Picture this… a washing machine filled with a ton of bright green apples going round and round. Got it? Cool.

A chef comes over to the washing machine and opens the door. As he does his chef uniform suddenly changes to that of a maid. Weird, but that’s the way it is.

With the door open, all the water comes rushing out and he gets swept away in the river but, luckily, a man rowing by rescues him from drowning. The boat carries on and they notice that if the squint off into the distance they can see a dam. As they squint at it they can see a jack hammer drilling into the top of it.

Suddenly, a van on fire plunges into the river. This burning van is driven by a hairy sun wearing a very lurid tie.

OK. Sounds like utter nonsense? It kind of is. But, at the same time, if you read that back and picture the images in your head, you’ve just learned the first 10 presidents of the USA, in order.

I love watching quiz shows and, like most people I guess, have subjects where I’m really strong and others where I’d struggle to win the prize. I decided to explore how I could remember facts more easily and if there was a way to memorise lists of things that I genuinely knew nothing about. I finally came across a Youtube channel that suggested you could learn all 46 presidents in under 10 minutes and, more importantly, be able to retain that information forever. I was skeptical, but gave it a go and was amazed at the results.

This method simply involved inventing a ridiculous story filled with vivid images that you link to the names that you’re trying to remember. Don’t write them down, simply picture them in your head. Easy? Here’s what the opening lines represented.

Picture this… a washing machine filled with a ton [Washington] of bright green apples [Adams apple] going round and round. Got it? Cool.

A chef [Jefferson] comes over to the washing machine and opens the door. As he does his chef uniform suddenly changes to that of a maid [Madison]. Weird, but that’s the way it is.

With the door open, all the water comes rushing out and he gets swept away in the river but, luckily, a man rowing [Monroe] by rescues him from drowning. The boat carries on and they notice that if the squint off into the distance they can see a dam [Quincy Adams]. As they squint at it they can see a jack [Jackson] hammer drilling into the top of it.

Suddenly, a van on fire plunges into the river. This burning van [Van Buuren] is driven by a hairy sun [Harrison] wearing a very lurid tie [Tyler].

Sounds daft, but the key is that the more crazy the images are the easier it is to recall. When you’re on ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ and the final question is, ‘Who was the 9th President of the USA?’, you can thank me.

If you want to check out the full story, watch the video below. Have fun!