Memory and Mental Calculation World Records
Comments? Corrections? New Records? Please contact us at info@recordholders.org
Memorising Pi
| digits |
record holder |
year |
Pi
and Pi
Memory Links:
www.pi-world-ranking-list.com
The world ranking list for memorising Pi
www.acc.umu.se/~olletg/pi
Olles' Pi Page with the 1000 club and the
100 club,
open only for Pi-enthusiasts who can recall 100 / 1000 digits from
memory
Pi Memorama
a place for pi-memorizing enthusiasts
Memorize the
number pi to 1000 places
4,200,000,000
decimal digits of Pi
Pi Links
great link page
Books about Pi:
A book about Pi record breaker Rajan Mahadevan:
Memory
Search By A Memorist
...and if you have read enough about Pi
consider this book:
e:
The Story of a Number
|
| 511 |
David Richard Spencer (Canada) |
? |
| 930 |
Nigel Hodges (Great Britain) |
1973 |
1,111
|
Fred Graham (Canada)
|
1973
|
| 1,210 |
Timothy Pearson (Great Britain) |
1973 |
| 1,505 |
Edward C. Berberich (USA) |
1974 |
| 3,025 |
Michael John Poultney (Great Britain) |
1974 |
| 4,096 |
Simon Plouffe
(Canada) |
1975 |
| 5,050 |
Michael John Poultney (Great Britain) |
1977 |
| 6,350 |
David Sanker (USA) |
1978 |
| 10,000 |
David Sanker (USA) |
1978 |
| 10,625 |
David Fiore (USA) |
1979 |
| 11,944 |
Hans Eberstark (Austria) |
1979 |
| 15,151 |
Hideaki Tomoyori (Japan) |
1979 |
| 15,186 |
Creighton
Carvello (Great Britain) |
1979 |
| 20,000 |
Hideaki Tomoyori (Japan) |
1979 |
| 20,013 |
Creighton
Carvello (Great Britain) |
1980 |
| 31,811 |
Rajan
Mahadevan (India) |
1985 |
| 40,000 |
Hideaki Tomoyori (Japan) |
1987 |
| 42,195 |
Hiroyuki Goto (Japan) |
1995 |
67,890
|
Chao Lu (China)
|
2005
|
new record claims (not yet
confirmed) by Akira Haraguchi
(Japan): 83431 on 1 July 2005 and 100,000 on 4 October 2006
In 1998, Yip
Swe Chooi (Malaysia) recited 60,000 digits of Pi with only 44
errors. Sim Pohann (Malaysia) recited 67,053 digits with only 15 errors
on 14 April 1999.
Two more special records for memorising Pi can be found here.
Memorising Random Numbers
Most Digits Memorised in 2 / in 4 Seconds
See extra page
with details about this record
Most Binary Digits Memorised in 3 Seconds
See extra page
with details about this record
Most Binary Digits Memorised in One Minute
Note: The records with the "light bulb" icon were
achieved using light bulbs (on or off) which makes the record more
difficult.
On several occasions, the record for 5 minutes (see below) was
superior to the record for one minute, so in fact the record holder for
5 minutes should be regarded as the record holder for one minute as
well. Itay Avigdor's record has been set in front of witnesses, but not
at a location open to the general public.
Most Binary Digits Memorised in 5 Minutes
Spoken Numbers (Spoken at a Rate
Of One Digit Every Second)
Spoken Numbers (Spoken at a Rate
Of One Digit Every 2 Seconds)
Three attempts: The first one with 100 numbers, the second one with
200 numbers and the third one with 400 numbers
Memorisation of Written Numbers (1
Minute)
no errors allowed
Memorisation of Written Numbers (100
Digits)
no errors allowed
Memorisation of Written Numbers (5
Minutes)
Contestants recall the number by writing it down. No mistake in each
line of 40 digits scores 40 points. However, one mistake reduces the
score for that row to 20, the second mistake reduces the score for that
row to zero.
Memorisation of Written Numbers (15
Minutes)
Contestants recall the number by writing it down. No mistake in each
line of 40 digits scores 40 points. However, one mistake reduces the
score for that row to 20, the second mistake reduces the score for that
row to zero.
