Memory Triggers

I'll be the first to admit that my memory is not the best. I'm lucky if I can remember what I did yesterday. But my keychain collection has sometimes been helpful to me in recalling memories. Now, I won't pretend that I can remember when and where I got every single keychain I own. Given the size of my collection that would be impossible, unless I was one of those more organized collectors who wrote that stuff down. However, it does sometimes surprise me what I can remember about the various keychains in my collection.

For example, I remember that I bought the rocking horse keychain pictured above from the 'trading post' at a girl scout camp. I also remember that I wanted it because I liked the amber color. I had a fascination with amber back then. I think it was because in the American Girl book series that I read growing up, the pioneer girl character wore an amber heart necklace.

There are other keychains in my collection that I bought specifically to help me recall certain memories, memories that may have nothing to do with where or how I got the keychain. One example of this is pictured below, a little red bell keychain advertising Babybel cheese.

I got this keychain from a flea market, but that's beside the point. The reason I have it is because when I was a kid, Babybel cheese was always a very special treat. It wasn't so much the taste of the cheese that I liked. The really fun thing about Babybel was taking the red wax wrapper off the mini cheese wheel. My parents didn't buy Babybel very often, but that just made it all the more special when we did get it. I acquired this Babybel keychain specifically to act as a reminder of that childhood memory.

Another keychain that's linked to a childhood memory is this silver gorilla 'key' from the Philadelphia Zoo.

The Philadelphia Zoo used to have boxes at various animal exhibits where guests could insert a plastic 'key'. When the 'key' was turned, a pre-recorded message gave information about the different animals. The earliest keys were made in an elephant shape. My mom still has a vintage, green elephant key, and I remember her letting us use it in the early 1980s. The boxes were taken down for a time, but they were brought back in the 1990s. When this happened, the zoo began selling keys in other animal shapes. The shapes chosen were usually tied to a special exhibit that was being featured at the zoo, and they were only available while supplies lasted. There was a lion key, a bear key, a lorikeets key, and a white alligator key, among others.

My family was very excited about the new 'zoo keys', and my parents ended up buying a number of them. I think my mom was even more excited about the boxes return than us kids were, and that's saying something. Sadly, the boxes rarely seemed to be in working order, and in the early 2000s they were taken down again. But I still remember some of the excitement we felt whenever a new key shape was announced. So when I found a silver gorilla 'zoo key' second-hand, I picked it up for my keychain collection.

Almost anything can be a memory trigger, whether it's a certain smell in the air, the opening notes of a song, or a physical object. I just happen to use keychains to help me recall and preserve my memories.

Signed, Treesa

(Update: While this post was in draft form, The Philadelphia Zoo decided to reinstate the 'zoo key' activated 'storybook boxes'. Judging from archived news articles that I read online, there was a lot of anticipation built up for the relaunch. But I don't know how well the new 'zoo keys' sold.)