“When I see the eight of diamonds and the queen of spades, I picture a toilet, and my friend Guy Plowman. Then I put those pictures on High Street in Cambridge, which is a street I know very well.” That’s how one of the leading contenders described the technique known as the memory palace. All of the competitors use the technique. And they are all good at remembering … and forgetting. Welcome to the Extreme Memory Tournament, where remembering is an extreme sport.

+ How advertisers trick your brain by turning adjectives in nouns.