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Have you ever had to remember something that’s REALLY HARD to remember?

It happens to me all the time.

That’s when I use a mnemonic device - also known as a memory aid.

Mnemonic comes from the Greek word for “memory” or “remembrance,” and mnemonic devices

were championed by the ancient Greek and Roman scholars.

They recognized that there are some things we remember naturally - I don’t have to

think hard to remember my name or what happened in my favourite movie.

But I do need to work at remembering the order of the US Presidents or the names of all the

bones in the human body.

For that kind of memory, it helps to use a mnemonic device - an additional layer of meaning

you put on top that’s easier to remember.

The favourite mnemonic system of the Greeks and Romans was called the “method of loci”

or the “mind palace” technique.

This involves picturing a house you know with many rooms, or a familiar street with various

buildings on it.

As you travel through the house (or down the street), you associate the things you need

to remember with each place.

As an example, we’ll use the Mind Palace to remember the first 10 Presidents of the

United States.

Let’s first imagine a normal trip through our house, and

number some stops along the way.

As soon as I get home, I want a snack, so my first stop is the refrigerator.

I’ll grab a piece of fruit and go 2) to the sink to wash it.

3) I’ll go to the cupboard to get a plate for my fruit.

Next I’ll go to the living room and 4) sit on the sofa to eat my snack.

Then 5) I’ll practice the piano, and then 6) play some video games.

Then I’ll go upstairs to the bathroom to 7) brush my teeth and 8) take a shower.

Then I’ll go to my room to 9) sit at my desk and read and then 10) go to bed.

It’s really easy for me to remember this sequence of events,

because it makes sense to me.

So now let’s add the first 10 presidents.

We start in the kitchen.

We go first to the refrigerator, where we find George Washington.

Take the time to imagine him vividly - the SILLIER the better -

that makes it easier to remember.

He’s pretty cold in there, but he hands you an apple.

Next we go to the sink, but John Adams is in our way.

Move over, John Adams, I need to wash my apple!

Then we go to the cupboard, and Thomas Jefferson is there, handing us a plate.

We move into the living room, where James Madison is sitting on the sofa

with his feet up on the table.

We look across the room and James Monroe is trying to play the piano,

and he’s very bad at it.

Meanwhile, John Quincy Adams is playing a video game.

We go upstairs to the bathroom, and there’s Andrew Jackson brushing his teeth.

And Martin van Buren is singing in the shower!

We go down the hall to my room, and find William Harrison is sitting at my desk

where I usually study.

John Tyler is taking a nap in my bed!

OK - Let’s see if that helped.

1 - refrigerator - George Washington.

2 - sink - John Adams.

3 - cupboard - Thomas Jefferson.

4 - sofa - James Madison, with his feet on the table.

5 - piano - James Monroe.

6 - video game - John Quincy Adams.

7 -bathroom sink - Andrew Jackson brushing his teeth

8 - Martin van Buren is in the shower.

9 bedroom - William Harrison is reading at my desk and

10 - John Tyler is sleeping in my bed.

People have come up with many other mnemonic devices since the Mind Palace.

One of the most popular is to make an acronym out of the first letters of the list of words.

Like ROY G BIV - stands for the colours of the rainbow - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green,

Blue, Indigo, Violet.

Or you can try making a sentence out of the letters.

For instance, to remember the planets in our solar system in order of increasing distance

from the sun, it’s easy to remember “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos.”

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

Of course, when I was a kid, we used to say “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us

Nine Pumpkins.”

{beat} Poor Pluto.

Sometimes we can use something physical as a mnemonic device.

Do you know, off the top of your head, which months have 31 days?

I don’t.

But I have a physical mnemonic device right here {holds out two fists}.

Each knuckle stands for a month with 31 days.

The valleys in between each knuckle have 30, except for February, which has 28.

January..February..March..April..May..June..July..August..September..October..November..December.

You can always have more than one mnemonic for the same information.

There’s a little poem I learned about the months:

30 Days Hath September April June and November

All the others have 31 Except for February, all alone

When it’s Leap Year That’s the time

February’s days are twenty-nine.

You see, poems and songs can be mnemonics, too.

I bet I know the very first mnemonic you learned.

….The ABC song!

Admit it, you still sing it to yourself a little when you’re alphabetizing.

I do!

It’s the best mnemonic ever.

We’d love to hear about which memory aids you’ve used.

Please share your mnemonics in the comments, so we can all learn them.

Keep in mind, a memory trick that works for one person might not work as well

for someone else, so if you’re having trouble remembering something,

don’t give up!

Try a different technique.

Training your memory is an important part of being a GREAT student.

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Thank you for watching! :)