Memory triggers

[Mr Phlanj]

Sights, sounds and smells.

it happens to everyone at some time where something random can make you remember something just as random.

so has it happened to you recently? or do u know how to trigger one?

on my way home from work this morning i was looking out at the countryside and im not sure it was the sight of the fields or the smell of fresh fertilizer but for a moment i was back at my aunt and uncles old house watching the horses run around the fields.

Also when i ever listen to the prodigy’s song Voodoo people i cant help but remember the sewage level on banjo kazooie.

[F.E.I.S.A.R]

I guess we come to associate certain things with certain memories over time. One I can think of is cartoons. I remember watching a Chinese dub of Tom and Jerry Kids in China and for a while I was at a relative's house in Penang,Malaysia.And I was 4-6 years old back then watching the same show on the old Cartoon Network.

Is that considered one?

[Challenger #001]

I always think I'm dreaming whenever I hear 'Je ne regrette rien' by Edith Piaf. If that counts. :D

[Mr Phlanj]

hey it all counts :D

a few weeks ago i went to make a cup of tea and i had the craziest de ja vu. and i mean crazy. my brain just went NUTS!

but i was only making tea, i made one a few hours before and many many times before that too but something keept telling my brain i had done it before. and i had, i was only making tea, i made one a few hours before and many many times before that too but something keept telling my brain i had done it before. and i had, i was only making tea, i made one a.....

i was stuck in that loop right up until the kettle boild :D

[Woopzilla]

Metallica - St. Anger Album = Playing Rainbow Six: Raven Shield many years back.

Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory Album = When I started playing Sim City 2000 again around the time the album was released.

Void Settler - None Follows the Sunrise Album = Playing lots of custom games on Warcraft 3.

The sound of a distant propeller aeroplane while otherwise in complete silence = When I was back in primary school in germany in early summer months, silently sitting in the classroom. The classroom was mostly in shadow but large rays of sunlight fell through very high large windows which I sat close to. I always remember feeling the warmth of the sun and sitting there contently working away in near silence hearing the occasional plane.

It was silent because I lived in a small village and the school was mid-way to the nearby town. So it was all just countryside and no traffic could be heard... additionally I had to travel through a forest to reach it (which was all around the playgrounds - and out of bounds until we went home).

This is why I love the sound of a distant propeller plane... and wow, just as I'm writing this I can hear one. :D

[icarasDragon]

I often have deja vu, when certain scenes, that certain look, that certain situation or message can hive me it even though that particular situation hasn't happened once! :|

[Nutcase:259]

Apparently you can get chronic de ja vu if you take mass loads of heroin, or coke? either its probably not a good idea, nor is it a sign that the matrix has been invaded ;)


smelling cinnamon reminds me of christmas. and hearing follow the light by sub focus reminds me of standing in the middle of an interchange at night taking photos :g

[SaturnReturn]

The only specific one I can think of right now is when I hear 'Praise You' by Fatboy Slim. It reminds me of when my hamster died all those years ago. I think that was the first (and only) time I had a pet that I was actually responsible for and it seemed like quite a big-ish deal to me at the time after looking after it for 3 years. Bit random, but I guess this stuff always is.

I find smells are really something that stand out with this kind of thing though, because smell is a sense we don't pay a whole lot of attention to unless it's something really strong, and yet it's always there, and our brains are presumably always recognising subtle smells subconsciously. I reckon it must be a big part of what creates the atmosphere of a particular memory, without us realising at the time.