A Swedish woman has wowed the internet after memorising an entire 328-page Ikea catalogue.
Yanjaa Wintersoul, 23, from Sweden, has managed to memorise the entire 2018 Singapore catalogue in just one week – meaning she remembered a staggering 4,818 items.
In spite of this, Yanjaa says she doesn’t have a photographic memory but instead creates a ‘journey in her mind’.
Yanjaa Wintersoul, 23, (pictured) from Sweden, has managed to memorise the entire catalogue in just one week
‘I learnt a technique called the memory palace,’ she told Mashable.
‘If you have to remember three countries, let’s say China, U.S. and Brazil, then maybe on your bed you’re eating Chinese food, on your nightstand there’s a hamburger and then a window and you see a soccer ball. If you make it more of a fun story that’s relatable, then it’s easier to remember.’
‘A lot of people ask me, is there [such a thing as] a photographic memory? And I say no — many people even claim to have it and I say if you have it, come [compete] with me… and they always finish last,’ she added.
Yanjaa introduces herself as the ‘Human Ikea Catalogue’ and has remembered all of the furniture and the people
Speaking of her Ikea challenge with the Straits Times, the memory champion explained how it came about.
‘We did a test run of [some parts of] the old catalogue and realised that 2,000 products might be too little and not as impressive,’ she said.
‘So we talked about it more and closer to the launch, Ikea asked me to memorise the whole thing and I said sure. So, here we are.’
Yanjaa now introduces herself as the ‘Human Ikea Catalogue’ and not only has she remembered the furniture and the people in the guide, but also many small and easily-forgettable details.
Although many of us can barely remember what we did last weekend this isn’t unusual for Yanjaa, who is a two-time world memory champion.
The 328 page catalogue contains 4,818 items for her to remember
Yanjaa became a memory champion because she wanted to finish her bachelor degree in two years as opposed to four.
She was studying at the library when by accident that she found a book on competing in memory and decided to give it a crack.
In 2015 she broke the world record for recalling names and faces by memorising 187 names in 15 minutes at the Hong Kong Open Memory Championships.
She is currently the highest-ranked female Memory World Champion, but the Ikea catalogue is the most she’s had to memorise.
‘Everywhere I go now reminds me of the Ikea catalogue and because I’ve looked at the room sets so much I also feel like I’ve become a better interior decorator,’ she said in a video about her achievement.
Yanjaa is able to recognise items in the catalogue with ease and can point out the page they appear on
Yanjaa is able to recognise items with ease, walking through the furniture store she is able to point out items from the catalogue and on what page you can locate them.
In an extended video she is even able to answer obscure questions such as ‘who in the catalogue needs to go to the eye doctor?’ and ‘what’s stuck to the fridge in the background of the scene on page 21’.
Not only can she tell you what items are on which page, she helpfully offers suggestions if you are looking for a particular type of item.