Numbers are infinite, but the system we use to designate them is even more user friendly than the alphabet. It consists of 10 digits that all of you know by now: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

The trick to the mnemonic alphabet—a rather popular technique for remembering numbers—is turning those numbers into the equivalent of letters, symbols that represent sounds. The pioneer of this concept is Harry Lorayne, author of many books on memory. His method calls for associating the 10 familiar Arabic numerals with a sound or a related group of sounds.

Here’s how this brilliantly simple scheme works:

You’re probably thinking, “What sense does this all make, and how in heck am I supposed to remember it?”

Well, though this seems like madness, believe me, there’s some extraordinarily wonderful method in it.

The number one is a single downstroke, as is the letter “T.” “D” is a suitable substitute because it is pronounced almost the same way as “T”—by touching the tongue to the front of the roof of the mouth.

“N” represents two because “N” has two downstrokes.

“M” is a stand-in for three because, you guessed it, it has three downstrokes.

Four is represented by “R” because the dominant sound in the word four is the “-RRRRRR” at the end.

The Romans used “L” to represent 50. Also, if you fan out the fingers of your left hand as if to say, “It’s 5 o’clock,” your index finger and thumb form the letter “L.”

Hold a mirror up to a six and you get a “J,” particularly if you write as badly as I do. Therefore, all letters pronounced like “J”—by touching your tongue to the inside of your lower teeth—are acceptable substitutes for six.

Place two sevens back to back, turning one upside down, and what do you have? Right, a “K.” All of those letter sounds formed in the back of the mouth, as is “K,” are therefore potential substitutes for the lucky seven.

Draw a line parallel to the ground through a handwritten eight and you will create a symbol that resembles a script, lower case “F.” Therefore, all sounds formed by placing the top teeth on the lower lip can represent eight.

Once again, I invoke my mirror, mirror on the wall to show that a nine and a capital “P” are virtually identical. “B,” also formed by putting your lips together, is a substitute for nine anytime.

Zero is an easy one. Zero begins with a “Z,” so any sound formed by hissing through the space between flat tongue and roof of mouth is acceptable.

Lorayne reminds us that what’s important is the sounds these letters make. That’s why, when using mnemonics, you assign no numerical value to silent letters nor to doubled consonants (two “tt”s are the same sound as one), unless each of the letters sounds different (e.g., accessory).

Believe me, the mnemonic alphabet, which probably seems very ungainly to you now, is a terrific way to remember numbers. Go over the list on page 80 a few more times, cover it up, and take the little quiz below, matching numbers with appropriate sounds and vice-versa:

Have you noticed that all of the sounds used in the mnemonic alphabet are consonants? That’s because users of the system are free to use vowels however they please around these consonants to form words or memorable sounds. Therefore the number 85 can be FooL. Or the number of that wonderful person you met in the Student Center today and would so like to see again could be a “normal girl,” or 2435475 (NRMLGRL).

How about trying to remember pi to seven places? You could try to memorize 3.141592 or just think, “MeTRic TalL PeNny.”

Is it easier to remember your social security number (say, 143-25-7170) or “DooRMeN LiKe DoGS”?

One of the most useful applications of this method is remembering dates and tying them to events. If you needed to remember that William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, you could endlessly repeat that sentence, or you could remember, “Bill THiS eGG.” Combining these methods with the chain-link technique we discussed in earlier chapters, you could imagine an egg rolling off the white cliffs of Dover, where William first landed. (Alternately, you could make up a ridiculous but simple rhyme like, “In 1066, Billy C ate fish and chips.”)

Now you try it. Make up phrases using the mnemonic alphabet equivalents for your social security number, the first three phone numbers in your little black book, or the times for high and low tide tomorrow. Then try the following quiz, writing in first the letter equivalents for the numbers, then a brief word, phrase, or sentence that would help you remember it. I’ve done the first one for you.

What about even longer numbers? How do you remember 20-, 30-, even 50-digit numbers without trying too hard? Well, you could make your “story sentences” longer. But you could also group the numbers into a series of pictures. For example, let’s say you had to remember the number 168758832427799418509079855088—that’s 30 digits! Try grouping it into smaller number combinations, creating a picture for each.

Can you see how you could easily memorize a 50-digit number with just four or five pictures? Try it yourself. You’ll see how easy it is.

Or so sang Bluesman Willie Dixon, referring to the presidential portraits that grace our folding money. But he could just as easily have been referring to your least favorite history professor—the one who expects you to know who the 23rd President of the United States was. By the way, that was Harrison, and the way we will remember that is “No (‘N’ represents 2), My (‘M’ is for 3) hairy son.”

Now you try it. Here are a dozen pretty obscure U.S. vice presidents (is there another kind?). How are you going to remember them and the order in which they served?

Another mnemonic memory method is the Peg Word System, which assigns a different word to numbers 1 through 10 (and, as Harry Lorayne describes in many of his books, can be extended right up to 100). Harry’s peg words don’t need to be memorized since they’re based on the mnemonic alphabet you already learned:

When you have to remember a list in order or associate a number with some other information (such as vice presidents of the United States), you can use these peg words for the numbers. And as I mentioned previously, Harry has even extended the list to 100, utilizing words such as mummy (33), cage (76), roof (48), and dozes (100).

It’s certainly possible to create your own peg word system utilizing the sounds of the mnemonic alphabet (though why reinvent the wheel Harry already designed?). Alternatively, you can utilize a completely different basic peg word system cited by author Dr. Fiona McPherson in her book The Memory Key (Career Press, 2000). While not associating it to the sounds used in the mnemonicalpha bet, using a rhyme scheme makes it equally memorable: One is Bun, two is Shoe, three is Tree, four is Door, five is Hive, six is Sticks (or Bricks), seven is Heaven, eight is Gate, nine is Line, and ten is Hen.

As I emphasize throughout this book, use whichever method or list of peg words you find easiest, or go ahead and create your own!