As I begin preparing for memory competitions, I have started memorizing my PAO system (for a more detailed discussion on the PAO system, click here). For those not yet in the know, PAO stands for person-action-object.
My PAO system follows the major system (click here for more details about the major system) as much as possible. There are a few questionable gaps in my system, like 22, which has Nick Nolte nagging at nanobots. Nagging doesn’t really fit into the n-n phonetic scheme of 22, but it’ll have to do.
To memorize the PAO list as quickly as possible, I’ve placed them in a memory palace (more about memory palaces here). I’ve drawn out my memory palace and created ‘memory cards’ for each number, which you can see in the image gallery below. To use the cards, you’ll have to be familiar with the PAO list, which I’ve also included here:
| Number | Person | Action | Object |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | Sylvester Stalone | sassing | sausages |
| 01 | Steven Tyler | strangling | stork |
| 02 | Isaac Newton | sneezing | sandwich |
| 03 | Superman | smoking | sea monster |
| 04 | Salman Rushdie | serenading | sarcophagus |
| 05 | Shia Labeouf | saluting | salamander |
| 06 | Swedish Chef | shooting | shark |
| 07 | Simon Cowell | sucking | squirrel |
| 08 | Sigmund Freud | sifting | saffron |
| 09 | Scotty Pippen | sipping | spiders |
| 10 | Tony Soprano | tazing | toaster |
| 11 | Tony Tiger | tightening | tits |
| 12 | Trevor Noah | tuning | tuna |
| 13 | Toni Morrison | tempting | tomato |
| 14 | Tony Robbins | tracing | tree |
| 15 | Tommy Lee | tilting | television |
| 16 | Tommy Chong | teaching | t-shirt |
| 17 | Tia Carrera | tickling | taco |
| 18 | Tina Fey | transferring | taffy |
| 19 | Tom Petty | tapping | table |
| 20 | Nastradamus | nesting | nest |
| 21 | Nikola Tesla | notarizing | nuts |
| 22 | Nick Nolte | nagging | nanobots |
| 23 | Nelson Mandela | numbing | namplates |
| 24 | Nancy Reagan | nursing | nurse |
| 25 | Neil Armstrong | nailing | Nile |
| 26 | Noam Chomsky | navigating | nachos |
| 27 | Nick Kroll | nicking | necks |
| 28 | Ned Flanders | neighing | Newfies |
| 29 | Natalie Portman | napping | North Pole |
| 30 | Marge Simpson | moistening | music |
| 31 | Mr. T | mottling | meat |
| 32 | Minnie (Mouse) | mangling | moon |
| 33 | Marvin the Martian | miming | muumuu |
| 34 | Mr. Rogers | marking | mermaid |
| 35 | Mario Lemeux | milking | melon |
| 36 | Macho (Man) | mashing | mushroom |
| 37 | Mark Cuban | making | macaroni |
| 38 | Morgan Freeman | moving (*too close to transferring?) | muffin |
| 39 | Miss Piggy | mopping | map |
| 40 | Richard Simmons | racing | raisins |
| 41 | Raymond Holt | rattling | rutabega |
| 42 | Richard Nixon | ransacking | rainbow |
| 43 | Ralph Machio | remembering | ram |
| 44 | Road Runner | reading | railroad |
| 45 | Rob Lowe | rolling | (bread) roll |
| 46 | Richard Branson | recharging | radish |
| 47 | Russell Crowe | rocking | raccoon |
| 48 | Roger Federer | refusing | ruffians |
| 49 | Russell Peters | rapping | raven |
| 50 | Lisa Simpson | listening | lizard |
| 51 | Leon Trotsky | litigating | litter |
| 52 | Link (Zelda) | lunging | Lincoln |
| 53 | Lightning McQueen | lamenting | lama |
| 54 | Leia Organa | lording | lure |
| 55 | Louis L'Amour | laying | lollipop |
| 56 | Lon Chaney | latching | leech |
| 57 | Lara Croft | licking | lockbox |
| 58 | Laurence Fishburne | laughing | leaf |
| 59 | Louis Prima | leaping | leopard |
| 60 | Charlie Sheen | chest compressions | cheese |
| 61 | Chris Tucker | shitting | shingles |
| 62 | Chuck Norris | chunking | chainsaw |
| 63 | Charles Manson | shimmying | chum |
| 64 | Cher | cheering | Christmas tree |
| 65 | Charles Lucky Luciano | shouldering | challis |
| 66 | Chester Cheetah | cha-cha-ing | chakra (floating eye) |
| 67 | Chaka Khan | shaking | cheque |
| 68 | Chris Farley | shuffling | chef |
| 69 | Charlie Chaplin | shaping | chaps |
| 70 | Casper | kissing | chrysanthemums |
| 71 | Catwoman | cutting | cat |
| 72 | Candy, John | canjuring | candy cane |
| 73 | Karl Marx | cumming | camel |
| 74 | Keanu Reeves | carrying | crab |
| 75 | Kenny Loggins | killing | coyote |
| 76 | Carol Channing | crushing | ketchup |
| 77 | Captain Caveman | kicking | Kitkat |
| 78 | Kung Fu Panda | coughing | knife |
| 79 | Kirby | keeping | cape |
| 80 | Frank Sinatra | fisting | fossil |
| 81 | Father Time | fighting | fetus |
| 82 | Fiona (from Shrek) | fainting | fawn |
| 83 | Freddie Mercury | fumigating | foam |
| 84 | Franklin Roosevelt | farting | ferret |
| 85 | The Flash | filming | flamingo |
| 86 | Frederick Chopin | fishing | fish |
| 87 | Fidel Castro | fucking | ficus |
| 88 | Fred Flinstone | offending | fife |
| 89 | Fabio | fabricating | fiberboard |
| 90 | Patrick Star | passing | pussy |
| 91 | Pete Townsend | petting | patella |
| 92 | Pam Anderson | painting | penus |
| 93 | Pac Man | pumping | pumpkin |
| 94 | Professor X | piercing | parrot |
| 95 | (Emperor) Palpatine | peeling | pelican |
| 96 | Prince Charming | pushing | pachyderm |
| 97 | Penelope Cruz | packing | pike |
| 98 | PT Barnum | peeing | pufferfish |
| 99 | Papyrus | peeping | puppeteer |
For the time being, I’m going to memorize each card by placing them in their respective locations in the palace. Once I’m moderately familiar with the PAOs, I’ll start applying them to strings of numbers. Also, I’m going to ignore the card numbers and suits for now. I’ll ad them after I feel comfortable with the PAO.
And that’s it for now. I thought it would be interesting to show you the loci and cards if you wanted to memorize the PAOs with me. Enjoy!
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