Magazine Memorizing

Bernard
Zufall's

Method for
Memorizing Magazines, Etc.

Originally published by
BERNARD ZUFALL
of Forest Hills, New York
The Mental Magician

Copyright 2007 by José Antonio González Campos

EFFECT

Members of the audience call out the page numbers of the Magazine, pages of which have been
distributed, and you describe them, or vice versa. Or they name the ad., story, cartoon, etc., while you
name the page, location and other details.

The feat is based on a few simple natural laws of memory such as Attention, Assimilation, Imagination,
Association and Repetition--and the use of an artificial Mnemonic series of code words to aid in location
of pages. The length of the list of code words can be arranged to suit the ambitions of the entertainer.

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 Magazine Memorizing

One hundred or so will usually suffice for one who intends to do the trick occasionally with one
magazine only. The code lists are based on a phonetic system using a figure alphabet which is explained
on the inner pages and the idea of which you can easily understand. Mental Vision or Imagination also
plays an important part, so a brief explanation of that should be given first. It is necessary that you
practice the method regularly to become expert. Polish comes with patient practise. While a serious
conscious effort will have to be made at the start, the subconscious mind will aid greatly with each
succeeding effort and it will become easier and easier as you go along. You may become so interested
later that you will want to attempt two or more magazines in your demonstrations, and you should be
able to memorize the high spots in a complete magazine in an hour or so.

MENTAL VISION, Mental Photography, Visualization or Imagination might be considered as one. To

"work" the mental camera you should first use the principle of Attention.

ATTENTION is necessary to get a deep impression of anything upon the memory. To obtain this,
Interest must be manifested in the matter. When deep impressions have been made on the memory the
matter of recall is easy. So Attention to details is all important. And next is Concentration of Attention,
which is the mental condition where the entire mental energy of the individual is focused on what he is
thinking or doing.

ASSOCIATION ranks next to Attention in Memory training. It is a most important law of Memory
Culture--Association of Ideas. By means of Association we connect new things with those we already
know.

CODE WORDS, our next step, is probably the most difficult step in the method. These code words will
be the "things we know" and used to connect the things we want to remember in sequence--as in this
trick, the magazine pages--so we can recall their location later. A Figure Alphabet is used to construct
the list of code words. The code words are based on a phonetic arrangement from the Figure Alphabet.

THE COMPLETE FIGURE ALPHABET

(Based on Phonetics)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

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 Magazine Memorizing

T N M R L J K F P S
D as in Sh as in Shoe Q as in Queen V as in B as in (Sharp) Z as
Dog soft G as in hard G as in Wave Boy in Zoo
Th as in Age Egg Ph as in (Sharp) C as
Thief " " Ch as in " " Ch as in Photo in Ace
Church Ache Gh as in
" " T as in " " C as in Cow Tough
Nation " " Ck as in
" " Z as in Check
Seizure * ing as in King
" " S as in * arbitrary as
Sure below
" " C as in Sing = 07
Ocean Singe = 026
" " DG as in
Dodge
" " Tch as in
Dutch

Note: The letter X when pronounced KS as in Ox = 70

KSH as in Anxious = 76
Z as in Xenia = 0

Vowels A-E-I-O-U and letters W-H-Y have no numerical value.

The above complete alphabet may at first seem difficult to understand. Just bear in mind we will only
use the basic consonant letters to represent the figures and this simple sentence will help to easily keep
those basic letters in mind at the start.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
The New Mayor will shake off a Boss

The above sentence gives you the exact order of consonants as they occur.

DUAL LIST OF CODE WORDS (1 to 100)

(Based on Figure Alphabet)

34
1 Hat Mayor 67 Joke

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Magazine Memorizing

35
2 Inn Mail 68 Jeff
36
3 Home Match 69 Jap
37
4 War Meek 70 Gas
38
5 Hole Muff 71 Goat
39
6 Age Mob 72 Gun
40
7 Hack Race 73 Game
41
8 Wife Rat 74 Gear
42
9 Pie Run 75 Gale
10 43
Dose Rum 76 Gash
11 44
Date Roar 77 Gag
12 45
Dawn Rail 78 Guff
13 46
Dime Rush 79 Gap
14 47
Door Rock 80 Face
15 48
Doll Reef 81 Fit
16 49
Dish Rap 82 Fun
17 50
Duck Lass 83 Foam
18 51
Deaf Lady 84 Fair
19 52
Dope Lane 85 Fool
20 53
News Loom 86 Fish
21 54
Nut Liar 87 Fake
22 55
Nun Lull 88 Fife

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 Magazine Memorizing

23 56
Name Lash 89 Fop
24 57
Honor Luck 90 Pose
25 58
Nail Life 91 Pot
26 59
Inch Lip 92 Pan
27 60
Neck Jews 93 Poem
28 61
Knife Jet 94 Pear
29 62
Nap Jane 95 Pail
30 63
Miss Jam 96 Push
31 64
Mat Jar 97 Pick
32 65
Man Jail 98 Puff
33 66
Mum Judge 99 Pope
100
Disease

The use of a "Review Card" size about 1-3/4" x 3" which can easily be slipped in your vest pocket, taken
out and reviewed from time to time will help to impress the code words quickly upon your mind and
enable you to recall and repeat them instantly. You observed that the code words were formed by using
the consonant to give a definite figure for instance T for one--"T" has one downstroke, N for two, M for
three. Tabulated it looks like this:

T = one --one downstroke

N = two --two downstrokes
M = three --three downstrokes
R = four --fourth letter in word four
L = five --A ride in the "el" is five cents or Roman for 50 is L.
J = six --J resembles 6 reversed
K = seven --K by stretch of imagination looks like a key. Kay and Key are synonymous.
F = eight --Small letter f has two loops as does the figure 8.
P = nine --P resembles 9 reversed.
Z or S = cipher --Z or S for Zero.

