Fonts of useless information

[Claire]

It seems to me that there was a thread like this. Just now my blind friend called us (husband has the reputation for this, more so than I) and wanted to know something about drungundstorm or something like that. Now I had one year of German in 6th grade, I think my husband had a semester in college. In other words, many, many moons ago. I actually came up with the answer (sturm und drang). Now, why (a) did I know it to begin with (b) why did I remember it (c) why would a 76 year old blind woman want to know what it was? My husband and I have this feature (I hate to call it a quality) in common, that we remember odds and bits of information that you'd think we and our friends would have no use for.

 

[cara]

I know this - I have a faible for this too...
did you know Goethe and Schiller were the most popular "Sturm und Drang" Writers?

 

[Katie H]

I know what you mean Claire. Both Buck and I had/have pockets in our brain filled with what we felt was useless, arcane information. Then, someone would call or ask and, poof, one of us would come up with the answer.

My head is filled with so much trivia it's crazy. For example, I can recite every address and phone number I've ever had. Now, why in the world is this useful?

 

[Claire]

Katie, you make me laugh. I've lived more places that I sometimes can count, and over the years have completely lost the ability to remember numbers of any kind, and names are getting fuzzy. As one of my lifetime-military-brat friends once told me, I learned more names and addresses in my first ten years than many do in a life. Well, a few months ago I was at one of those stores that asks you your zip code when they ring up your purchase. A number popped out of my mouth from many moons ago, certainly not Illinois (don't remember if it was Virginia, Florida, or Hawaii). The clerk just stared at me and we both cracked up, and I was finally able to come up with my current zip code. It is odd what is stored in those little gray cells and will pop up at the oddest moment.

Did NOT know about Goethe and Schiller. I will pass it on to my friend. THAT is probably what she was thinking of (unlike me, she has a classical college education).

 

[expatgirl]

oh, yeah, long term memory is a whole lot better than short term by a long shot......that's what scares me about whether or not Alzheimer's is kicking in,,,,,,,,,,,,,,