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Very little work has been done to evaluate memory spanning days, weeks, or even years; yet the ability to recall such remote events is obviously an important aspect of human memory. If some means of obtaining quantitative data on very long-term memory (VLTM) could be found, as has been done in numerous ways with short-term memory, much that is of both theoretical and clinical value might be learned. It is often stated that something learned is never forgotten, and that old people recall with crystal clarity events that occurred maybe thirty years ago, but fail to do the same for events of yesterday. If some standardized means of testing VLTM were available, one would have some means of verifying or of rejecting such statements and be able to study, for example, the effects of age on recall, the effect of the type of material involved, and the recall situation. In a clinical setting there is relevance to partial and total amnesic states, retrograde amnesia after head injury and electroconvulsive therapy (ЕСТ), hysterical amnesic states, and problems in distinguishing between generalized and focal impairments, especially if there is a discrepancy between verbal and visual memory. Thus it might be possible to investigate the effects of drugs, alcohol, etc., on amnesics or on the span of retrograde amnesia, or changes in transient global amnesia. There is ample anecdotal and circumstantial information on VLTM, which is of little use to the psychologist interested in some of the above matters. However, Bartlett (1932) studied memory for verbal material, in the form of short stories, for periods of up to ten years. The problem with this technique is that the original learning situation as well as the recall situation is experimental. Furthermore, it imposes severe limitations on the time span available for study and is impossible in a clinical situation. Smith (1963) has, in fact, measured memory for answers to the "Westminster Shorter Catechism" 20, 40, and 50 years after initial learning. This sort of study obviously depends on isolating one