the.com/keepsake
proof that humans assign infinite value to objects worth nothing on any market
means A small object kept purely because it reminds you of a person, place, or moment, regardless of any actual value.
from A transparent English compound from the 1700s, built the same way as 'makesake' or earlier 'forsake' — it's literally a thing you 'keep' for the 'sake' of remembrance. The 'sake' here is the old Germanic word meaning purpose or cause (related to the 'sake' in 'for goodness' sake'), once tied to legal disputes and 'matters,' which softened over centuries into the gentle sense of 'on behalf of' or 'for the benefit of.' So a keepsake is, quite plainly, something kept for the sake of memory.
- old meaning
- originally meant something kept for someone's sake
- memory hack
- objects trigger memories better than photos do
- grief science
- holding the dead's belongings measurably eases mourning
- museum logic
- a keepsake is just a museum of one person
princess diana's wedding dress — preserved by the spencer family and displayed at kensington palace since 1981