Memory is a strange thing that sometimes plays with us like we're poker cards, slipping some memories in and deftly removing others, sometimes at the most inopportune moment. Moreover, it is memory that largely makes us who we are - after all, in fact, who is a person, if not a combination of knowledge, skills and memories?
Modern researchers believe that the earliest memories available to humans date from around 3 to 3.5 years of age. Of course, sometimes there are exceptions up to two years or even younger, but this happens very, very rarely. And still, the very first childhood memories are what remain with us forever.
Even in extremely old age, we can forget how we celebrated our graduation, which football team we devotedly supported for all that time, what job we spent the best years of our life doing - but until the very last days, what will remain with us? The warm smell of mom's hair, the feeling of dad's huge hand in which the little kid's palm is literally hidden, or the rough tongue of a beloved dog, with which we used to play at the very dawn of our childhood.
There is a popular and incredibly nostalgic thread in the AskReddit community where the author once asked, "What is your earliest memory?" Now, almost three years after it all started, the thread has racked up over 44.5K upvotes and almost 18K different comments, many of which are a treasure trove of human memory.
Bored Panda has compiled a list of the most popular, interesting and heartbreaking memories for you, so now please feel free to scroll to the very end and be sure to share your own childhood memory gems in the comments on this collection. After all, what is any tale, any narrative, if not revived memories of us, people?
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#21
I was too little and used to crawl on all 4 limbs. I remember my dad took me to a clinic. There I noticed someone crossing the legs for the first time. He was reading a newspaper. I was [darn] confused about his legs, I wanted to ask my dad, but had no words.
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#22
I was 2 years old and wouldn't allow my cousin to go near my baby sister. She was MY sister.
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#23
Trying to drink a cup of water while lying flat on my back in the crib. Water splashed all over my face, of course, and while I was preverbal, my thoughts can be best translated as "Well, let's not do THAT again."
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#24
Middle of the night. ~3 Y.O. at the time. Woke up and vomited in my bed and all over myself. Started crying because I got sick, it was gross, and I was afraid I would get in trouble if I woke everyone up by going to the bathroom. So, I sat there crying in my puke until it woke up mom and she got me cleaned up.
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#26
Peeing on my sisters bed and blaming it on the dog.
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#27
Getting a Postman Pat beanbag chair at my Pizza Hut birthday party. Life has never been so good since.
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#28
My sister headdiving down the stairs when I was 2. Watched her from the bottom. She was fine, though.
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#29
When my mum was pregnant with my brother, I could then beat her in races from the car to the front door.
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