Orlando Serrell the events memory master after being struck by a baseball! Serrell was born in Newport News, Virginia, in 1968, and was a typical American boy, who enjoyed playing baseball every summer. August 17, 1979, at the age of ten, his life changed drastically. Orlando was trying to beat out a single, during a baseball game, when the baseball struck him in his left temple. He was knocked out, and suffered a headache, but recovered that evening.

All seemed just normal as ever to him, but he was no longer “normal”. Orlando by a twist of fate became one of the very strange people of the world. It dawned on him one day a year after the accident that he could remember every minute detail of every day of his life since the accident. He could remember impeccably every event and its associated time that occurred around him; from the clothes a friend was wearing and the date, to the TV show he was watching, and the exact time and date. Events such as what his family had for breakfast a certain day five months prior, to the style and color of a car that drove in front of him as he crossed the street.

Orlando has an acquired savant syndrome, which means he acquired an exceptional skill from a central nervous system injury. This is rare, but a similar acquired savant “gift” has occurred to a few others, such as Derek Amato, who suddenly became a music genius.

Orlando also suddenly, due to the baseball accident, can perform calendar calculations that are highly complex. He recalls the weather certain dates, along with all the other events in his life since that eventful moment, August 17, 1979. Fortunately, Orlando Serrell has graciously allowed scientists to study his brain via MRI scans, etc. Perhaps someday they can unlock this genius in the rest of us, and without any sudden blows to the head.