Have you ever been to a place before and experienced a sort of “deja vu” and think you remember the place from some other time? I’ve never experienced that exactly, but I know what deja vu feels like and it’s unsettling at times because when we experience this, we drive ourselves bonkers trying to figure out if we’re really remembering something or if there’s something spooky involved. One theory about what causes this experience is that our brains recall the previous perception of a place or event, even if we don’t have total awareness of what we’re experiencing or observing. In other words, you may have experienced the place or circumstance before, but you didn’t give it your full attention the first time. In the joke below, we’re pretty sure the gentleman wasn’t focused on the “place” the first time he visited it. This is hilarious.
(I am in a recently opened restaurant. I overhear this conversation at the table next to me. At the table is a large family.)
Customer: “Has there ever been another restaurant in this building? The place looks so familiar.”
Waitress: “I do not know. The building has been vacant for many years.”
Customer: “I remember the stained glass windows and the spiral stairs. I am sure I have been here before.”
(Just then, another waiter passes the table.)
Waitress: “Do you know if there has ever been another restaurant in this place?”
Waiter: “No. Until they went out of business a few years ago this place was a brothel.”
(There was an awkward silence at the table.)
