I wanted to submit a question on Answerbag, but between signing in and clicking on 'Ask a question', I forgot what the question was. Why does this happen?

Not enough brain to the oxygen!!!

What's worse is when you read a question and answer but go to the “read full answer” to view it and then forget what the question was. It's like a jeopardy game here! How can one comment on an answer if the question has been forgotten? lol

I knew the answer a moment ago....

Because the new AB needs a good enema.

Good drugs?

I was going to answer... but I forgot the question.

sorry.

Carmella, have you heard of the phenomenon called _short-term memory_?

Here's a definition of it from medterms.com:

"Short-term memory: A system for temporarily storing and managing information required to carry out complex cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension. Short-term memory is involved in the selection, initiation, and termination of information-processing functions such as encoding, storing, and retrieving data.

One test of short-term memory is memory span, the number of items, usually words or numbers, that a person can hold onto and recall. In a typical test of memory span, an examiner reads a list of random numbers aloud at about the rate of one number per second. At the end of a sequence, the person being tested is asked to recall the items in order. The average memory span for normal adults is 7.

Short-term memory is also termed recent or working memory."

memorylossonline.com (presented by the Memory Disorders Project of Rutgers University) has this to say about short term memory:

"Short-term memory refers to memories which last for a few minutes. Unlike sensory memory, which is stored in the exact form it was experienced, short-term memory has received some processing; thus, "A" is stored not as a visual stimulus, but as an abstract concept of the letter "A". Short-term memory is of limited capacity, usually 5-9 items ("7-plus-or-minus-two"). Beyond this capacity, new information can "bump" out other items from short-term memory. This is one form of forgetting. Objects in short-term memory can be of indefinite complexity: thus short-term memory can hold several numbers, or several words, or several complex concepts simultaneously. Thus, while an individual may only be able to remember seven random digits, it may be possible to remember more digits if they are "chunked" into meaningful objects: thus, "1776-2001-1941" represents twelve separate digits -- well beyond most people's capacity -- but only three easily-remembered chunks."

Because the "new and improved" format is so confusing and inanely faux-complicated. Bah.

You didn't have your question structured enough...
It wasn't ready to ask... You should have written it in points on paper...

To get it back, try this.. Get relaxed, and meditate on a well hole in the ground, with grass growing around the top... See yourself down in the well... Know when you get to the grass, you will remember what you forgot... Meticulously find handholds and footholds, and carefully climb out of the hole, and at the top, flip yourself up and out like getting into a small boat from the water.. expecting to have the memory back the moment your bum touches the grass...

Let me know your results, and your weird impressions while you did it...