Today at Safeway I paid $10.67 for my exceedingly unhealthy foods (not a veggie in sight!). I heard the total and immediately thought “Aha! William the Conqueror was consolidating his realm that year!” You’ll remember, class, that William defeated Harold II at Hastings in October of 1066 and was crowned William I of England, the first Norman king, in December of the same year.

I do this all the time. I get a dollar total for my purchase and it immediately triggers my brain to find an event in that year. Obviously this only works from about 714 CE until the present. I’m best at 20th century events, for reasons that should be obvious, but I still remember some other historical dates too.

Am I alone here, or do others do this too?