How Good Is Your Memory?

By: Bri O.
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
How Good Is Your Memory?
Image: Shutterstock

About This Quiz

Do you have what it takes to scan over a screenshot and then answer detail-specific questions about it? Most people don't. In fact, because of the limits of short-term and overall memory reliability, it's almost impossible. It takes a near photographic memory and some serious strategizing skills. Put your brain power to the test with this memory challenge!
Park
Shutterstock
Memorize this photo.
Click here to start the quiz!
A little memory fun fact: There are about 1 billion neurons that make up the human brain. All those neurons combine to make over 1 trillion neuronal connections. This allows the brain to store about 1 million gigabytes worth of memories, an amount no human can use up in a lifetime or even two.

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Green
Shutterstock
What type of boat is shown floating in the lake?
Speed boat
Pontoon boat
Sail boat
TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) damage can go unnoticed for years as it builds up until symptoms become obvious. The damage can cause accelerated neurodegeneration and memory loss as well as increase a person's chance of developing Alzheimer's. It's unknown why the brain's axons continue to degenerate up to decades after the original injury. Axon degeneration can lead to the development of Alzheimer's-like sticky protein buildup and dementia.
Paddle boat

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Purple color
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How many benches are visible along the path?
5
In a study of 178 people, researchers found that closing one's eyes can help improve memory recall by 23 percent. Removing visual stimuli frees up more brain power that can then be spent on memory processes, which allows for improved recall.
2
8
12

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Black
n/a
What color are the dog's spots?
Red
Black
The dog is one solid color
White
The hippocampus is located in the brain's temporal lobe, and it's in charge of specific memory processes. It helps in the formation and storage of memories, and it also allows memories to be sorted.

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Yellow
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In what corner of the park is there a woman reading a book?
Top right
Bottom left
Bottom right
Nischal Narayanam set the world record for being able to remember the most number of digits in the least amount of time. He was able to recall an unbelievable 132 digits after looking at and memorizing them for just one minute.
Top left

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beige
n/a
What color is the meditating woman's yoga mat?
Green
Pinkish/purplish
If you ever start feeling emotional while recalling certain memories, it's because of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol assists in the recollection of emotions you've felt in the past. The body also releases cortisol in response to stress.
Brown
Yellow

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Blue
Shutterstock
Who is flying the kite?
A young boy
Think dreams are pointless? Think again. Recent research shows that dreaming helps improve long-term memory as well as facilitates connections between new memories and old ones.
A dad and his son
A teen girl
A mom

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White
Shutterstock
What's the weather like?
Rainy
Snowy
Sunny
The attention span of an average adult is just 20 minutes, while children's attention spans usually are equivalent in minutes to their age (9 years = 9 minutes). If an adult is actually interested in the topic, the attention span can increase.
Cloudy

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Green
Shutterstock
What color is the park path?
Sandy
The feeling of familiarity you get before actually recalling the specific memory associated with it is triggered by the medial temporal cortex. The process of remembering takes place in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.
Pink
Blue
Green

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Gray
n/a
Where are the houses?
On the right side of the horizon
In the center of the horizon
On the left side of the horizon
Damage to the frontal and temporal regions of the brain can lead to chronic feelings of deja vu, which is when someone feels as though a new experience is exactly like one they remember to have already experienced, but didn't. Almost like predicting the future as it's happening, but it's just your brain remembering incorrectly and going all haywire.
On the bottom of the screenshot

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Black
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Who is pushing a child on the swing?
A young woman
"SuperAgers" are adults over the age of 80 who have memories as good as or better than healthy adults in their 50s and 60s. It's believed that one of the most important factors contributing to the memory of SuperAgers is meaningful relationships. Having people to live and remember for is a big part of preserving cognitive functioning.
A young man
An elderly man
A little boy

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yellow
n/a
Which of the following athletic/sporting activities is not happening in the screenshot...?
Swimming
Working memory is a form of short-term memory. Short-term memory describes one's ability to store and readily access small amounts of information for a brief period of time. When it comes to working memory, it has to do with tasks in which you are actively engaged.
Biking
Sailing
Running