Jan Formann
(Denmark) memorised 760 digits, at the Memory World Cup 2004. The
rules at this event were slightly different from other memory contests.
Memorisation of Written Numbers (30
Minutes)
Random numbers are presented in rows of 40 digits. Scoring is
tabulated by row: one point for each digit. However, one mistake
reduces
the score for that row to 20, the second mistake reduces the score for
that row to zero.
Memorisation of Written Numbers (1 Hour)
Random numbers are presented in 25 rows of 40 digits. Scoring is
tabulated by row: one point for each digit. However, one mistake
reduces
the score for that row to 20, the second mistake reduces the score for
that row to zero.
Memorisation of Binary Numbers (30
Minutes)
Random binary numbers are presented in rows of 30 digits. Scoring is
tabulated by row: one point for each digit. However, one mistake
reduces
the score for that row to 20, the second mistake reduces the score for
that row to zero.
Memorising Words / Text
The most impressive feat for learning words - memorising 23200 words
within 72 hours - was reported by Ramón Campayo
(Spain). Unfortunately, there is no written documentation about his
records, so that they cannot be regarded as "official" records for this
list.
Memorisation of previously unpublished text
(15 Minutes)
(This category is no more held at memory contests.)
| 345 points |
Astrid Plessl (Austria)
|
2003 |
Memorisation of Random Words (15 Minutes)
Random words are presented in columns of 25 words. Scoring is
tabulated by column: one point for each word. However, one mistake
reduces the score for that column by half, the second mistake reduces
the score for that column to zero.
Memorising Playing Cards
Most cards memorised (inter-shuffled
packs)
The record is for the greatest number of packs of 52 cards all
shuffled together, memorised and recalled. The contestant is allowed to
view the cards once only.
Rules:
Two independent witnesses/invigilators, persons of some standing in
the community, must be present during the entire attempt. If a wrong
card is called and this is corrected immediately and spontaneously
without prompting then this would not count as an error. The maximum
number of errors acceptable is half of one percent of the total number
of cards involved, rounded up to the nearest whole number.
The time taken to memorise the cards and to recall them should be
recorded but are not essential requirements of the record.
| Packs |
Cards |
Record Holder |
Year |
Errors |
| 30 |
1560 |
George Uhrin (USA) |
1989 |
2 |
| 35 |
1820 |
Dominic O'Brien (Great Britain) |
1990 |
2 |
| 36 |
1872 |
Frost McKee (USA) |
1992 |
8 |
| 40 |
2080 |
Dominic O'Brien (Great Britain) |
1993 |
1 |
| 52 |
2704 |
David Farrow (Canada) |
1996 |
6 |
| 54 |
2808 |
Dominic O'Brien (Great Britain) |
2002 |
8 |
59
|
3068
|
David Farrow (Canada) |
2007
|
1
|
|
The story behind this
record - written by Dominic O'Brien - can be read HERE. |
10 Minutes Memorisation of Several
Packs of Cards
Contestants are given 10 minutes to memorise as many of 12 packs of
cards (52 cards each) as they can. No mistakes in a pack of cards
scores
52 points, one mistake scores 26 points and more than one mistake
scores
zero points.
30 Minutes Memorisation of Several Packs
of Cards
1 Hour Memorisation of Several Packs of Cards
Contestants are given one hour to memorise as many of 12 packs of
cards (52 cards each) as they can. No mistakes in a pack of cards
scores
52 points, one mistake scores 26 points and more than one mistake
scores
zero points.
Speed Record : A Single Pack
The record is for the fastest time to memorise a single pack of 52
shuffled playing cards with no errors.
Speed Record two decks
The basic rules are the same one as for one deck. Each pack should
be shuffled seperatly, the decks should NOT be mixed. In every step,
two
cards together should be turned - one from the first deck, the second
one from the other deck. Everytime the contestants can see two cards.
The records
| 3:37 min |
Dominic O'Brien (Great Britain) |
2001 |
Memorising Names and Faces (15 Minutes)
Faces are presented to the contestants in a certain order with
corresponding names underneath. They are then presented in a new order
without names. Contestants mark names on new sheets. One point is
awarded for each correct forename, one point for each surname.
