We all love a souvenir and now new research shows that fridge magnets are actively involved in bringing back happy memories.

Fridge magnets are very often a popular holiday purchase but they might be more important than we think, according to a new study. Research conducted by Liverpool University shows that fridge magnets may be more important than photographs.




The research, published in Annals of Tourism Research, suggests that fridge magnets can provide a means of accessing happy memories about past trips. Some participants in the study said that their fridge magnets were more important than taking photographs.

One participant in the study said that they've stopped taking pictures during holidays because they would rather buy a fridge magnet at the end of the trip.

John Byrom, the doctor who led the study, says about fridge magnets:

“If you think about how often you go into a fridge, it is very different from those cheese knives that you might buy that then gather dust in a drawer, or a picture that gradually becomes wallpaper."

“It was clear that when people talked through what their magnets meant to them, they were very easily able to generate these memories and responses of very specific events or people, including quite poignant examples of holidays that they’ve had with people who have died or children who have grown up and moved away."

Dr Byrom said that fridge magnets were found to be a catalyst of reflection for some:

“It was also very interesting how fridge magnets can be used as a means of forgetting things that had been bad in your life, to reflect on how things got better.”

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