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blue
n/a
Are there any (adult) couples?
2
No
4
While memory decline is associated with older adulthood, some types of memories​ actually continue to improve, like semantic and procedural memory. Procedural memory has to do with remembering how to do things. Semantic memory has to do with recalling general facts you've learned that aren't tied to a specific experience.
8

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Kelly Green
n/a
Did you notice anyone using a cellular device?
I didn't see any cell phones, but I did notice a woman doing some work on her laptop.
Nope, none.
Yes, at least two different people can be seen browsing their phones.
Sure did! There's a young man sitting on a bench who is using his cellphone.
Typical short-term causes of temporary memory deficits include: infections, anxiety, substance abuse, medication side effects, dehydration, depression, psychological stress, and thyroid imbalances.

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Red
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What color is the bike?
Yellow
White
Red
If you're looking for a quick way to improve your memory, try using mnemonic devices for learning and remembering names and other new information. Another useful and similar way is to identify associations between concepts.
Lime

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Magenta
n/a
Which of the following foods can be seen poking out of the top of the picnic basket...?
Bread
Crackers
Grapes
Tomato
Episodic memory is the process that allows humans to remember past experiences. It allows us to mentally travel back in time to relive past experiences.

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Coral
n/a
What is the boy in the sandbox holding in his (left) hand?
A water gun
A toy car
Over time, humans have the natural tendency to forget facts, experiences, and events. This is called transience, which is actually viewed as a good thing, since it's important for the brain to be able to rid itself of unimportant facts to free up processes for new ones.
A book
Food

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Maroon
n/a
What is the woman who is pushing the swing holding in her (left) hand?
A water bottle
Lipstick
A purse
An ice cream cone
When the answer is right at the tip of your tongue but you just can't seem to reach it, that's the phenomenon called blocking. The reason for failed memory recall is usually because another similar memory distracts you from being able to think of the original. Only about half of the time are people able to work out the blocked memory.

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Lavendar
n/a
The man holding a cane has what color hair?
Black
Blue
White
Another way to improve memory retention is through exercise. Research shows that if you exercise four hours after learning something new, you retain memory better than someone who exercises immediately after learning or who doesn't exercise at all.
Red

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Teal
n/a
What color is the ball that is being tossed between two children?
Brown
Light red/pinkish
Certain classes of OTC (over-the-counter) medicines have been linked to declines in executive functioning and memory as well as increased risk for the development of Alzheimer's Disease. The active ingredients in certain allergy, antacid, motion sickness, and sleep pills associated with this risk are diphenhydramine, chlorpheniramine, meclizine, ranitidine, dimenhydrinate, and loperamide.
Yellow
Neon

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Olive
n/a
Who is holding the coffee cup?
The dog-walker
Additional techniques to aid in jogging your memory include reciting aloud whatever needs memorizing, leaving reminders around, and breaking tasks down for easier digestion and memorization. Another useful method for boosting memory is through socializing. Having a healthy social life helps stimulate your brain, which, in turn, increases memory capacities.
The biker
The sailor
The book-reading woman

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Cyan
n/a
Who is on the lower end of the seesaw?
A teenage boy
A young boy
A young girl
There are many, ways to protect your brain and memory as you age. Eating a healthy diet to control your cholesterol levels is one way. Make sure to avoid smoking and to get enough exercise, even if it's just a brisk walk.
A dad

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Mint
n/a
What color is the door on the house furthest to the right?
Purple
Green
Red
Light brown
While it's largely held belief that people with amnesia forget who they are, this is simply not the case. The most common manifestation of amnesia results in difficulty forming new short-term and long-term memories and rarely affects past memories.

