A new study has found that your brain can remember a lot more than had previously been believed.
In a recent experiment, people who viewed pictures of thousands of objects over five hours were able to remember astonishing details afterward. Previous studies have never measured such astounding feats of memory, but this may be simply because no one really tried.
Researchers found that under the right circumstances, your brain can store minute visual details far beyond what had been imagined.
It helps if the objects that are familiar, such as remote controls, dollar bills and loaves of bread, as opposed to abstract artworks. Another factor that seemed to help was motivation to do well: the participant who scored highest won a small prize of money.