H O W T O R E M E M B E R
N A M E S A N D F A C E S ,
P A R T 1 : Y O U R
F I R S T F I F T E E N
M E N T A L H O O K S .
BY ROBERT H. NUTT
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1. Alarm clock.
Now visualize an alarm clock. This alarm clock is very large. Both hands point to the figure 1. I tell you this not only because I want the picture to be clear, but because you are to associate it with the number one. Alarm clock is our first key word. To strengthen the association, remember, for example, that the alarm clock is the first thing you see in the morning, and it cost you one dollar. It rings once before you reach out and turn it off. ONE is ALARM CLOCK.
2. Trousers.
Go through the same process in visualizing trousers as you did with alarm clock, this time, of course, associating trousers with the figure 2. These two-legged trousers cost you two dollars. Two pair of trousers came with your suit. TWO is TROUSERS.
Take all the time you need to form these mental images. They are the basis of a memory system you will use for the rest of your life and are as vital to it as the alphabet is to your reading. If the picture vanishes or is blurred and indistinct, wait until it appears as vivid as a real picture in an advertisement.
3. Chair.
See the chair in your mind, and at the same time tie it up with the figure 3. Think of the chair as having three parts-the back, the seat, and the legs. It's a three-legged chair. There is a big price tag, reading $3, tied to this chair. Close your eyes now and see the chair with its three parts. THREE is CHAIR.
4. Table.
Visualize a four-legged, four-sided table. It is set for four people. Four dollars is what you paid for this table for four. FOUR is TABLE.
5. Newspaper.
This newspaper is a Five-Star Final. It costs five cents, and you read it for five minutes. It is a 5 o'clock edition which you bought after knocking off work at 5 o'clock. FIVE is NEWSPAPER.
6. Automobile.
This is easy to remember. The automobile is a six-cylinder car, and the license plate has six figures, all sixes-666,666. It seats six persons and six payments are still due on it. SIX is AUTOMOBILE.
7. Policeman.
He is seven feet tall and seven feet around, this big policeman. His badge number is seven. With his arm outstretched for you to stop, he looks like a figure 7. SEVEN is POLICEMAN.
8. Revolving door.
Think of a pair of revolving doors. When they swing around, what kind of figure do they make? That's right-a figure 8, laid on its side. These revolving doors are in front of a restaurant in which you ate. As you pushed the revolving door you heard the clock striking eight. EIGHT is REVOLVING DOOR.
9. Mailbox.
When you see a government mailbox in profile it looks like a figure 9. The number on this mailbox is 999. The next collection is at nine o'clock. NINE is MAILBOX.
10. General-delivery window.
This general-delivery window has ten bars. Every time you go to the general-delivery window ten fingers reach out to collect your ten-dollar bill. The shelf under the general-delivery window is made of tin and needs attention. TEN is GENERAL-DELIVERY WINDOW.
11. Sidewalk.
This is easy to visualize, for the two sidewalks on the sides of a street form two parallel lines, just like the figure 11. ELEVEN is SIDEWALK.
12. Elevator.
See a light in the elevator, flashing the number 12 and a sign reading CAPACITY 12 PERSONS. At twelve o'clock the elevator is always crowded with at least twelve passengers. TWELVE is ELEVATOR.
13. Floor.
Thirteen is considered an unlucky number, so many skyscrapers have no thirteenth floor. When you get off at the thirteenth floor, you step out and promptly fall on the unlucky thirteenth floor. THIRTEEN is FLOOR.
14. Doctor.
What a man this doctor is! At the age of fourteen he has fourteen degrees, fourteen letters after his name. He charges you fourteen dollars a visit. FOURTEEN is DOCTOR.
15. Bed.
See an enormous bed, fifteen by fifteen feet. It's an antique bed, with the date 1500 embroidered in gold on the canopy. Louis XV once owned it. It cost fifteen hundred dollars. FIFTEEN is BED.
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