Mortifying childhood memories come easily to Candice Broom, a 29-year-old elementary school teacher from Birmingham, Ala.

There was the mean girl in middle school who called her Michael Bolton because of her frizzy hair. The older girl at camp who taunted the shy fifth grader over her not-yet-developed chest. And then there was the throw-up incident.

At age 12, Broom bowed out of gym class due to an upset stomach. Unfortunately, one of her classmates decided she was faking it and lobbed a basketball at her head.

"Immediately, vomit propelled onto the gym floor," says Broom. "I clamped my hand over my mouth and began to sprint, hoping to find sanctuary before the next round."

But it was not meant to be. Broom tossed her cookies hither and yon, capturing the attention – and revulsion - of her classmates and earning an "evil-eye" from the school's janitor.

Not surprisingly, the incident also earned a permanent spot in her brain's private hall of shame. Broom says she thinks of the throw-up incident anytime anyone talks about getting sick or even when she substitute teaches at the local middle school.

Locking in a memory
While most of us have a few humiliating memories tucked away in our heads, we seldom think about why they tend to stick around so long. But a researcher at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center offer insights into why the brain gloms on to certain memories, particularly ones stemming from a single incident.