Have you ever struggled to recall a word--perhaps the name of a place, person, or a specific tongue--and felt like it was "on the tip of your tongue"? Well, the good thing is that almost everyone has experienced this feeling before, and while frustrating, the "tip of the tongue" (TOT) phenomenon is a cognitive glitch that gives us a decent insight into the way our brains encode and store memories. In psychology terms, the TOT phenomenon is a temporary failure of the brain to recall a piece of stored information. In many cases of the TOT phenomenon, you may recall things about the word like the letter it starts with or what it rhymes with. This phenomenon is not a sign that there is anything wrong with one's brain, however--this is a phenomenon that everyone can be subjected to regardless of age or brain health. In terms of what is actually happening in one's brain biologically when the TOT phenomenon occurs, think of the brain...