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LIme
n/a
Who is wearing a helmet?
The sailor
The biker
The leftmost ball-thrower
Do you struggle with remembering names? Well, Alexander the Great sure didn't. He's remembered for knowing the names of all 30,000 of his soldiers.
The runner

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Hot Pink
n/a
Is anyone holding hands?
No.
Typically, the human memory works best when memories are formed around visual stimuli. The brain has an easier time processing visual information. When studying, it's useful to pair text with visuals to improve the amount of information absorbed.
3 couples
A woman and child
Two children

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Khaki
n/a
Does anyone have their back turned?
Yes, one couple sitting near the lake.
While going over something again and again may seem like the best method for memorization, it's not. The brain remembers best when it has to work for and retrieve memories rather than have easy quick access.
Three couples
No.
Three people do.

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Salmon
n/a
How many people are visibly not wearing shoes?
Five people.
Four people.
Everyone seems to have their shoes on.
Two people
While it may seem like each memory of an experience is stored all together in a specific area of the brain, what actually happens is that aspects of the memory are sifted through and sorted to different parts of the brain. Visual components of the memory go to one place, emotional components to another, smell aspects to another, and so on. Then it's up to the hippocampus to orchestrate all those bits and pieces together to form once cohesive memory upon recall.

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Orchid
n/a
How many males are there?
17
11
Your memories are categorized and prioritized according to emotional intensity. When a memory has intense emotions attached to it, it's prioritized as a more important memory and is more easily and clearly recalled.
Three
Seven

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Plum
n/a
How many females are there?
Three
Eight
20
11
For around 20 to 30 seconds at a time, your short-term memory can hold about seven different pieces of information. In the movie "Finding Nemo," the fish, Dory, has short-term memory deficits that lead her to forget most things and behave erratically.

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Tomato
n/a
What color is the sun?
Yellow
The brain is the ONLY organ that doesn't contain any nerves, which means it lacks the ability to feel pain. Your brain literally cannot hurt, but there are plenty areas of the head that can. Despite this, the brain is the command center for the central nervous system.
Red
There isn't a sun;
Purple

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Skyblue
n/a
Where does the path lead when traveling past the kite flyer towards the lake?
It ends
To the houses
Around the lake
It's a commonly held misconception that people can only use about 10 percent of their brains at once. Every part of the brain is used for specific functions.
It heads right and then off the page.

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Violet
n/a
What color is the swing set?
Army green
Brown
White
Blue
The human memory is susceptible to many biases, including, illusion-of-truth effect, source confusion, next-in-line effect, and suggestibility.

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Tan
n/a
Does the sailboat have any windows?
Two rectangular windows
One circular window
Consuming too much alcohol doesn't technically cause memory loss or make you forget anything. Rather, too much alcohol literally blocks the formation of new memories, so there's technically nothing there to remember or forget.
Four circular windows
One rectangular window

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Amber
n/a
What color hair does the kite-flyer have?
Orange
Epigenetics has shown that there is such a thing as "generational memory" that influences gene expression in future generations. Meaning, the traumas of our ancestors become our own traumas quite literally through our DNA.
Black
Blonde
Blue

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Apricot
n/a
Aside from trees, are there other plants visible?
There are some flowers.
Small shrubs/bushes
The average human brain weights about 3.3 pounds, which is about 2 percent of said human's total body weight. Both gray matter (neurons) and white matter (neuron fibers) make up the brain.
Nope, just the trees.
The lake has lilies.

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Mahogany
n/a
About how far up in the visible sky is the sun?
It's right on the horizon
A little more than halfway
The cerebral cortex is made up of four lobes: the frontal lobe, the temporal love, the parietal love, and the occipital lobe. This is where complex thought processes take place.
A bit lower than halfway
Smack dab in the middle

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Lemon
n/a
Is anyone wearing high heels?
Negative
Sure, all the women.
Yes, two women.
There are two hemispheres of​ the human brain: the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere. They are connected by the corpus callosum. In individuals with severe, relentless seizure disorders that do not respond to other treatments, the corpus callosum may be severed to prevent electrical signals from bouncing between the hemispheres.
Five women

