Rhymes that stick

Rhyme is a useful tool for helping people remember information, as it connects words, phrases, and ideas together in a memorable way. It can also be used to make information more enjoyable to learn, as it can make the learning process more interactive and fun. People who are more verbal than visual may find that rhyme helps them remember information better. Rhyme can also help people to remember lists and sequences, as it can make them easier to recall. Additionally, rhyme can be used to make information easier to understand and retain, as it can create associations that are easier to remember.

Some useful rhymes you might have already learned:

Many might remember the elementary school rhymes to help remember grammar and spelling rules such as “i before e except after c.”  

Rhymes can be useful for remembering data as well, such as “Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November.”  

When unscrewing a jar or a screw, I still use this partial rhyme because it is quick and readily available: Righty-tighty, Lefty-loosey.  So turning right (or clockwise) to tighten, and turn left (or counter-clockwise) to loosen or open.

Some schools teach a rhyme that helps students remember when Christopher Columbus arrived to America:  “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”  

Beyond these simple uses, there are ample examples of prominent people who used rhyming techniques to help with memory, and they used it more extensively as a memory tool.

1. Aristotle: Ancient Greek philosopher who used rhyme to help his students remember scientific facts.

2. John Milton: English poet who used rhyme to better remember his works.

3. Benjamin Franklin: Founding Father of the United States who used rhyme to remember the different steps of a task.

4. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Composer who used rhyme to remember musical pieces.

5. William Shakespeare: English playwright who often used rhyme to enhance the dramatic effect of his plays.

Rhyme is a powerful tool for memory recall, as it provides a sound structure to which memories can be connected. Rhyme is most effective for verbal thinkers, who are able to store and recall information by forming verbal patterns and linking words. Rhyme can also help visual thinkers, who rely on images and shapes to store and recall information, as it can provide a framework for creating mental pictures that are easier to remember. Studies have found that rhyme is especially useful for memorizing lists of items, as it provides a structure to which items can be linked. Additionally, rhyme can also help with word recognition, as it helps to form a connection between the sound of a word and its meaning.

Additional references:

1. Sheard, M. (2019). Rhyme, rhythm and memory. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/memory-medic/201912/rhyme-rhythm-and-memory

2. Kowalski, R. (2020). The Benefits of Rhyme for Memory. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/benefits-of-rhyme-for-memory-2795423 3. Koziol, L. F., & Koziol, R. G. (2013).

3. Rhyme and Memory. In Memory and the Brain (pp. 201-219). Springer, New York, NY. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4614-7379-3_11

Let’s get practical: Taking it further with Rhyme-based Peg Words

Speaking of rhyming with numbers, one useful purpose for rhymes is in build peg words for the numbers.  You remember the image that rhymes with the number and then when you want to remember something associated with that number like something in a list, you link it to that number by making an association.  For example, here is are example number rhymes for numbers 0 through 9.   

• 0 = hero (imagine Superman)

• 1 = bun (imagine a baguette)

• 2 = screw (imagine a big screw)

• 3 = tree (imagine a tree with three main branches, or better to even visual it with the number three made by the branches like the image below.  Do you see the “3” in the tree?)

• 4 = door (imagine door.  Better if you imagine a very distinguished or familiar door.  Here is a door from somewhere I have been for example)

• 5 = hive (imagine a buzzy bee hive)

• 6 = sticks (imagine a bundle of 6 sticks)

• 7 = heaven (perhaps imagine a heavenly golden gate or an angel)

• 8 = skate (imagine a roller skate, or skating in figure 8)

• 9 = wine (imagine a bottle of wine)

So if you wanted to remember a the top countries by land mass, for example, you could make associations with these Peg Words going from 0 to 9, for example:

• 0: Hero: 🇷🇺: You could imagine Superman flying over Russia’s Saint Petersburg Cathedral holding a Russian doll 🪆
• 1: Bun: 🇨🇦: You could imagine a Red Maple leaf 🍁 sticking out of a bun.
• 2: Screw: 🇺🇸:  You could imagine an American bald eagle 🦅 carrying a large screw.
• 3: Tree: 🇨🇳: You could imagine a Great Wall (of China) around a tree.
• 4: Door: 🇧🇷: you could imagine a Brazilian soccer player kicking a ball at a large door.
• 5: Hive: 🇦🇺: You could imagine an Australian kangaroo 🦘punching a bee hive.
• 6: Sticks: 🇮🇳: You could imagine India’s Taj Mahal covered in sticks.
• 7: Heaven: 🇦🇷: You could imagine dancing the Argentine Tango in heaven.
• 8: Skate: 🇰🇿: You could imagine a nomadic Kazakh warrior on a horse on rollerskates near a yurt.
• 9: Wine: 🇩🇿:  You could imagine drinking Algerian wine in the Algerian desert.

Or alternatively you could have started the list at 1 rather than 0 if preferred, and if you do, then you can use 10 as Pen.

Now you have a new Peg List to use as a tool for remembering lists – Try it out!