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 Magazine Memorizing

REVIEW CARDS

Place number on Place code word on

this side--as this side--as
No. 13 Dime or
Team (if you use it)

Front Reverse

As you "review" the cards, let us say 13 comes up after you "shuffle" them. You at once know the
consonants T (or D) and M must be used:--T or D for 1 and M for 3. Repeat DM or TM and Dime or
Team will come to mind.

You should soon be able to count as fast by code words as you do by numbers so instead of 1-2-3, etc., it
should be Hat, Inn, Home, etc.

You will notice that in preparing the list of code words nouns were used in all cases, because
associations can more easily be made with words that can readily be mentally visualized. If you want to
make changes in this list or to make up another one, you can do so by referring to the figure alphabet.
For instance, you will observe that I have used words beginning with the consonant "D" rather than "T"
in the series of code words from ten to twenty. If you care to start a second list from 1 to 100 you might
start with the following, using "T" rather than "D" from 10 to 20, and in the series from go to 100 use
"B" rather than "P."

1 15
Hut 8 Hoof Tool
2 16
Hen 9 Hope Touch
3 10 17
Hem Toes Tag
4 11 18
Hero Tot Thief
5 12 19
Hill Town Tube
6 13 20
Hedge Team Noise
7 14
Hook Tower and so on.

PROCEDURE

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 Magazine Memorizing

After mastering the code words you must tie up or associate the pages of the magazine with the code
words so they can later be located.

First of all, "browse" through the magazine--hit the "high" spots. Notice the relation of one page with
another. Observe the layout, the colors, etc., on each page. Study it. Find out whether there is any
imaginary tie up of ads: such as Arrow shirts with Wembly ties, for instance. Get your mental camera
working. Practice and use the laws of Assimilation, Attention, Interest, Observation, and Association
spoken of earlier. Look over the outstanding articles or stories. Who wrote them? Who did the
illustrations, what is the story about? Just as with a book, get a little of it at first; then add a little more to
it on second reading, and so on. Look for unusual details. Make a conscious effort in analyzing to get
everything you can. Scan each page carefully. Concentrate. Try to do this slowly and carefully in a quiet
place where you won't be disturbed. You will find it easier to get more details as you become
experienced in observing things. Then outside influences won't bother you so much.

You can do the same--it will help in many ways. When riding in trains or buses notice the ads and after
looking at them, close your eyes and try to recall them. Constantly practice "Mental Photography."
There are many other ways of doing it besides using magazines.

Now after you have mentally photographed each and every page in the magazine you wish to memorize
and have carefully reviewed them, you are ready to "hitch them up", so to speak, with page numbers. For
this purpose the code words come into play. Page one will be known by code word Hat--or whatever you
intend to use as a code word for one. Page 13--Dime, page 40--Race, page 84--Fair, 95--Pail, etc.

Let us now take a magazine and try a few pages as they actually are laid out. As you take the individual
pages, "boil" all you see thereon down to one word at the start--hitch that one word, the name of the
advertiser, his product or whatever else it is--the most outstanding word on the page--associate it with
the code word representing the number of that page. For example:

SATURDAY EVENING POST

Vol. 212 No. 31 Jan. 27-1940
EXAMPLES

Page Code Word Ad. or Story Mental Tie up or Association

1 Hat Western Clock Co. ad A "Western" Hat is familiar.

(Westclox) (full page)

2 Inn Vaseline Hair Tonic ad. "Vaseline Hair Tonic" should be

and Table of Contents rubbed "in" but not the entire
"Contents"

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 Magazine Memorizing

3 Home Plymouth Cars (full page Driver seems at home in his

ad) "Plymouth" or "Play" at Home.

4 War "Next Week" column and Maybe War "Next Week" in

Central Ins. Co. "Central Europe" insure your-
self.

5 Hole Arrow Shirts (full page "Arrow" made hole in shirt.

ad)

6 Age "Keeping Posted" column "Keep Posted" and enjoy "Life"

and N. E. Mutual Life before Age creeps up on you.
Ins. Co. ad.

7 Hack General Motors Acceptance "General Motors" made many a

Corp. (full page ad.) Hack.

8 Wife Log Cabin Syrup (Gen. Wife says "Log Cabin Syrup is
Foods Corp. (full page good and colorful.
ad in colors)

9 Pie "All Right, Gentlemen, do Seems easy as Pie asking ques-

we get the money?"-- tion like "All Right, Gentlemen,
Article by Florabel Muir. do we get the money?"(or shall
we "floor" you and get "more,"
said the Bad Boy.

While the above are given to you in exact sequence it is not my intention to take every page in the issue
to show you how to make all the tie-ups between code words and pages. The above should give you the
idea.

Remember that these associations or tie-ups need not be perfect, since you will want to forget them by
the following week so you can tackle the next issue. Don't be "fussy" about trying to avoid associations
that at the time seem silly, for sometimes because they are silly, they "stick" better. So take them as they
come to you. Just get enough of a "hold" so you can mentally "see" the page if you close your eyes. The
mental photographs should automatically "erase" themselves from your mind in a week or so-then the
plate will be clear for a new mental photograph. If it isn't, use your second or dual list of code words to
avoid any mental confusion. For Example: were we to use Liberty, Life, or any other magazine, issued
under same date, the use of the secondary list of code words is advisable to avoid confusion. Although it
is not absolutely necessary since the ads or other subject matter are likely to appear on different pages.

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Magazine Memorizing

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