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scarlet
n/a
How many ribbons are connected to the bottom tip of the kite?
Three ribbons
It's a commonly held belief that memory functions similarly to computers or videos, but in reality, it's much more complicated than that. Memory is unstable, continually being altered by how we interact with it. It's unreliable and limited in scope, especially when it comes to details.
No ribbons
Eight ribbons
Five ribbons

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Rose
n/a
What is the main color of the kite?
Green
Purple
False memories are a real thing, and people are especially susceptible to them when under the influence of hypnosis. Researchers have successfully implanted false memories in about 20 percent to 50 percent of subjects in controlled studies.
Yellow
Red

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Cerise
n/a
What can be seen at the very top of the sailboat?
A sailor sitting atop the main beam
A large skull and bones flag
A small flag
When awake but not actively doing anything, the brain uses up about 20 percent of the body's oxygen resources, even though it makes up just 2 percent of the body's total weight.
A bright light

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Mustard
n/a
Where is the screenshot set?
A park
Many people turn to dietary supplements in hopes of protecting their brain health and memory, but researchers are saying more and more that this is not the most effective route. Instead, try incorporating key nutrients in your diet. Eating fish rather than taking vitamin E and Omega-3 supplements is believed to be a more effective approach with fewer risks.
A beach
A recreational center
A backyard

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Lilac
n/a
Which of the following can be seen in the sky...?
Sun beams/rays
Simply repeating the same processes over and over again, like cross​word puzzles and soduku, isn't enough to boost your brain power. While many believe engaging in those sorts of mind/memory games help, better methods include: learning something new, mediating, or socializing. This is what sparks new neural connections and keeps the brain sharp.
Airplane
Smoke
Birds

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Indigo
n/a
Who has pigtails?
The biking woman
The running woman
The swinging girl
Multitasking is not great for memory. It causes us to be distracted rather than focused, which makes it much easier to forget bits of information or simply not notice the details to begin with. Being mindful, rather than a multitasking productivity machine,​ is a great way to boost your brain power and memory.
The dog

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Blush
n/a
Is anyone sporting a man bun?
One guy
Two​ dudes
No
Sleep is one of the most important players when it comes to memory formation. When sleeping, your brain is able to reflect on the activities of the day, store important info, forget less relevant info, and make connections between the new information and older experiences.
Four men

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Dandelion
n/a
Who has silver hair?
The cellphone user
No one
The woman standing next to the man holding a cane
The woman facing the lake
At four weeks of development, the human fetus brain forms 250,000 new neurons every minute. By 3 years old, toddlers have around 80 percent of their adult brain volume.

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Pistachio
n/a
Where is the sandbox located?
Bottom left
The adult brain uses about 25 percent of the body's metabolic energy. Whereas baby brains use about 60 percent of their tiny bodies' metabolic energy.
Bottom right
Top right
Dead center

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Taupe
n/a
Who is wearing all pink?
The reader
The swinger
The leftmost ball-thrower
The biker
Each year, more than 50 million Americans are affected by neurological disorders, costing a whopping $400 billion in medical bills. Outside of substance use disorders, at least 44 million Americans are affected by mental disorders each year.

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Ruby
n/a
Who is crying?
The reader
No one
At least 250,000 Americans are affected by spinal cord injuries each year, and 4 million deal with Alzheimer's disease. Parkinson's affects at least 1.5 million Americans each year, and M.S. afflicts 350,000.
The sailor
The kite flyer

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Pearl
n/a
About what time of day is it?
Day
Along with sleep, vitamin D is essential to brain health and memory. Vitamin D deficiencies have been shown to accelerate cognitive decline.
Dusk
Dawn
Night

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Copper
n/a
How many of the five benches have a more artistic design with swirling metal pieces at the top of the legs?
Four
One
All of them
Two
If you need a temporary boost, drink some green tea. It's been shown to improve attention span and assist the brain work its way through difficult tasks.

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You Got:
/50
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