If you have had trouble in mastering the system winch I have outlined up to this point, you can skip this chapter. But if you find it easy to form associations and have practised it to some degree, you will find it worth while to learn this method of remembering larger numbers.

Let us begin, for the moment, with 4-digit numbers. The first question is: Will our basic series of key words meet the situation? Let us test it. Assume the telephone number of my friend Smith is 4295. In our basic series of key words 42 is rain and 95 is ball. To remember the number I should picture my friend Smith playing ball in the rain.

After enough practice in forming associations, this picture will, unquestionably, recur to me when I try to recall Smith's phone number. But here we encounter a difficulty. Assume the telephone number is 9542 instead of 4295. We would form the same mental picture, for we could not form any other than that of Smith playing in the rain if we utilized the basic key words. The picture, then, can mean 4295 or 9542.

We must therefore find a corrective. For every word in the basic series of key words we write another, whatever immediately occurs to us. This word need not agree with the numerical code, since its place in the series is determined by its close association with the respective basic key word.

If we begin with the first word in our basic series of key words and think of tea, most readers will think of cup, for the concept "a cup of tea" is a familiar one. But with many of the key words, the words that come to mind will vary with the individual, and will be different from those that occurred to me. That brings up an important rule: While it is desirable not to vary the words in the basic series of key words, it is not at all necessary to keep this secondary series unchanged. Therefore, you may add to the basic key words whatever words occur to you in connection with it rather than merely accept the ones I have chosen. But be careful to use nouns, and whenever possible concrete nouns, because it is easiest to form a connection with them. But when you have made your choice you must stick to it thereafter.

While, in this case, it is unnecessary to list a secondary series, I will give you one because in a later chapter I am giving you a parlor game based on this secondary series. For this purpose I have not always chosen the simplest and most obvious words, but only those which may be used in a room where tables are laid out for a party. I have also added my associations for the reader if he is interested. The secondary series of words reads:

1. tea—cup                              (a cup of tea)
2. Noah—boat                         (the Ark of Noah was the first boat)
3. May—pole                           (Maypole)
4. ray—bulb                             (an electric bulb emits rays)
5. law—ruler                            (a good ruler enforces the law)
6. Shaw—book                        (Shaw wrote many books)
7. key—pencil                          (She carried her key and a pencil in her bag)
8. fee—bill                               (The fee is added to the bill)
9. bay—water                          (There is water in the bay)
10. tease—trick                        (To tease a person you play a trick on him)
11. tot—doll                             (The tiny tot has a doll)
12. tan—leather                        (Some leather is tan in color)
13. team—game                       (The team played a game)
14. tar—feather                        (Tarred and feathered)
15. tale—letter                         (The letter told a tale)
16. touch—material                  (By touch you can tell the kind of material)
17. tack —pin                          (Tacks and pins are somewhat similar)
18. taffy—candy                       (Taffy is a kind of candy)
19. tap—beer                           (You can draw beer from a tap)
20. niece—picture                    (A picture of my niece)
21. net—veil                             (A net veil)
22. noon—watch                      (My watch tells me it is noon)
23. name—visiting card            (My name is on my visiting card)
24. Nero—cigarette Lighter      (Nero burned Rome. Fire reminds me of
                                                cigaret lighter)
25. nail—file                             (A nail-file)
26. niche—vase                        (The vase is in a niche)
27. neck—tie                           (necktie)
28. nave—ring                          (In the nave the bridal couple exchanged
                                                rings)
29. nap—napkin                       (Nap and napkin are similar in sound)
30. mass—candle                     (Candles are burned at Mass)
31. mat—rug                            (They are alike)
32. man—cigar                         (The man smokes cigars)
 
33. mama—jewelry                  (Mama wears jewelry)
34. mare—whip                       (Mare and whip belong together)
35. mail—stamp                       (Mail and stamp belong together)
36. match—box                       (Matchbox)
37. mike—radio                       (Belong together)
38. muff—glove                        (In winter one wears gloves and a muff)
39. map—calendar                   (A map and a calendar hang on the wall)
40. race—notebook                 (At a horse race one needs a book to note the
                                                winner)
41. rat—comb                          (She combed her hair over a rat)
42. rain—umbrella                    (In the rain you need an umbrella)
43. ram—tobacco                    (Tobacco is rammed in a pipe)
44. rear—bookend                   (Rear and end have a similar meaning)
45. rail—metal                          (Rails are made of metal)
46.rash—food                          (Rash sounds like rasher—a rasher of bacon
                                                is food)
47. rake —tool                         (A rake is a tool)
48. reef —cord                        (Reef—cable—cord)
49. rap —cane                         (A rap with a cane)
50. lace —handker-chief          (The lace on a handkerchief)
51. lot —money                       (A lot of money)
52. lane —stone                       (The lane is paved with stone)
53. lime —fruit                         (The lime is a fruit)
54. lair —flashlight                    (The lair is in a cave; to see in the cave you
                                                need a flashlight)
55. lull—pillow                         (During a lull in activity you rest on a
                                                pillow)
56. lash —ashtray                     (Similar in sound)
57. lake —bathing dress           (To swim in the lake you need a bathing
                                                dress)
58. leaf—flower                       (Leaf and flower belong together)
59. lap —handbag                    (A woman puts her handbag on her lap, for
                                                instance in the movies)
60. chase—silver                      (Silver is sometimes chased)
61. chat—lipstick                     (Chat—lady—mouth—lipstick)
62. chain—string                      (Chain and string are similar)
63. chime—bell                        (The chime of the bell)
64. chair —furniture                  (A chair is a piece of furniture)
65. chill—ice                            (Chill and ice belong together)
66. judge —inkstand                (On the judge's desk is an ink-stand)
67. check—pen                        (You write a check with a pen)
68. chaff—bread                      (chaff—wheat—flour—bread)
69. chap—cigaret                     (The young chap smokes cigarets)
70. case—folder                       (A case and a folder both are used to hold
                                                valuable papers)
71. cat—fur                              (cat fur)
72. can—spoon                        (The fruit is taken from the can with a
                                                spoon)
73. cam—wheel                       (Belong together)
74. car—card                           (Similar in sound)
75. call—telephone                   (Telephone call)
76. cash—coin                         (Coins are cash)
77. cake—beverage                 (With cake you need a beverage)
78. cuff—button                       (Cuff-button)
79. cap—hat                            (Caps and hats are similar)
80. face—compact                   (A compact is used for the face)
81. fate—telegram                    (Telegrams often determine one's fate)
82. fan—thermometer               (A fan is used when the thermometer is
                                                high)
83. fame—medal                      (A man of fame often wears medals)
84. fare —ticket                       (You get a ticket when you pay your fare)
85. fall —nut                            (Nuts ripen in the fall)
86. fish —fork                          (Fish are eaten with a fork)
87. fake —gold                        (Don't let that faker sell you a gold brick)
88. fife —musical instrument     (The fife is a musical instrument)
89. fop —mirror                       (The fop looks in the mirror)
90. base —wood                     (The base was made of wood)
91. bat—sports                        (The bat is used in several sports)
92. ban —playing card             (In some localities there is a ban on playing
                                                cards)
93. beam —pipe                      (When he smokes his pipe he is beaming)
94. bar—glass                          (There are glasses on the bar)
95. ball—rubber                       (Most balls are made of rubber)
96. batch—newspaper             (A batch of newspapers)
97. back—apparel                   (You buy apparel for your back)
98. beef—knife                        (To cut beef you need a knife)
99. babe—toy                          (The baby has a toy)

This secondary series can be remembered easily after one or two readings. The underlying principle for learning figures of four digits is as follows: The basic series of key words always comes first; therefore it is used for the first 2 digits of the number. The secondary series always comes second; therefore it is used for the last 2 digits of the 4-digit number. If the telephone number of my friend Smith is 4295, it is not translated by rain and ball, but by rain and rubber, since for the first 2 digits (42) the basic key word is chosen and for the second 2 digits (95) the word from the secondary series. Since rubbers are worn in the rain, the picture is easy to remember.

If his number were 9542, the words would be ball and umbrella, for the number 42 is now in the second place and consequently the secondary series is used for it. A picture of my friend Smith with a ball in one hand and an umbrella in the other strikes me as so ridiculous that I remember it.

This method prevents you from getting mixed up. By using a secondary series we can recall numbers of 4 digits as readily as we have heretofore recalled numbers of 2 digits with the aid of the basic series of key words.

Now let us turn to the problem of remembering numbers with 3 digits. Of course, we could use the method we used for numbers with 4 digits. But we have another possibility, which simplifies the task. We can proceed as follows. We memorize these adjectives:

1. thick                         6. short
2. new                          7. coarse
3. mild                          8. fine
4. round                       9. pretty
5. long

Each of these adjectives, as you see, begins with a consonant corresponding to the numerical code. Also each adjective can, in the majority of cases, be used with a noun.

Now, if we want to remember a 3-digit number, the use of the adjective is simple. 162 is thick chain; 274 is a new car; 438 is a round muff; 625 is a short nail; 911 is a pretty tot

Should an adjective, in an exceptional case, not fit the noun with which it is to be associated, there is no reason why you should not choose another starting with the same consonant. For instance, instead of using long for 5 you can use light or loud. As long as we are working solely with 3-digit numbers (not with 5 or 6 digits), it does not matter whether we use the basic key words or the secondary key words. The concept new handkerchief gives us the number 250 as readily as does new lace.

