Weird Childhood Memories (No, Not That Kind, You Pervs)

[Martinus]

So, I was talking to someone recently, and I realised that I have these memories from when I was 4, from the Martial Law in Poland, which are not something most people have - I remember my parents (a medical doctor and a private business owner) raising little chicks in the basement, and smoking our own ham bought from the black market. 

Do you have any out of character, weird memories like that?

[Razgovory]

I remember being absolutely terrified at night.  I would see... things.  A snarling wolf's head.  People without eyes.  Horrors beyond Horrors.

[Malthus]

I can remember one memory from when I was 4 - my family was in Bermuda (my dad was working there), and we were swimming at a beach; my parents put a sort of styrofoam bubble strapped to my back as a safety device - only, the effect was to make me float face-down unless I dogpaddled frantically. A sort of un-safety device if you will. 

I remember trying to get them to take it off me, but I was too young to describe why the thing was a bad idea.

I also remember from around the same time my brother having a pet spider the size of his hand, that he caught in its web - a web the size of the house. The spider bit him, causing him to scream, but he kept it anyway.

I also remember a smell, of a certain tropical plant. A sort of humid, perfumy smell. Every once in a while I come across it, but I still have no idea what causes it.

I thought this might be a false memory, as I was so young; but later I saw a slide taken at the time, of me wearing that damn bubble. My brother confirms the spider. 

[The Brain]

Why don't people in Poland remember Martial Law?

[Monoriu]

I remember a scene about my father teaching me how to walk.  We were at home.  He kept demonstrating to me how to walk correctly, and I followed.  Somehow he thought it was wrong, and repeated the exercise.  Apparently even today, my wife (and everybody else) thinks the way I walk is wrong. 

Many years later.  I was like 9 or 10.  I ran for a bit.  Just a few steps in a quiet mall.  Then my mother openly wept.  "He has never run before.  Not outside the physical education classes."  I was perplexed.  I thought you guys told me that good kids don't run, eh? 

[PDH]

I can remember playing in the back yard and my sister saying "I am four years old."  That would have made me two.  That is the earliest memory I have.

[DontSayBanana]

Several days ago, my mother and I were grabbing a bite at Arby's.  I was mentioning how I fiend over curly fries because we used to frequent Olga's Kitchen when they still had a spot in the Oxford Valley Mall in PA.  I pointed out that, thanks to Olga's, I fiend over 1) curly fries, 2) pita bread, and 3) plain yogurt.

Mom was really surprised to hear that I had such detailed memories of this, because I was 2-3 the last time we ate there, and was apparently still using a sassy seat.

[Admiral Yi]

a sassy seat.

Never heard this before.

[DontSayBanana]

Never heard this before.

Basically, this contraption:

[Admiral Yi]

That's sassy!

[Razgovory]

I can't remember a time I couldn't read.  I do remember a time before I was toilet trained.  I think the fact I could read before I knew how to use a toilet should have tipped off my parents that something was wrong.

[Barrister]

Oddly enough - I remember a trip to Edmonton (well St. Albert - an Edmonton suburb) as one of my earliest memories.

Our family went to visit my dad's friend and his family (another sports writer).  They had another little boy the same age as me (as well as another littler boy, the same age as my little brother).  I just have a few odds and ends.  I remember that the boy (Brent) had a big R2-D2 lamp, which flashed with different colours (this was the late 70s - R2-D2 was super cool).  I remember his parents had a giant mirror on the ceiling above their bed - I had no idea why they'd have that.

I remember the two of us peeing in the toilet at the same time and being excited that our pee formed an "x" as we were wizzing.

And I remember Brent's dad telling us a story, which I believe was actually telling us about the '72 summit series.   

Now that I live in Edmonton, a year or two ago when my parents came to visit my dad hooked up with his old friend - and both me and Brent came along as well.  It's a funny feeling meeting someone you haven't seen since you were just out of diapers.  We actually got along rather well. 

[LaCroix]

i remember the moment i decided to piss in a urinal for the first time. it went everywhere, and then i went back to class with stains all over my pants.

[derspiess]

We moved into a new house when I was almost 4, so that's my reference point for when stuff happened in my early memory.  I remember lots of things from the old house-- when my brother & I had chicken pox, different times when we had company, the three friends I had on my street that were the same age as I was. 

Some things I've mentioned to my mom & she said I couldn't have been more than 2 when they happened.  My wife flat out doesn't believe I can remember anything that early, since she can barely remember things from when she was 6.  But I've always had an odd tendency to replay past events in my mind (some meaningful and some trivial), which I guess helps them stick.

[The Brain]

People who don't have memories of their early childhood are weird.