If you haven’t watched the viral video where a magenta-haired girl has gone ahead and memorised the entire IKEA catalogue, you’re definitely missing out. Here’s the thing: it’s amazing. She’s amazing. And we all wish we’d have that good a memory so we wouldn’t have to forget silly things like where our glasses are, important dates like the first time you hold hands with your significant other (we’re kidding, that’s not important, right…?), or just casually ace our exams because we’d be so friggin’ genius.
Here you go:
We can’t even say watch and learn.. or, can we?
For the launch of their 2018 IKEA Catalogue — with the theme ‘Make Room For Life’ that celebrates living rooms — the good people at IKEA Southeast Asia invited Yanjaa Wintersoul for the press event in order to flesh out the idea of how unforgettable a read it is. Clearly, it’s smart move and a nice touch to make the rather routine yearly catalogue come to life. So, they got the 23 year old Sweden’s Got Talent finalist, and two-time World Memory Champion, to willingly study the 328-page catalogue for just one week, all so she can do these amazing thing you see on the video, and basically make it look like a piece of cake while we’re left both fascinated and drowning in self-doubt.
What’s on the rug on Page 138? (The rug has a pattern of grey stars, there’s a little boy’s shoes, three crayons — yellow, green, red — and a huge red brontosaurus dinosaur.) Someone in the catalogue needs to go to an eye doctor? (The lady on Page 176, she has her glasses on the side of the chair and she’s straining to read a thick book — but if you need another page, then page 33, hung up on the wall is an eye exam poster.) Yep, stuff like that.
Come on, you’ve got to be intrigued right. We were too — so we went right in for a short interview in order to pose some of our burning questions: how exactly does she do it, and how does she make room for all this stuff in her head? We speak to the world’s first IKEA’s Human Catalogue:
How did you end up working with IKEA on this project?
They wrote me an e-mail that said “urgent, urgent, can you memorise the IKEA products?”, and I said yes, and we did a couple of test runs, and started thinking, maybe we can start doing the entire IKEA catalogue.
Is this all this memory work something you’re already used to?
Yeah I’ve done it before. My first competition was in 2014 — if I remember correctly — and it was very hard in the beginning, but once you get the hang of memory techniques and how to memorise, within that first year, I was in the World Memory Championship team and I got the first prize for remembering the most names and faces. It’s very hard in the beginning! There’s like a steep learning curve, and then it’s easy, and it’s just easier and easier. I’d say it takes a couple of months to really understand it.
How exactly does it work? Can you describe the technique you use?
So the technique’s like… basically this is the Lattjo [reaches for a plushie beside us], then you can think, okay, it sounds like matcha latte, then you think of this plushie being miserable because you put him in hot matcha latte, Lattjo — so associating it with things you already know and to find fun in it.
Were you ever doubtful of your own ability?
I wasn’t really, my mom’s always raised me to be confident and believe in myself, I think that helps. It sort of becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy where you have a good memory, or you think that you do, and you’re more likely to spend the time memorising something. But if you think you have a bad one, you have a tendency to just not even make the effort to learn. Like, for some period of time, I thought I’d never get the tones right in Mandarin! It helps to be — even if you’re doubtful — to keep doing it until it starts making sense.
Did memorising things come easy for you when you were younger?
No, I mean, I forgot to do homework, forget to send in my college application; there are different kinds of memory, and some people are better at remembering facts, and others event ones. It depends! You should feel for yourself what you’re better at naturally… For me, I sort of make short stories of whatever I want to learn.
What kind of memory would you call this?
It’s part event, or periodic memory, like going to the store with your friend, because I have been to my friend’s house and she has a Stocksund armchair than you can see on page 32, or last year, when I moved to my new apartment, I wanted this particular lamp I wanted. And then it’s a little factual too, with the prices. I think for a lot of people, we want to say we’re not selfish but it helps if you make things more personal. Like, oh, I know these people on page 17, then you’re like, it’s my friend’s house! It’s what’s important to you. Sometimes you meet a person and it’s like you’ll never meet them again, sometimes your brain doesn’t register their name, you know — but say, the person’s attractive, and all of a sudden your brain’s like, okay, I’ll remember this! [laughs]
Most people have the impression that you have a brilliant memory, and does it get embarrassing when you forget?
Yes, definitely! Someone asked me about a red chair, and it was at the tip of my tongue, but because we were filming, and there’s a lot of people, I knew I wasn’t gonna come up with it, so I had to improvise. But then people are also very nice and understand I’m human, so! And then some people don’t, and run up to me and go “do you know me?!”, and I know I’ve never seen them before. So I go, “I’m pretty sure we haven’t met, so, let’s see… where have we met?” and they can’t come up with it.
Do you watch BBC’s Sherlock? What do you think of the concept of his “mind palace”?
Yes, yes, so that’s the thing, if you’ve seen that season finale, he just goes through folders, which is really not what a mind palace is like. For me, if I wanted to remember a room set, I wouldn’t put it in folders. Maybe he’s just a very boring person, but! You usually try to associate it with places you know well, so some of the room sets I’d imagine I’m redecorating my living room, so I’m walking through it and feeling the material and everything. That’s more an actual mind palace, not the whole folders thing!
IKEA 2018 Catalogue, available now. Each home will receive a copy of the Catalogue in your mailbox, or you can head down to your nearest IKEA store for a copy. ikea.sg/catalogue
You can also catch Yanjaa in action at a Facebook Live event hosted on IKEA’s Facebook page on 6 September, 5pm.
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