17 April 2001? I ask Krystyna Glowacki, 24, over Zoom.
It was Tuesday. She shoots back in less than half an beat. It was.
The hottest temperature recorded in Oman
I've just finished the question when she gives her confident answer: 50.8C. You are correct. Correct. Every hair on my arm is up.
Mongolia? To really test this apparently superhuman brain, I'm going to far-flung locations. 44C again.
Is Germany the coldest country? Minus 45.9°, in a Bavaria sinkhole on December 24, 2001. At this point, I actually have a good time. It is amazing how good her memory is.
Glowacki, a New South Wales central coast resident, can identify the highest and lowest temperature ever recorded in any country, as well as the date and location. Glowacki can also identify the latitude and longitude of any major city around the globe. She can transport me across oceans in lockdown and name coordinates from San Francisco, Berlin, and other major cities worldwide, with quick responses.
Krystyna has never had to train the incredible memory she has. Photograph by Cian OClery
It was only once I read and it is still with me.
I have the ability to keep information. Glowacki said that it is just there. To take anything and keep it in, she only has to go online once or twice.
Glowacki, who is autistic, has exceptional memory and calendar recall skills.
It is extremely rare to find genuine photographic memories. This ability, also known as highly superior autobiographical memories (Hsam), is only confirmed by the Centre for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine.
Hsam patients are described by the centre as being able to recall details about their autobiographical events with greater accuracy. They spend a lot of time thinking about the past and are able to understand the patterns and calendars.
The centres laboratory has only identified less than 100 cases of Hsam in the world to date.
Glowacki, although she hasn't been subject to the same rigorous testing that is required to be considered Hsam-positive, does display some of the same traits.
Only one Australian has been identified with Hsam so far: Rebecca Sharrock.
Although Sharrocks gift has received a lot of media attention, little has been written about the Hsams cohort below: the people with exceptional memories and probably the most influential in their professional or social circle.
They are referred to as having superior memory, not photographic but still remarkable, in neuroscience terms.
Dave Huggan was 17 when he first noticed his remarkable recall abilities in memorising football statistics.
I can recall every minute that a goal was scored.
Dave Huggan (46), is one such person, and is nicknamed Statto because of his remarkable recall ability.
As I ask him about Zoom, the finalist in the 1903 FA Cup Final, he looks to the left. Bury 6, Derby Country 0. He then retells me the minute that all six goals were scored, and the five scorers he named. This is something he does for many years. He can recall every FA Cup finalist, scorer, and minute since 1872. When tested, he's accurate about 95% of all the times.
Huggan, like Glowacki did not need to train for his memory feats; however, Huggan is not autistic.
Gary says that he can now see the goal. He also recalls a FA cup final. It can be seen coming in from the far end of the field to the corner of my net.
His eyes sparkle, but mine are dull. Huggan from Sydney says, "I know it's boring." It's just facts otherwise. It is difficult to get people to take part. Entertainment is key.
He then rattles off all the Melbourne Cup winners in chronological order in almost alarming fashion, with the speed of a horse racing commentator. He later sends me a video in which he sings a megamix every UK Christmas No. 1 song.
He says that I started learning football facts at the age of 17. People began to notice my interest. It is all I can remember from having read it once or twice.
People still notice. The No 1s medley is performed at his office Christmas party every year. It's also performed for the Melbourne Cup horse winners.
It didn't translate into academic success in his weaker subjects such as science and maths: I remember only things that I enjoy.
Paying attention is the magic ingredient
There are techniques and tricks that can help those who don't have the gift of remarkable recall.
Gail Robinson, professor clinical neuropsychology at Queensland Brain Institute, believes that paying attention is the secret ingredient to success.
Neuropsychology examines the ability of a person to remember things.
Attention is different from memory. It is a skill that you can learn. This is the part that requires nurture. This requires focus and being selective about the information you retain. Encoding it is also necessary. Social media feeds have made it impossible to focus.
Anastasia Woolmer (44), is living proof that memory can improve. After only five months of training, Anastasia Woolmer became the second Australian Memory Champion and was the first woman to win this title in Australia.
Anastasia Woolmer trains to beat the Australian record of pi figure recall with a total 10,533 digits. Photograph by Fiona Cullen
She said it was amazing to me. It's amazing to think about your birthright all your life. At small dinner parties, I would forget my names. I believe impostor syndrome may be common. It was liberating. If I put my mind to it, I can learn it quickly and gain confidence.
Woolmer was inspired to Moonwalking With Einstein by Joshua Foer. This suggests that brain training rather than naturally gifted people is responsible for the majority of USA Memory Championship finalists.
Mnemonics are memory techniques that use imagery to assist in encoding and retrieval. The memory palace is another example. It dates back to fifth century BC. It places abstract objects on actual objects to aid in recalling memories.
Woolmers used her dance training to recall the first 1,000 digits. She says that I have attached a movement to each number sequence between 000 and 999.
The 100 digits of Pi is a brief contemporary dance story with around 35 movements. It's just a way to add new information to the things that are already familiar.
Woolmer is currently training to beat the Australian record (10,533 digits) for pi figure recall. She confidently states that she could surpass it in one week.
A surgeon could not Google every answer
This skill is more than just a geek-out.
Woolmer is a full-time employee in finance. She says that although it sounds absurd, I don't have to reopen tabs on the screen to recall data or figures I need. Woolmer insists that having fewer tabs open might seem trivial.
She says that a surgeon can't Google all the answers they need in an operating room.
It is still an important professional skill that actors and politicians such as Bill Clinton can use to charm voters with their ability to remember hundreds of names.
Huggan finds Huggan's superlative recall an immense help to his sales job, and it is not just during Christmas party time. To a potential client, I'll tell them that I can recall all of your past events. You had a budget of $60k and wanted to sponsor an event. You are able to make the sales pitch right away, rather than returning to your notes.
Krystyna Golowacki films Employable Me before the Covid-19 pandemic. Photograph by ABC
It is possible to get lonely.
Many of us may have better memories than others, but it is important to be careful about what you wish for. It can be frustrating to be the only person in your group that remembers an anecdote, detail, or story.
Robinson said that Hsams can be lonely. Becky [Sharrock] was there last Friday and said how she's learning to allow it to not disrupt her life. She can't turn off the memories. It is a compulsion. In a way, it's an affliction.
Glowacki shares this sentiment. She says that there are some events I would like to forget. Bad things that happen to me when there were arguments or misbehavior.
She says she feels special when her memory is tested. We conclude on a date that I randomly selected: 1 September 2003.
She said Monday. We saw Finding Nemo in the cinema. I wore a maroon tracksuit with a pale blue shirt underneath. I was so happy to see the pink sticker that I wanted.
After she waves goodbye to Zoom, I Google the Australian release of Finding Nemo. It was 28 August 2003, 13 years prior to the sequel.
