Page 44 - How to Develop A SUPER-POWER MEMORY

Peg System of Memory

A certain organization, whose membership consisted of gag-
writers only, was having its annual dinner at a swank hotel in
New York City. One of the membership rules of the organiza-
tion was that the members would never actually tell a joke or a
gag to each other. They had memorized all the standard gags by
numbers, and instead of telling the joke, they would save time
by simply calling the number of that particular one.
During the dinner, as a situation would present itself, and any
of the comedy writers thought of a gag to fit the situation, he
would call the number, and shouts of laughter would invariably
go up. "Number 148," called one—peals of laughter. "Number
204," shouted another—more laughter. Towards the end of the
dinner, one of the new members shouted "Number 212," and
was greeted by a loud silence. Whereupon his neighbor turned
to him and said, "You'll soon learn, my friend, that it's not the
joke that's important, but the way you tell it."

Although the above is pure fiction, most people would
say it is impossible to remember so many jokes by number.
Let me assure you that it is possible, and I will teach you
how, in a later chapter. First, however, you must learn
how to remember the numbers. Numbers themselves are
about the most difficult things to remember because they
are completely abstract and intangible. It is almost impossi-
ble to picture a number. They are geometric designs and

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