"The chaos that erupted in the ranks of the ANC when Nelson Mandela died on the 23rd of July 1991 brought the January 29th, 1991 Inkatha-ANC peace accord to nothing." This is a quote directly from the book "English Alive 1990" published by the Western Cape Branch of the South African Council for English Education. But, official news reports say that Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95 on December 5th, 2013. This information brought many people confusion as large groups of people separately remember Nelson Mandela dying in jail in 1991. And thus, the Mandela Effect is born. Specifically, this is a psychological phenomenon where a lot of people remember something a specific way, but it was actually a different way the whole time. As time goes on, there is more and more evidence that people find to back up their claims. In this article, I will discuss the top 10 most popular and mind-blowing Mandela Effects.
10) What is the color Chartreuse?
Chartreuse has always been one of those interesting colors that no one could casually identify. But, most people remember associating it with purple, pink, or red. In actuality, chartreuse is in the yellow-green family. I always thought that chartreuse was such a pretty color, but it is actually not pretty at all.
9) Who's the fairest of them all?
The famous line from the Disney Movie Snow White is "Mirror Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?". This has been parodied many times and everyone specifically remembers the "Mirror Mirror" start to the phrase. But, in actuality, the line has always been "Magic Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?". Magic Mirror?! Yup. Magic Mirror.
8) My bologna has a first name....
Everyone's favorite hot dogs and perhaps one of the most memorable commercials from the 70's. The picture on the left looks fine, right? Except for the fact that the brand name has always been Oscar Mayer, NOT Oscar Meyer. That's right. The famous jingle goes like this: "My bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R. My bologna has a second name, it's M-A-Y-E-R.". So, if you remember it being M-E-Y-E-R, you just have to accept that you were wrong.
7) The Silence of the Lambs
When Clarice meets Hannibal Lecter for the very first time in the horror classic The Silence of the Lambs, he says the very ominous, famous line "Hello, Clarice"... right? Well, no. In that memorable scene, he actually greets her with a simple "Good morning". Some people remember him saying it on the phone with her. But that's wrong too. He begins that phone call with "Well, Clarice..."
6) Kit-Kat
One of my personal favorites, the Kit-Kat has been around since 1931. And, since then, it has NEVER been spelled with a dash. So, it has always been Kit Kat. I have eaten plenty of these in my life and have always spelled it with a dash, as have many other people. Well, at least it still tastes just as good, right?
5) Rich Uncle Pennybags has perfect vision?
These just get weirder and weirder. Anyone who's anyone has definitely played the board game Monopoly before and has seen the Monopoly Man on numerous occasions. So, why do so many people remember him having a monocle when he literally never has? The game is stressful enough as it is, but now I can never look at it the same.
4) May the force be with you.
This is not only the most famous quote in the Star Wars universe, but this is perhaps one the most famous movie lines of all time. But, it is also the most misquoted... When Darth Vader reveals this enormous plot twist, he does NOT say "Luke, I am your father." He is actually answering to Luke's previous line. Here is the whole actual dialogue:
Vader: "Obi Wan never told you what happened to your father."
Luke: "He told me enough. He told me you killed him!"
Vader: "No, I am your father."
Yeah. The actual line is "No, I am your father." James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader, can even be quoted in an interview saying, "When I first saw the dialogue saying 'Luke, I am your father.'" So even he remembers it wrong. Even the force can't explain this.
3) Sex in the City...?
Who could forget this incredibly famous TV series and its equally as amazing movie? While you definitely remember the content, you may not remember the title very well. It has always been Sex AND the City. This one is especially crazy because there are perfume bottles, soaps, and other beauty products that say Sex IN the City. Type in "Sex" into Google Search and the very first suggestion that comes up is "Sex in the City". Well, next time your mom brings it up, make sure you correct her.
2) Gotta catch 'em all!
Pokemon has been one of the most popular franchises since its debut in 1996 and of course, everyone knows the name of the most famous Pokemon, Pikachu. Most people can easily picture him in their head and there are a huge handful of people who can always remember him with black on the tip of his tail. Well, you guessed it, the Pikachu to the right without the black is the correct one. This one really messes with my head because I was a HUGE Pokemon fan growing up. I had binders full of cards, bins full of toys, all the video games, and I can honestly say that I specifically remember the black tip of the tail. He was NEVER seen with black on his tail from his very first television appearance or his very first card. Even the original concept art shows a plain yellow tail. I even remember a picture of me at the Nintendo Store in Rockefeller Center in front of a Pikachu statue with his black tipped tail, but looking back on the picture, it had no black tip. Why must you do this to me, Pikachu?
1) Yup. It's the Bears.
These Bears have been the center of attention when it comes to the Mandela Effect for a while now. The Berenstain Bears have been around since 1962 when their first book came out, and all this time, people remember it with the "-stein" ending. The reason why this one has specifically gotten so much traction is because of the telling evidence that has been found. There are books, TV Guides, VHS tapes, toys, and articles that use the Berenstein spelling. It's even pronounced as if it does end with a "-stein". No one says BerenSTAIN Bears. Go ask your parents to spell it out for you and they will most likely spell it the wrong way like the countless people who support this Mandela Effect. Thanks, Berenstain Bears, for frying my brain.
There are countless other Mandela Effects. Wasn't it always "Febreeze"? Nope, it's "Febreze". Didn't Curious George always have a tail? Nope, no tail. Are you sure it's not "Fruit Loops"? Nope, it's always been "Froot Loops". This continues to boggle minds as new ones come up quite often and there are a few different theories as to why this happens. "False Memory" is a phenomenon that has been studied by Sigmund Freud, but mostly on individuals while the Mandela Effect is large groups of people remembering something a certain way. Memories aren't always very reliable, so this could easily just be our memories convincing themselves that something happened when it actually didn't. Other people have stated that they believe there is a much more complex answer.
Time Travel?
Many people believe that Time Travel can be possible sometime in the future. So, are people traveling back in time from 1000 years in the future? Just like in the movie The Butterfly Effect from 2004, if one small thing is altered in the past, it could change other small things in the future.
Alternate Universe?
Others believe that there are an infinite amount of alternate universes. In one universe, Pikachu does have a black tipped tail. In another, it was Sex in the City. So, this could be our universe crossing over into another universe where these things were real at one point, but now never were.
Do we live in a simulation?
Some people go as far to say that our whole world is just a computer simulation and the Mandela Effect is a glitch in our system. As technology continues to advance exponentially and things like Virtual Reality are becoming more life-like, is it possible that humans in the future created our world as an experiment? Or, is it maybe even possible that aliens are so advanced that they created the human race to evaluate how emotions and opinions interact?
Yeah, there are some crazy theories out there. It's probably most likely that it is just a collective false memory and our minds playing tricks on us. But, could one of these more insane theories actually be true? We may never know the honest answer, but what we do know is that the Mandela Effect will most likely continue to expand minds and increase curiosity. So, don't be afraid to explore and question. Be curious and always keep an open mind.
