You Must Remember This

Easy Tricks & Proven Tips to Never Forget Anything, Ever Again

About the Book

Quick!  Name the planets in the solar system!  Not so easy, is it?  All the facts and scraps of knowledge we’ve learned throughout our education can be forgotten over time, and are often impossible to recall when we need them most (i.e., an intense game of Trivial Pursuit!).  But with You Must Remember This, all those facts and trivia will come flooding back, for good.  From the beloved master of the color spectrum “Roy G. Biv”, to easy tips to help learn the basics of any language, You Must Remember This is the perfect addition to anyone’s book shelf.  It includes hundreds of handy mnemonics to help you remember a wealth of information:
 
The four oceans of the world:
I Am A Person
 
The presidential heads carved on Mount Rushmore:
We Just Like Rushmore
 
And of course, those planets (sans Pluto):
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles
 
Whether you want to remember fact, poems, or speeches, or just learn how to remember daily errands without being so dependent on lists, this book is for you. Discover techniques used by memory experts, how actors learn their lines, and how your brain works to store memories.  Both an invaluable collection of memory tricks and a fascinating look at the workings of our memory, You Must Remember This is the perfect resource to ensure that you'll never be short of memory again!
Read more
Close
Close
Excerpt

You Must Remember This

The Link and Story Method—Remembering a Simple List

The Link method is probably one of the most basic mnemonic techniques. It is easy to understand and worth mastering before moving on to some of the other memory techniques. At its most simple it works by linking words together using images, but before I explain it fully, take a moment to test yourself. Study the following list of random words—really take the time to try to remember them--then turn the book over and write down the words in order.

Tepee Fountain Fish Marathon Grapes Broom Clock Chocolate Shower Boat

How far did you get? And if asked to write the same list backward or in ten minutes' time, how many words would you remember then? But if you assign each word an image and then link it to the next, you will find you can do much better with a little practice.

The key to mastering this technique is to make each image as vivid and unusual as possible. Each should interact or link with the next; it won't work simply to imagine one standing beside another. For instance, the fountain should actually be erupting from the top of the tepee, which instead of fabric could be carved from stone with strange carvings on the sides.

The important thing is that the image should mean something to you. It could be personal or just something that amuses or even disgusts you. Laughter is always helpful for keeping something in mind, and repellent ideas are likewise hard to forget.

So bearing all this in mind, the pictures for the list could go something like this:

A carved stone Tepee erupts into a Fountain that is flowing with giant Fish with gnashing teeth. When they hit the ground the Fish grow legs and run a Marathon, snapping at the heels of the other runners. The other runners appear to be Grapes, purple, bloated and overripe, oozing puslike juice. A giant cartoon Broom appears from the sky and sweeps the Grapes away. The Broom has a long handle and swings rhythmically to and fro because it is the pendulum of a huge sun Clock. The Clock darkens because it is made of Chocolate melting in the heat, the numbers and hands lengthening and distorting as it begins to drip. The Chocolate drips are now gushing from a Shower, which is attached to a bathtub Boat bobbing up and down; inside a rower bails frantically as chocolate cascades from the Shower filling his bath Boat.

Read this carefully, picturing each cameo as you go, then turn the book over and try writing out the list again. Let each image lead you effortlessly on to the next. It's surprising how much easier it is to remember everything.

This was only a very short list, but try this technique next time you go shopping. By linking each item on your list with an entertaining image, you'll find yourself becoming ever more ingenious, and you can develop the Link method further by weaving a story around your pictures. Be creative and let your imagination run wild, and don't be afraid to add sound effects or vibrant colors if these work well for you.

The Link method is not only useful for remembering lists, it can also be used to remind yourself to do something. For instance, if you promised to call a friend before supper, imagine their face on the stove smiling up at you, mouthing the words "Call me," or picture them as the wooden spoon you use to stir your soup.

Even speeches can be learned by representing each of the points you need to make by clear images, vividly linked together. Once you are practiced in the technique, you will be able to do away with notes altogether and appear far more relaxed and confident. In the same way you can learn poems or your part in a play or apply the method to help with studying for exams, recalling events, theories, or case studies.



Where Memories Are Stored In The Brain

The hippocampus is one of the main parts of the brain involved in the forming, sorting, and storing of memories. Not only does the hippocampus store memories, it also connects them with other related memories, giving meaning and context.

The hippocampus is located in the medial temporal lobe of the brain. Early scientists likened the shape to a ram's horn or sea horse, and the sixteenth-century anatomist Julius Caesar Arazi gave the structure its Greek name meaning "sea horse." Together with the adjacent amygdala, the hippocampus forms the central axis of the limbic system, the emotion system of the brain, in charge of the transfer of information into memory.



LANGUAGE

"Memory feeds imagination." Amy Tan



The first mnemonics I ever learned are all connected with learning to read and write, and I suspect I am not unusual in this. In fact so ingrained in my memory are these simple rhymes, chants, and catchphrases that I don't even remember being taught them. They simply spring to mind automatically, particularly for spellings.



