Pretty sure I’ve told this story in the Daily Hustle before but it’s definitely worth revisiting for a multitude of reasons…
In 2000, my minor league teammate Jason Hart and I were driving from spring training in Phoenix to Midland, Texas… Somehow we got a hold of a placemat with all of the Presidents Of The United States on it, and Hart asked me how long it would take me to memorize all the Presidents in order…
As a confident young go hard, I didn’t hesitate with my response…
“1 hour.”
Not believing it was possible, Hart immediately bet me a Taco Bell lunch (no small price considering we each slaughtered 5 items a piece) at our next stop, which just so happened to be an hour away…
From there I went to work. I had recently read about how the best way to memorize something is by associating whatever it is with something else… So I decided to play with the numbers (43 Presidents at the time) and names to come up with each answer.
This is basically how the name/number associations went…
- Washington (We all know that)
- Adams (Coach Dick Adams SF Football)
- Jefferson (Street in Redwood City)
- Madison (James Madison University)
- Monroe (Marilyn)
- John Quincy Adams (Grandson of John Adams)
- Andrew Jackson (Andrew Johnson is #17)
- Martin Van Buren (Street in SF)
- Harrison (Grandfather of #23 William Harrison)
- Tyler (Linked him with #12 Taylor)
- Polk (Street in SF)
- Taylor (See #10)
- Millard Fillmore (Millard the Willard)
- Pierce (His dark hair & piercing stare was easily etched in my memory)
- Buchanan (Our only bachelor President)
- Abe (No memory tool needed)
- Johnson (See #7)
- Ulysses S Grant (War Hero)
- Hayes (Though about one of my best friends growing up Ryan Hayes)
- Garfield (The Cat)
- Chester A. Arthur (Loved the name Chester)
- Cleveland (Only President to serve 2 non-consecutive terms)
- Harrison (See #9)
- Cleveland (See #22)
- McKinley (assassinated)
- Roosevelt (Speak softly & carry a big stick)
- Taft (Got stuck in White House bathtub because he was 300 pounds)
- Wilson (The volleyball)
- Harding (The park)
- Coolidge (Cool Cal)
- Hoover (Vacuum up)
- FDR (Roosevelt Fam)
- Truman (When Harry Met Sally)
- Eisenhower (Dwight Clark)
- JFK (Like Washington & Lincoln, no association necessary)
- Johnson (Johnson & Johnson)
- Nixon (Watergate & Deep Throat)
- Ford (Michigan Football)
- Carter (Saw him at Alpine Hills)
- Reagan (Trickle down economics)
- Bush (Gulf War)
- Clinton (Monica)
- George W. Bush (One of the nicest & most genuine dudes I’ve ever met)
Right after I rattled off #43 I immediately told Hartsy:
“Nacho Bell Grande, a chilito, 2 tacos and a F*ING bean burrito please.” 🌯
Since that day I have been able to use the name association trick to remember all sorts of names of people I otherwise would have had no chance…
“What’s the big deal if I learn somebody’s name???”
Well hello Mr. SuperSoft…
The big deal is that it actually shows somebody that you care enough to be able to be a good listener and that you actually hold a genuine interest in learning more about that other person. Not to mention the fact that if you are able to somehow learn the Presidents and store them in that 2 cent head of yours Stevie, it actually makes for a pretty fun party trick and maybe that’s the thing that puts you over the top and you finally get lucky one night. 🤷♂️
-EB
P.S. Have you hopped on a Team GoHard Foot Reflexology Board yet?
