Mnemonics is a memory tool to help us remember or memorize lists (like that list you were supposed to remember for your next test!) Mnemonic devices and methods are perhaps the easiest ways to remember lists of items. The simplest mnemonic method to remember ordered lists which is commonly used is plug methodalso known as the numerical method.

To use the peg method, the first thing you need to do is pre-memorize a list of words that make up “pegs.” Each word or peg represents a number (1-10). There are several different words you can use as pegs, but the most common are: bun, shoe, tree, leg, hive, bricks, sky, door, line, and hen. You can of course use your own words, but make sure they are easy to remember. When creating the pegs, there are a few different methods you can use. Some people create their peg lists in alphabetical order, but this limits the number of pegs you can create to 26. Most people prefer what is called the “Main System” for creating the pegs. For example, one rhymes with bun, two rhymes with shoe, three rhymes with tree, etc.

Whatever you choose to do, you should link these images to the ones that represent the things you want to remember. The sillier the image or composite image, the more effective it will be at remembering it.

Now we are going to use this peg method to remember a list of European capitals by area. For this example, we are going to use the most used keywords.

1. Paris, France – two buns make a pair
2. London, England – A shoe truck crashes on London Bridge
3. Sofia, Bulgaria – a sofa shaped tree
4. Rome, Italy: think paw prints all over a room
5. Stockholm, Sweden: a stock-filled beehive in your home
6. Berlin, Germany – Bricks falling on Burl Ives in the snow.
7. Kyiv, Ukraine: Think about what the key to heaven would look like
8. Madrid, Spain: a door just for Mad Id’s
9. Budapest, Hungary: a line of Buddha trampling plagues
10. Warsaw, Poland: Think of the chickens cackling about the war they saw

Try to visualize these images. You may want to add colors, sounds, smells, or textures to the images to make them more vivid in your mind. After you memorize the pictures, try to write them on a piece of paper. You should be able to do this by thinking about the number, then the part of the image associated with the number, and then the whole image. Finally you can decode the image to give you the name of the capital city.

If the mnemonic has worked, not only should you remember the names of all the capital letters in the correct order, but you should also be able to spot where you’ve left them out of sequence. Give it a try, it’s easier than it looks.