Spelling Bee

One of the many peculiarities of the English language is the set of rules on spelling, which always apply, except when they don't. There are several rhyming phrases taught to schoolchildren from time immemorial to help them recall certain of these rules.

Perhaps the most common is: "I" before "E" except after "C."

Although sadly this rule does not always apply, which has led to: "I" before "E" except after "C" Though "weird" is just "weird."

(And so incidentally are Budweiser, feisty, forfeit, heifer, height, heirloom, kaleidoscope, leisure, seismic, seize, and weir, to list but a few.)

The other main exceptions to the rule are words where "EI" is pronounced as "A," for instance, abseil, reign, and feign, which have prompted this version:

"I" before "E" except after "C" Or when sounded like "A" as in neighbor and weigh.



CatchPhrases/WordPlay

Clever or rhythmic phrases can also help with spelling. To spell cemetery with three "Es," remember: She cried, "E . . . e . . . e!" as she ran past the cemetery.

Friend or freind? You always need friends to the end.

Argument or arguement? Argue lost an "E" in an argument.

To recall the number of "Cs" in necessary and success: Only one "C" is necessary, but you need two "Cs" for success.

There are various chants that work for Mississippi: Say to yourself, "M-I-S, S-I-S, S-I-P, P-I." Try it out loud; there is a natural rhythm that begins to make sense the more you say it.

Or you may prefer "Mrs. M, Mrs. I, Mrs. S S I, Mrs. S S I, Mrs. P P I."

In a similar vein, Roald Dahl spelled out difficulty in Matilda: "Mrs. D, Mrs. I, Mrs. F F I, Mrs. C, Mrs. U, Mrs. L T Y."

To spell separate, use this story: There was once a farmer named Sep, and when his wife saw a rat she yelled, "Sep, a rat! E!!!"

There are two options for together: We went to get her.

Or you may prefer: Remember if you get her you'll be together.

Ascertain When you ascertain a fact, always be As Certain as you possibly can.

Bookkeeper Triple compound: oo kk ee.

Potassium Remember one tea but two sugars.

Slaughter (which always makes me smile) Slaughter is simply Laughter with an "S" at the beginning.

Innocent IN NO CENTury is murder an innocent crime.



Spelling Acronyms

Take the initial letter of each word in a memorable sentence to correctly spell words that people often find tricky.

Mnemonics Mnemonics Now Erase Man's Oldest Nemesis: Insufficient Cerebral Storage.

Necessary Never Eat Chips; Eat Salad Sandwiches And Remain Young.

Rhythm Rhythm Has Your Two Hips Moving.

Because Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants.

Arithmetic A Rat In The House Might Eat The Ice Cream.

Wednesday WE Do Not Eat Soup DAY, or more simply and certainly the way

I always think of the word, just sound out Wed-nes-day.

Geography General Eisenhower's Old Grandfather Rode A Pig Home Yesterday.

Ocean Only Cats' Eyes Are Narrow.



Common Confusions

Homophones are words that sound the same (or similar) but have different spellings and meanings.

Affect the effect The word raven can help you remember when to use affect and when effect is the correct choice.

R emember A ffect V erb E ffect N oun

Desert desserts Remember a desert is sandy with only one "S," while desserts have two "Ss" like sweet stuff, strawberry shortcake, and two scoops of ice cream. If you eat too many desserts, you may feel stressed, which helpfully is simply desserts spelled backward.

Hear, here You hear with your ear.

Stationary stationery To be sure of the difference, remember that a station stAnds still--it's stationAry-and a stationEr sElls stationEry.

Sculpture and sculptor A sculptor works with stone to create a sculPTURE, which is a kind of PicTURE.

The principles of principals Your princiPAL is your PAL (in a perfect world), while the ruLEs he lives by can be called principLEs and both end in LE.

There and They're There is a place just like here. They're is when they want to say they are.



Coordinating Conjunctions

BOAF SYN Is an acronym for: But Or And For So Yet Nor



Onomatopoeia

A strange-looking word that comes from two Greek words meaning "name" and "I make." An onomatopoeia sounds like the thing it is describing, for instance, buzz, squelch, cuckoo (which hasn't changed from its Anglo-Saxon origins), Ping-Pong, swish, and cartoon expletives such as thwack, wham, biff, and pow.

Onomatopoeias are sometimes called literary mnemonics and are popular devices in advertising because they automatically remind you of exactly what they are describing: just think of the slogan "Snap, crackle and pop" for Rice Krispies or "Clunk, click every trip" in the campaign started in the 1970s prompting everyone to fasten their seat belts.

There are onomatopoeias in every language, from tuxtux, which is the Latin equivalent of "bam" or "whack," to dodidoki to describe in Japanese a beating heart. They are also used as mnemonics in music, for example, in kuchi shoga, the Japanese system for pronouncing drum sounds.

To remember how to correctly spell onomatopoeia, sound out the first part--On O Mato--then use the acronym Points Of Exaggeration In Art for the last bit.