Memorising Historic Dates (5 minutes)
Memorising Abstract Images (15 minutes)
Playing Games From Memory While Blindfolded
Chess
Claims in this category have been put into doubt by rumours that the
master had the games written down, or that large number of opponents
agreed to resign after a few nominal moves, for example.
A wealth of information about blindfold chess can be found in the
book "Blindfold
Chess" by Eliot Hearst und John Knott.
| games |
player |
year |
result |
1
1 |
Sa'id Bin Jubair
Josef Tchelebi (Greece) |
~690
970 |
|
| 2 |
Muslim Buzzecca |
1265 |
|
3
3
3
3
3
3 |
Al-Jami
Giovanni Girolamo Saccheri (Genoa)
Francois André Danican Philidor (France)
Lionel Kiesertzky (France)
William Lewis (Great Britain)
Louis Charles de la Bourdonnais (France) |
1331
1667
1750
1846
|
|
| 4 |
Louis Paulsen (Germany) |
1857 |
|
| 5 |
Louis Paulsen (Germany) |
1857 |
|
| 8 |
Paul Morphy (USA) |
1858 |
+6=2-0
|
| 10 |
Louis Paulsen (Germany) |
1858 |
|
15
15 |
Louis Paulsen (Germany)
Joseph Blackburne (Great Britain) |
1859
1876 |
|
| 16 |
Johannes Hermann Zukertort (Poland) |
1876 |
|
| 20 |
Harry Nelson Pillsbury (USA) |
1897 |
|
| 21 |
Harry Nelson Pillsbury (USA) |
1902 |
+3=11-7
(very strong opponents) |
| 22 |
Harry Nelson Pillsbury (USA) |
1902 |
+17=4-1 |
| 24 |
Richard Réti (Czechoslovakia) |
1919 |
|
| 25 |
Gyula Breyer (Hungary) |
1921 |
+15=7-3 |
| 26 |
Alexander Alekhine (France) |
1924 |
+16=5-5 |
| 28 |
Alexander Alekhine (France) |
1925 |
+22=3-3 |
| 29 |
Richard Réti (Czechoslovakia) |
1925 |
+20=7-2 |
| 30 |
George Koltanowski (Belgium) |
1931 |
+20=10-0 |
| 32 |
Alexander Alekhine (France) |
1933 |
+19-9=4 |
| 34 |
George Koltanowski (Belgium) |
1937 |
+24=10-0 |
| 40 |
Miguel Najdorf (Argentina) |
1943 |
|
| 45 |
Miguel Najdorf (Argentina) |
1947 |
+39=4-2 |
| 52 |
Janos Flesch (Hungary) |
1952 |
+31=18-3 |
Draughts
In 1947, Newell W. Banks (USA) played blindfold for 4 hr per day for
45 consecutive days, winning 1331 games, drawing 54 and losting only
two, while playing six games at a time.
Rubik's Cube
see extra page with
details about this record
Mental Calculation: Addition
Addition of 100 single-digit numbers
Rules:
- This record is for the fastest time for an individual to add
together 100 single-digit numbers.
- The record is a test of straightforward mental calculation. The
calculator should perform the calculation in his/her head without the
aid of any other person and without using a calculating machines,
computers, etc. nor may the calculator write the numbers down.
- The 100 numbers (0-9) to be added together should be randomly
selected by computer immediately prior to the calculation and should be
displayed to the calculator on a computer screen, board, screen or
similar. The numbers should ideally be presented on the screen in rows
of, for example, five or ten digits.
- The calculator must see all the numbers simultaneously - numbers
may not appear one after another on a screen etc. for the calculator.
- The calculator should write down the answer to the calculation.
- The timing begins when the 100 numbers become visible to the
competitor and ends at the end of writing the answer.
- In some cases, the calculator may dictate the answer - then the
timing ends as the calculator finishes dictating the answer.
- Two stopwatches should be used: it would be appreciated these
stopwatches record in minutes and seconds and tenths of a second rather
than hundredths of an hour. At the end of the attempt the time should
be
taken as an average of the two watches.
