Monday, August 18, 2008

Useless Information & The Barber's Pole!!


For years my family has teased me about remembering people, places and things that are random at best. Jimmy says I have a memory like an elephant and there isn't a movie we have watched yet that I haven't given him what we call "Notes of Interest". If it drives him crazy he has been nice enough not to say anything, but every time we go somewhere i.e. the grocery store, out to eat, the mall, the gym, you name it and I will see someone that I somehow know, even if that meant I went to their cousins birthday when I was 7. I had assumed for years that everyone was like me but the older I got the more times I had someone say "How the heck do you remember that?" and then I started figuring I was nuts.

Not only do I remember faces and names pretty well but I have tons of useless info just floating around in my brain, like why the poles outside Barber shops are red and white. I don't know how I know, but I know and surprisingly that tidbit came in handy in a class one time. I retain lots of information about celebrities and other famous people, I recall conversations from when I was six, I even remember a dream I had in the first grade, not an aspiration , but an actual dream that I had. Some of my friends have said that I am the link in the Six degrees of separation, meaning somehow through someone I know, I am connected to everyone else in the world. I also tend to keep in touch with people or find people that I knew when I was 5 and haven't seen since then :) you know who you are out there!

I am hoping that there are others of you that have similar quirks that you would love to share. Maybe you know some random fact or perhaps you too remember people, places and things in abundance. So let it all out, go ahead leave a comment about something that has stayed in your head and you have waited for the perfect moment to share it.

Oh and for those of you wanting to know why the pole outside the Barber shops are red and white. Well back a long time ago some medical procedures were done by barbers so they would use a rag dipped with blood or later dye, and wrap it around a pole (stick) to let people know that it was a medical place and as time went on the medical and hair cutting parted ways but the red and white striped pole stayed with the Barbers.

Now let me reiterate I really want to hear your random bits of trivia, so come on don't be shy exercise those Temporal Lobes, even if you don't "know" me let me hear your thoughts on the subject.

3 comments:

John and Heather Davis said...

Okay I'm an absolute dumby when it comes to stuff like this- I used to think that I had a really good memory, but as I get older- it's all a blur. This is very depressing on 2 levels 1st: I cant remember moments in my life that I should remember (not huge moments- got those ones- just some of the ones in between) and 2nd: I am only 27 what does this mean for me in the furture??? I am very worried about this actually especially concidering that I have never done any sort of drug, wait, I did when I was a kid suck the helium out of balloons- maybe thats my problem. Maybe that has done more damage to my brain then I ever thought it would. I dont remember doing it a lot just a few times, but how would I know I killed my brain cells by sucking the helium out of balloons to make my voice sound funny for 2 seconds. I'm DOOMED!!!!

Liz Prisbrey said...

This is funny to me because my husband is the exact same way. The difference with him is that he has no childhood memories. His memory is completely filled with useless information. It's amuzing and amazing, but sometimes really frustrating!

Jill said...

Hi, Marylin. It's Jill from swim days at Sara's. I am so the same way. But I have to admit that I have begun to loose my edge over the last few years. Now, it's more just the face from first grade and not so much the name too. But I love random facts. Are we freaks, or is it just our way of enjoying life in all it's obscurities?
Meet your new favorite link: www.mentalfloss.com/amazingfactgenerator/