Figures of Speech

Most People Sing In Harmony usefully recalls: Metaphor, Personification, Simile, Irony, Hyperbole.



Split Infinitives

This describes a sentence where an adverb is placed between the infinitive marker to and the verb itself. Perhaps the easiest way to remember is simply to recall possibly the most famous example of all time from the opening sequence of Star Trek:

"To boldly go where no man has gone before."

Although traditional grammar views splitting the infinitive as incorrect, particularly in formal written English, the rule is gradually disappearing. Many writers feel that the most natural position for the adverb is often between to and the verb--for example: "George promised to really try this time"--and that avoiding the split simply results in clumsier sentences.



Palindromes

A palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same forward and backward, for example, the name Anna and words such as deified and reviver. Numbers and sequences can also be palindromes.

The discovery of graffiti at Herculaneum depicting a palindromic word square shows that palindromes date back to at least the first century, when Herculaneum was engulfed by a pyroclastic mudflow following the eruption of Vesuvius in ad 79.

S A T O R

A R E P O

T E N E T

O P E R A

R O T A S

The word arepo is unknown to translators, which makes the meaning debatable. It is sometimes translated as "The sower Arepo holds the wheels at work," but it may also have been a secret Christian sign, with tenet (from tenere, meaning "to hold") forming a cross.



Useful Terms to Remember/Language and Grammar

Every name is called a Noun Like field and fountain, street and town.

In place of a noun the Pronoun stands For he, she, and it can clap their hands.

An Adjective describes a thing Like magic wand and feathered wing.

The Verb means action, something done To read, to write, to walk, to run.

How things are done, the Adverbs tell Like quickly, slowly, badly, well.

A Preposition shows relation As in the street, or at the station.

Conjunctions join in different ways Sentences, words, or thought and phrase.

An Interjection suggests surprise As Oh! How splendid! Oh my! You're wise!

Through poetry we learn how each Makes up the different parts of speech.

Prefixes

A prefix is a small group of letters, which often come from Greek or Latin, that are added to the beginning of a word to alter its meaning: for example, disappear, misinform, extraordinary.

Suffixes

Suffixes are also added to words to change their function or meaning but are attached to the end rather than the beginning. For example, ly turns an adjective into an adverb: the adjectives wild and careful become the adverbs wildly and carefully; or the addition of man to work (workman) or wright to play to create playwright.

To remember the difference between the two, just think of the word previous for prefix or simply that "P" comes before "S" in the alphabet.



Elements of Stories

Very Many Pupils Come To School reminds us to include: Viewpoint, Mood, Plot, Characters, Theme, Setting.



Literary Genres

Just remember "3Ps": Plays, Poetry, Prose.

Practice the Link and Story Method (page 3), or one of the other memory systems described later, to learn this simple list of words.



The Ten Most Commonly Used Words in the English Language

There are various definitive lists, all different. The following list was compiled by Oxford Online in association with the Oxford English Dictionary, which seems a reliable source to consult.

1 the 2 be 3 to 4 of 5 and 6 a 7 in 8 that 9 have 10 I



LITERATURE

"If any one faculty of our nature may be called more wonderful than the rest, I do think it is memory. There seems something more speakingly incomprehensible in the powers, the failures, the inequalities of memory, than in any other of our intelligences. The memory is sometimes so retentive, so serviceable, so obedient; at others, so bewildered and so weak; and at others again, so tyrannic, so beyond control! We are, to be sure, a miracle every way; but our powers of recollecting and of forgetting do seem peculiarly past finding out."

Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

Jane Austen (December 16, 1775-July 18, 1817)

Jane Austen is one of the most famous and beloved of English novelists. Her books provide a wonderful insight into the lives of the middle and upper classes, particularly women, in the early nineteenth century. Renowned for their wit and social observation, her novels were originally published anonymously, simply stating they were by "A Lady." Since 1833, when they were first published in a collected edition, they have never been out of print. Though she was little known during her short lifetime, in 1869 Jane's nephew, James Edward Austen-Leigh, published A Memoir of Jane Austen, which introduced her to a wider audience and rekindled interest. From that time her worldwide fan base of Janeites has grown steadily, reflected in numerous films and TV adaptations of her life and works.

How to Remember Her Published Novels

Sense and Sensibility, 1811 Pride and Prejudice, 1813 Mansfield Park, 1814 Emma, 1816

Northanger Abbey Persuasion published posthumously in 1818

a Sense of Pride Makes Emma Notably Perky.

Or you may prefer:

Senseless Pride Makes Everyone Notoriously Prickly.

About the Author

Karen Dolby
Karen Dolby is a writer who specializes in lifestyle books, including You Must Remember This. She was a coauthor of the bestselling titles 10 Years Younger and 10 Years Younger Nutrition Bible along with a dozen other books. More by Karen Dolby
Decorative Carat

By clicking submit, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and understand that Penguin Random House collects certain categories of personal information for the purposes listed in that policy, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information and retains personal information in accordance with the policy. You can opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information anytime.

Random House Publishing Group