It was just an old, stemmed goblet made of green glass – the kind you got for free in Quaker Oats boxes. But when I looked at it, I had a sudden visual memory of that glass full of white crystals, held by a tiny woman in a 1950s kitchen.

'It's our grandmother's salt cellar!' I said.

For Marcel Proust, it was eating a madeleine. For someone else, it could be the smell of Christmas cookies. Or an old tune on the piano. Or picking up a piece of family crockery from the cupboard.

What triggers a powerful memory for you? Can you share a moment with us, and tell us about the memory? What emotions did the memory bring back?

Send us your photos, art, reminiscences, and stories. Or share some music with us! (Yours, not other people's.) We'd like to hear all about it.

Share some species-wide memories with the Edited Guide. Find a monument or place that carries special memories for humans. Put it into context for us.

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