I Before E (Except After C) by Judy Parkinson
Handy Book of Mnemonic Devices, Rhymes, Sayings to Boost Memory
Dec 9, 2008
Almost everyone has his favorite memory tips, whether it’s “In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue” or “Fall back, Spring ahead.” In her handy little book I Before E (Except After C): Old-School Ways to Remember Stuff (Reader’s Digest, 2008) Judy Parkinson gathers up all the old favorites and teaches us new mnemonic devices, for a comprehensive collection of memory tools.
From the simple – “righty tighty, lefty loosey” when tightening or loosening a screw – to a two-page song listing the periodic table of elements, sung to The Pirates of Penzance, Parkinson gathers together mnemonic devices from ancient history to present day.
For school children, college students, the “senior moment” stricken, and anyone who wants to keep information on the tip of their tongue, I Before E (Except After C) provides handy ways to remember facts in science, math, history and everyday things.
The Long History of Mnemonics
Mnemonics was invented by the Greek poet Simonides of Ceos in 500 BC, when he used visuals and memory tricks to remember the seating plan in a room to help identify the victims of a roof collapse, according to Parkinson.
Several hundred years later, Aristotle studied memory and perfected the art of compartmentalizing and visualizing bits of information.
Throughout history, people have come up with songs, rhymes, sayings and acronyms, their own ways of remembering lists, dates and other bits of information, tailored to best suit styles of memory.
Nearly every English speaking child learns his alphabet with the alphabet song, sung to the tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Beginning piano students learn the treble and bass clef notes with “Every Good Boy Does Fine,” “All Cows Eat Grass,” “Good Birds Do Fly Always,” “FACE,” and variations.
Parkinson says for a mnemonic device to be useful, it has to be personal. “Make them personal, funny and rude, which often helps,” she said in the article Why Mnemonics are So Effective. “When we laugh, we relax and that increases our ability to remember.”
Mnemonic Tricks We Can Still Use
Even with the vast amount of information at our fingertips, when anything can be Googled in a few keystrokes, mnemonics is still useful, Parkinson says. “Modern technology is no use to a politician when he has just been introduced to the president of Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad. The trick with new people is to say the name a couple of times during conversation. If the name is unpronounceable, does it sound like anything? In this case, ‘I’m a dinner jacket.’”
Readers of I Before E (Except After C) will delight in finding their favorite childhood memory helps, but what makes it a great read are the new tips even today’s adult can use.
- Can’t remember how to spell necessary? “It is necessary for a shirt to have one Collar (one C) and two SleeveS (two S’s)”
- The seven continents of the world – Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Antartica, North America and South America – can be remembered by their first letters in anacronyms “Eat An Apple As A Nice Snack.”
- The five Great Lakes – Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario – are as easy to remember as “Sally Made Henry Eat Onions.”
- How to remember the 10 Commandments? The words in this sentence remind us of all 10: “One idle damn Sunday Dad killed a cheating thief and lied to cover it.”
I Before E (Except After C) is available at Amazon.com and in book stores.
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