In 2009 Ron White set a USA record for the fastest person to memorize a deck of cards. he did it in 1 minute and 27 seconds. This record stood for two years in the United States. Now this may seem freakishly fast. But the good news for anyone attempting to memorize a deck of cards is that the first time he tried—just a year before—it took him over 6 minutes! He was not born with a natural ability; instead, he perfected a system that anyone can learn to memorize a deck of cards with seemingly superhuman speed.
The system consists of two main ingredients:
1. Creating a mental map
2. Creating substitute images for each playing card
What, you think that snowmobiles only go on snow? Joe Barrett of The Wall Street Journal explores the sport of watercross, where participants race snowmobiles on water:
Most people think snowmobiling is strictly a winter sport. Mr. McCurdy, a rider on the International Watercross Association circuit, disagrees. He and his fellow drivers wait all year to race their machines on northern lakes when there isn’t a snowdrift or a patch of ice in sight.
“It’s totally mind-blowing” for some people that snowmobiles can race on water, said Derek McPheeters, another driver and president of the association. “But they work excellent.”
Wellesley High School English teacher David McCullough Jr. gives a refreshingly honest commencement speech.
“Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That’s 37,000 valedictorians… 37,000 class presidents… 92,000 harmonizing altos… 340,000 swaggering jocks… 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs. But why limit ourselves to high school? After all, you’re leaving it. So think about this: even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you.”
1. Caveat Emptor (KAV-ee-OT emp-TOR): “Let the buyer beware”
Before money-back guarantees and 20-year warranties, caveat emptor was indispensable advice for the consumer. These days, it’d be more fitting to have it tattooed on the foreheads of used-car salesmen, infomercial actors, and prostitutes. For extra credit points, remember that caveat often makes solo appearances at cocktail parties as a fancy term for a warning or caution. Oh, and just so you know, caveat lector means “let the reader beware.” (not that you’ll ever, ever need to know that!)
