Fridge magnets help holiday memories better than photos

Fridge magnets help holiday memories better than photos

                                                                                                                                                                                    These holiday souvenirs often don't cost much, but this study says they can be a very powerful memory jogger

Who doesn't love a holiday?

These special breaks away from home and normality are often some of the strongest memories we have, but when you get home, what keeps those memories alive?

Pictures? A particular meal or song from the trip? Or perhaps, like many tourists, it is a brightly coloured, souvenir fridge magnet.

Well, a new study by Liverpool University says these novelty items, displayed on one of the most frequently visited places in the home - the fridge - can, not only be special memories themselves, but can help us hold on to happy holiday memories better than photographs.

Do you collect holiday fridge magnets or any other souvenirs and do they help you remember your hols?

Take part in our vote and let us know what you have got in the comments. And if you want to you can even send us a pic using the form at the bottom of the page.

The study says the magnets act as "memory pointers", which spark other memories.

Not only that, but the study suggests avid magnet collectors are more likely to hold on to their memories longer.

That's because they are choosing to purchase the item during the holiday, with the sole intention of holding on to the memory of it when they are home.

The study involved the research team interviewing people who had more than 20 holiday magnets on their fridges at home.

They asked them to talk about each of the places they visited and what memories, (happy or sad) they have of those trips.

They found that people were able to recall unique details of their holidays and even became emotional thinking about them.

Some participants in the study even said they preferred the magnets to photographs they took, and some even said they didn't bother taking pictures because they bought the magnet instead.