Lassie(s)
51-----latty-----blessed with milky coffee
52-----lanny----tangled in LAN wires
53-----lammy---blessed with Lamb Chop(s)
54-----larry-----blessed with Larry Froehlich(es)
55-----lally------blessed with lally column(s)
56-----lashy-----blessed with amazing eyelashes
57-----lacky-----with vacant eyes ("in their eyes there's something lacking")
58-----laffy-----laughing hugely
59-----lappy-----engaged in lapping up a liquid

60----chassy---blessed with chassis
61-----chatty---chatty
62-----channy---like Mr. Chan
63-----chammy--like chamois
64-----charry----mussed with charcoal
65-----chally---soaked in red wine (splashed from chalice)
66----chachy---blessed with trinkets and gauds
67-----chacky----trying to bite
68-----chaffy----loaded with chaff
69-----chappy---chapped

70-----cassy----blessed with Kasse(s) (cash registers)
71-----catty-----blessed with cat skin(s)
72-----canny---blessed with can(s)
73-----cammy--blessed with camoflauge
74-----carry----Cari
75-----cally-----Kali
76-----cashy----Kashi
77-----cacky----Khaki
78-----caffy-----jittery (caffeine)
79-----cappy----covered with caps from a cap gun

80-----fassy----Andrea Fassler
81-----fatty-----having fat
82-----fanny----blessed with fan(s)
83-----fammy---skeletal (famished)
84-----farry-----bustling, busy, tumultuous
85-----fally------blessed with phalli
86-----fashy----blessed with fashion models
87-----facky----effeminate
88-----faffy-----fussing (Br. dial. "to make a fuss over nothing")
89-----fappy----much given to slapping (Fap!)

90----passy----like a woman of a certain age
91-----patty----covered with butter pats
92-----panny---blessed with pans
93-----pammy--covered with Pam spray
94-----parry----covered with numbers (pars)
95-----pally-----backslapping
96-----pashy----patched
97-----packy----blessed with packs (backpacks)
98-----paffy-----like Aphrodite of Paphos
99-----pappy----covered in pap

Alphabet Pictures

Sometimes you need to remember alphabet letters, for example in license plate numbers and in spelling problem words.

For these memory problems, you need picturable equivalents for alphabet letters.

I try to make the picturable equivalent for each letter as close to the name of the letter as possible.

Here are the ones I use:

A: ape
B: bee
C: sea
D: Dee (nickname for my friend Domenique)
E: hee (a giggler)
F: Hef (Hugh Hefner)
G: gee (gravity)
H: itch
I: eye
J: jay
K: Kay (another friend)
L: el (elevated train)
M: hem (a dress)
N: hen
O: eau (a bottle of perfume)
P: pea
Q: cue (pool cue)
R: are (pronounced like "r"; one hundredth of a hectare)
S: ess (an ess curve, which I imagine as a whip)
T: tea
U: ewe (female sheep)
V: Mr. V (a friend's expression for any buff male)
W: a double ewe (Siamese twin ewes)
X: eggs
Y: "Y" (the YMCA building)
Z: zee (a Z-shaped sea held in by Dutch dikes)

Using the Link with the Phonetic Alphabet

If you have a number, such as a phone number, you can transform it into a picturable equivalent using the phonetic alphabet described two posts back. You turn the number into an image or a series of images, then link them. The first item in the link should be a picturable equivalent of the person whose phone number you wish to recall. The picturable equivalent for the person can be a feature of the person's appearance or some version or part of the person's name.

For example, Mr. Szewczyk's phone number is 800 555-1202. His name is pronounced "chef-chick." One way to make a picturable equivalent of his name is to use a baby chick wearing a chef's hat as your standard image for Szewczyk. (Another would be to use the dimple in his chin or other physical characteristic as your standard "anchor" for him.)

Using the chick as the standard for Mr. Szewczyk, I link it to "faces," which represents 800 (the "f" sounds and two "s" sounds). I imagine the "chef-chick" cooking a lot of faces like pancakes, flipping them from a griddle.

To link 800 ("faces") to "lily whale" (555), I imagine hundreds of faces kissing a whale smoking a big lily.

To link "lily whale" to "tan Sony," I imagine the "lily whale" shining a tanning light on a Sony boom box, that is, giving a "tan" to a Sony.

More on basic association: the Link

I can imagine myself putting hamburger patties on my buns. That gets me to buns.

Then I imagine the two halves of a bun with lots of tissues between them, a kind of tissue sandwich. That gets me to tissues.

Then I can imagine a big living tissue drinking lemonade, which makes the tissue all sopping wet. That gets me to lemonade.

Then I imagine hundreds of tiny pitchers of lemonade flying like kamikazes through a giant potato chip, punching holes in the chip. This gets me to potato chips.

Then I imagine a big chip with little green broccoli growing all over it like measles. That gets me to broccoli.

Then I imagine myself pouring ketchup over head after head of broccoli. This gets me to ketchup, the last item.

If it's important to know that broccoli ends the list, I can imagine a giant head of broccoli going down like the sun below the horizon.

Now I know the list backwards and forwards. Ketchup makes me think of broccoli, broccoli of potato chips, potato chips of lemonade, lemonade of tissues, tissues of buns, buns of hamburger, hamburger of grocery store.

NOW BACK TO basics

IN THE PREVIOUS post, I covered the phonetic number alphabet and how to make words out of numbers and numbers out of words.

That was really starting in the middle. Let's go back to the beginning.

Memory is association. "Where did I put my hat?" involves the association of my hat and the place I put it. "What is Tommy's phone number?" involves the association of Tommy with a string of digits. "What is the value of pi to ten digits?" involves associating the concept of pi to a string of digits. "How do I get from Grant's Tomb to Carnegie Hall?" involves a chain of associations consisting of each step in a series of directions.

The essence of a trained memory is to quickly make the items to be associated picturable to the mind's eye, then to associate them in a memorable way. The key to making the association memorable is to make it ridiculous. (The "ridiculous" part is Harry Lorayne's contribution to the art of memory.)

If I need to memorize the Presidents on Mt. Rushmore (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt), then I can picture myself "rushing" off the mountain edge and falling into a load of "wash." This associates a picturable equivalent of Mt. Rushmore to a picturable equivalent of Washington.

Then I can picture myself throwing a load of wet wash into the surprised face of a "chef." This will remind me of "Jefferson."

Then I imagine Jefferson with a chain "link" in each ear and in his nose. This will get me to Lincoln.

Then I can imagine Lincoln, the great railsplitter, using an axe to split a giant "rose," and that will get me to Roosevelt.

A second illustrative example: a grocery list. I need hamburger, buns, tissues, lemonade, potato chips, broccoli and ketchup.

The starting point is important. It's groceries, so I start with my mouth. I imagine myself eating a million tiny hamburgers.