Difficulties arise when we deal with a combination of letters and numbers such as occur in telephone numbers in cities which are large enough to have more than one exchange. New York City presents an especially complex problem because it has not only many exchanges but also different unit numbers for some of the exchanges, such as Circle 5, Circle 6, Circle 7; Gramercy 3, Gramercy 5, Gramercy 7.

In order to solve this problem, we proceed on the assumption that it is generally not necessary to remember the complete name of the exchange. It is enough to know the first two letters, since these are the only ones used in establishing a connection. But then we must add to these two exchange letters the number of the exchange. The simplest way to solve the problem is to find a word which begins with the same two letters as the exchange and has the consonant which gives the exchange number as the first consonant following these two letters.

For instance, my own telephone number is SC 4-8299. For SC 4, I can substitute the word scar without running the risk of getting mixed up. The letters sc give me Schuyer, and 1 can be translated only into 4. Whether the r is followed by other letters is immaterial, because I know that only the consonant which follows first after sc counts. Therefore I can use, among other words, any of the following:

scarce                    score                            scrap
scarcely                  scorn                            scrapbook
scare                      scornful                        scrape
scarf                       scorpion                       scratch
scarlet                    scrawl

For the actual number, independent of the name and number of the exchange, I have three alternatives:

1. I can combine the first and secondary series, as we did above.

2. I can find one or two new words which best fit the person whose telephone number I wish to remember.

3. I can build a sentence consisting of four words in which only the first consonant of each word counts.

The second alternative has proved itself simplest in practice. Generally it is rather easy to find suitable words, especially if the Number Dictionary is used. Because the words have been sought especially for this association, they impress themselves on the mind so easily that forgetting them is impossible. I quote the following examples, some of them telephone numbers of commonly known organizations and some of them telephone numbers of my students.

My own number is, as I have said, Schuyler 4-8299. Out of the many words listed above that stand for SC 4,1 choose score; and for 82-99, fine pupils; because these give me the best and simplest association:

SC 4-8299 = "a score (of) fine pupils"

To avoid errors, I always use only the first two consonants of each word for the telephone numbers which are translated into two words.
The telephone number of the New York Zoological Garden is Raymond 9-2090. Association: "Rabbits (are) nice (and) busy." Translation: The first two letters of rabbits give the exchange (RA); the next consonant (b) gives the exchange number (9); the words nice and busy give 2090.

The telephone number of the Bureau of Child Guidance of New York City is Wickersham 2-8118. Association: "Win faith (and) edify." The thought behind the association is, of course, that we have to get the children to have faith in us before we can edify them. Translation: win gives the exchange (WI) and the unit number (2). The translation of faith and edify is 8118.

The telephone number of the East River Savings Bank is Worth 2-1492. Of course, it would be possible to remember this number in connection with the discovery of America in 1492, but regardless of this fact, we can use the words, "Wonderful, trustworthy bank." Wonderful = WO 2; trustworthy = 14; bank = 92.

I remember the telephone numbers of some of my students through the following associations:

Miss Vyvyan Donner, fashion director of Fox Movietone News, who astounded the audience at the graduation of her class by her almost unbelievable accuracy in memorizing three different issues of Life magazine, has the telephone number Columbus 5-4382. We remember this number by the words "color (produces) harmony (and) fun." The idea is that the colors of her moving pictures are very harmonious and bring fun to the audience. Translation: Color = CO 5; harmony = 43; fun = 82.

Having impressed these words upon our minds we can hardly forget them.

Occasionally it is possible to make one single word serve for the four-digit number. The business number of Mr. John Leslie Hindle, the Vice-President of the Dr. Furst

Memory Club, is Chickering 2-1310. Association: "China admits Hindus." Translation: China = CH 2; admits = 1310. Hindus is merely a substitute for the name Hindle, which sounds something like it.

In contrast to translation by a single word it is sometimes easier to choose a coherent sentence of six words, in which the first word gives the exchange, and the first consonant of each of the five following words gives the corresponding number. For instance Greenberg: Publishers, who published this book, has the number PLaza 8-1067. Association: "Please—for distinguished selection choose Greenberg." Translation: PL in please gives the exchange PLaza; the first consonant in each succeeding word (f, d, s, ch, hard g) give 8-1067.

Lawrence Scheewe, the President of the Dale Carnegie Alumni Club, a man who has a fine influence over students and who rightly believes that everybody can and should help everybody else, has the number MU 9-4420. Among possible translations is: "Mutual promotion rapidly reforms new students." Or, since he has been admitted to the New York bar, we might associate: "Municipal bar receives reliable new scholar."

Since you can take your choice among all these possibilities, it will be easy for you to remember every number you need in business or private life. Make this your firm resolve: "I will never look up a number twice!"

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here...