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Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4395, 27 March 1922, Page 3

A man who has developed his memory until he has an amazing store of information on a wide variety of subjects has been discovered at Birchencliffe, Huddersfield (Eng.). He is John Holroyd, a builder’s labourer, who is self-taught, and has, says a correspondent, a system of remembering things by association of ideas. Holroyd has 31.000 facts stored away in his brain. He can give yon the names of all "Soccer" and Northern Union football cap-wearers, and the winners of all classic races since 1860. Another of his specialties is cricket scores and results, going far back. He can tell you the birthdays of national and local celebrities. Once he hears a date h<j never forgets it, and he has more than once set parents right as to the birthdays of their children. His knowledge of the calendar'is astounding. He can tell you when any Easter or Whitsun fell in any year since 1 A.D Recently Holroyd was asked to state how many seconds had elapsed since the war began, and, after thinking a bit, gave the total as 21'2,875,500 up to the time of asking. He added: "That makes all allowances for leap years.” Hplroyd has had offers to .go on the American music-hall stage, but. has declined them. He prefers to entertain himself.