Note: New record claim (not yet verified): 18.8 sec by Lam Yee Hin
(China) in 2002
Addition of ten 10-digit numbers
(10 tasks for adding ten 10-digit numbers correctly)
Mental Calculation:
Multiplication
Johann Martin Zacharias Dase (Germany, 1824-1861) multiplied
two 20 digit numbers in 6 minutes, two 48 digit numbers in 40 minutes
and two 100 digit numbers in 8 3/4 hous in 1861.
He also multiplied two 8 digit numbers in 54 seconds. These records are
historically accepted, although they were not achieved under modern
rules.
In 1980, Shakuntala
Devi (India) was reported to have multiplied two 13-digit numbers
in
28 sec. This record was accepted by the Guinness Book of Records, but
later they added the comment "Some experts on calculating prodigies
refuse to give credence to the above - largely on the grounds that it
is
so vastly superior to the calculating feats of any other invigilated
prodigy."
The Limca Book of Records (India) accepts this record as well
as "Buzan's Book of Mental Records" which comments: "We respectfully
point out that Mrs Devi has been invigilated at a number of times, has
appeared on numerous live television shows, performing 'new'
calculations based on the works of various mathematics professors, and
has consistently performed at the level indicated in her
record-breaking
performance. We support Mrs Devi in her natural excellence, and hope
that researchers will increasingly realise that their amazement and
amusement should lie not in the outstanding excellence of any human
mental performance, but in the rarity of similar performances."
Note: One of the factors she had to multiply ended in 0, so
that in fact she multiplied a 12 digit number with a 13 digit number.
Multiplication of two 5- or 8-digit
Numbers
Rules:
- This record is for the fastest time for an individual to
multiply two five-digit / eight-digit numbers.
- Ten tasks have to be solved without a single error. The
clock does not stops between the taske.
- The record is a test of straightforward mental calculation.
The calculator should perform the calculation in his/her head without
the aid of any other person and without using a calculating machines,
computers, etc. nor may the calculator write the numbers down.
- The numbers to be multiplied together should be
randomly selected by computer immediately prior to the calculation and
should be displayed to the calculator on a computer screen, board,
screen or similar.
- The calculator should write down the answer to the
calculation. If the answer is written down, this can be done
left-to-right, right-to-left or in any arbitrary order.
- The timing begins when the two numbers become visible to
the competitor and ends at the end of writing the answer.
- In some cases, the calculator may dictate the answer - then
the timing ends as the calculator finishes dictating the answer.
- Two stop watches should be used: it would be appreciated
these stopwatches record in minutes and seconds and tenths of a second
rather than hundredths of an hour. At the end of the attempt the time
should be taken as an average of the two watches.
Alberto Coto (Spain)
solved ten tasks for multiplying two 8-digit numbers in 8:25 minutes at
the second round of the Mental
Calculation World Cup on 1 July 2008 in Leipzig (Germany). With a
time of 11:44 minutes, he had broken the previous record (13:00 minutes
by
Mohammed
Seghir Saïd (Algeria), on 6 March 2006 at the youth
hostel in Tizi-Ouzou) in the first round of the event as well.
Jan van Koningsveld of Germany holds the corresponding record for
5-digit numbers with a time of 3:06 minutes, achieved on 25 November
2005 in Emden (Germany).
|
Books about Mental Calculation:
How to calculate
Quickly
ORDER
from amazon.com
from the UK:
ORDER
from amazon.co.uk
Dead Reckoning -
Calculating Without Instruments
ORDER
from amazon.com
from the UK:
ORDER
from amazon.co.uk
MORE BOOKS...
|
Mental Calculation: Extracting Roots
Calculating the Square Root of a Six-Digit Number
13th root of a 100 digit number
23rd root of a 200 digit number
see extra page with details about these records
Mental Calculation: Calendar From Memory
20 Dates From One Century
All Dates From One Year
Most Dates From 1600-2100 Within One Minute
see extra page with details about these
records
Back to the World Record Homepage
Memory Pack
by Andi Bell, another memory record breaker
