Main content

Why can’t we remember being a baby?

Could a party balloon reach space? And why can’t we remember being babies. Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate.

The Astronomical Balloon
"How far up can a helium balloon go? Could it go out to space?" asks Juliet Gok, aged 9.
This calls for an experiment! Dr Keri Nicholl helps Adam launch a party balloon and track its ascent. But their test doesn't quite go to plan.
Meanwhile, Hannah discovers where space begins by asking Public Astronomer Dr Marek Kukula, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Send your Curious Cases to the team: curiouscases@bbc.co.uk

The Forgetful Child
"Why don't we remember the first few years of our lives?" asks David Foulger from Cheltenham.
The team investigate the phenomenon of 'infant amnesia' with Catherine Loveday from the University of Westminster.
40% of us claim to remember being under two years old and 18% recall being babies. But can we really trust these early memories? Martin Conway from City University thinks not.

Picture: A baby contemplates the sole of its foot, circa 1950, Credit: H. Armstrong Roberts/Retrofile/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Producer: Michelle Martin.

Release date:

Available now

26 minutes

Space

The eclipses, spacecraft and astronauts changing our view of the Universe

The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry

The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry

A pair of scientific sleuths answer your perplexing questions. Ask them anything!

Podcast