Book 2, Question 21
Why Do We Get Deja Vu?
Have you ever felt that you had already lived a moment that you knew was brand new? That feeling is called deja vu. It is a brief mix-up, where the brain tags a moment as familiar even though it is new.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 2
More fun facts
- Deja vu is French for already seen.
- About 97 percent of people have felt deja vu at least once.
- Deja vu tends to happen less often as people get older.
- Doctors described deja vu in some patients as far back as 1888.
- It seems linked to the temporal lobe, a part of the brain that handles memory.
- Scientists do not have a final answer yet. Some think it is a tiny brain glitch, and others think it is a memory mix-up.
Sources: BBC, Cleveland Clinic, Smithsonian Magazine
Questions kids ask
Is deja vu normal?
Yes. Almost everyone feels it at least once. It is a quick feeling of familiarity that passes.