# Now let's see . . . dang it, what did I come in here for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 23, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838 "2011-11-23T03:15:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/1 "2011-11-23T03:15:49Z")
[Walking through doorways causes forgetting, new research shows.](http://newsinfo.nd.edu/news/27476-walking-through-doorways-causes-forgetting-new-research-shows/) I knew it! Now where are my glasses? ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/2 "2011-11-23T04:14:33Z")
An old friend called these “portals of forgetfulness.” I guess she was both prescient and absent-minded! (But I swear that door to the dishroom/storage/prep area had some sort of memory erasing technology!) ---
**Author:** ![Cap\_n\_Obvious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@Cap\_n\_Obvious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cap_n_Obvious)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/3 "2011-11-23T12:26:30Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > An old friend called these “portals of forgetfulness.” Can we start calling google that? I swear half the time when I go to look something up I forget what I wanted to know. Seriously though, interesting research. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/4 "2011-11-23T13:16:31Z")
This would explain why I can never remember what I wanted to ask the doctor, after going through all the random doorways to get into the examining room. I wonder if walking backwards or closing one’s eyes as one passes through doors would help. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/5 "2011-11-23T16:21:47Z")
That’s really interesting, and explains a lot. The portal of forgetfulness to my kitchen is a strong one. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/6 "2011-11-23T16:49:25Z")
> [@Chicken\_Fingers](#): > > This would explain why I can never remember what I wanted to ask the doctor, after going through all the random doorways to get into the examining room. > > I wonder if walking backwards or closing one’s eyes as one passes through doors would help. Actually, for me, returning to the room where I started often does help. Probably environmental, as I can look around and see what’s up: “oh, yeah: no cup of coffee on my desk” or “that’s right, that bulb is burnt out.” And then walk around repeating “coffee, coffee, coffee” like an idiot. (Of course, I walk around repeating that mantra often enough that no one thinks it’s out of character. “Light bulb, light bulb, light bulb” garners much stranger looks.) ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/7 "2011-11-23T18:05:17Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > Actually, for me, returning to the room where I started often does help. Probably environmental, as I can look around and see what’s up: “oh, yeah: no cup of coffee on my desk” or “that’s right, that bulb is burnt out.” And then walk around repeating “coffee, coffee, coffee” like an idiot. (Of course, I walk around repeating that mantra often enough that no one thinks it’s out of character. “Light bulb, light bulb, light bulb” garners much stranger looks.) Whew…I’m relieved to know that I’m not the only one. Now I’m wondering if anybody else puts stuff by the front door. Lunch, mail, keys, etc. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/8 "2011-11-23T18:13:33Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Whew…I’m relieved to know that I’m not the only one. Now I’m wondering if anybody else puts stuff by the front door. Lunch, mail, keys, etc. When you’re coming in or before you go out? ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/9 "2011-11-23T18:18:49Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > When you’re coming in or before you go out? On the way out, so I don’t forget to take them with me. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/10 "2011-11-23T18:21:05Z")
In that case, yes. Mail and umbrellas mostly. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/11 "2011-11-24T05:14:22Z")
Folks, they were using college students for the study. Sit at your computer and think about that for a minute. I think that forgetting what one is doing after passing through a portal would not be a good survival trait. As to your glasses, you took them off in the car. Go look in the consol 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sticks_and_scones/32/16951_2.png) [@Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sticks_and_Scones)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/12 "2011-11-24T05:18:33Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > An old friend called these “portals of forgetfulness.” I guess she was both prescient and absent-minded! (But I swear that door to the dishroom/storage/prep area had some sort of memory erasing technology!) I emailed the article to my former assistant this morning. Because, yes, we used to have the same problem with our dishroom/storage area, too! We called it the ‘forget zone.’ ---
**Author:** ![Hilary\_Algar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilary_algar/32/4282_2.png) [@Hilary\_Algar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilary_Algar)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/13 "2011-11-24T11:57:35Z")
Where is my cellphone? Oh, I’m using it. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/14 "2011-11-24T12:46:19Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > An old friend called these “portals of forgetfulness.” I guess she was both prescient and absent-minded! (But I swear that door to the dishroom/storage/prep area had some sort of memory erasing technology!) I work in a grocery store. I frequently have cause to go from the kitchen department (where we sell plates and pots and knives and table cloths) to the kitchen backstock area (where we store the plates and such until they are needed on the shelf). To make this journey, one must pass an area where they store frozen seafood, the actual meat counter, and then walk through a doorway. On the other side of the door, there’s another door to the back room (grocery loading dock), a hallway which leads down the length of the building, and a shorter hallway which leads to the deli and eventually the produce area. The shorter hallway is lined with kitchen backstock for a ways. It’s amazing how often I forget what I went looking for there, although given the amount of traffic I may have to avoid, perhaps not so amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/15 "2011-11-24T13:16:58Z")
> [@Hilary\_Algar](#): > > Where is my cellphone? > > Oh, I’m using it. > > :smack: Yep. And my sunglasses are on top of my head, and the keys are in my hand. Now if only I knew where I parked the car… ---
**Author:** ![Boggette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@Boggette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boggette)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/16 "2011-11-27T23:40:58Z")
I always referred to this as “Ooo! Look! Shiny!” Syndrome. I go to a room with an idea in my head, see something that distracts my thoughts and I lose the original thought. ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/17 "2011-11-28T00:02:03Z")
This must be why I’m doomed if I walk into the grocery store without a list. It has double doors! ---
**Author:** ![missinformation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@missinformation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missinformation)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/18 "2011-11-28T00:23:59Z")
This is exactly why I always have a pad of sticky notes near by!!! And your glasses are probably atop your head… ---
**Author:** ![NGC2024](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f475e1/32.png) [@NGC2024](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NGC2024)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-lets-see-dang-it-what-did-i-come-in-here-for/603838/19 "2011-11-28T00:51:19Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Whew…I’m relieved to know that I’m not the only one. Now I’m wondering if anybody else puts stuff by the front door. Lunch, mail, keys, etc. I do that all the time. I also place my car/house keys beside any candle I have lit so that I can’t leave the house without first blowing out the candle. I have also, embarrassingly enough, driven past my own house in my own vehicle and when I didn’t see my car parked out front I thought to myself, “Hey, where’s my car?” :smack: