The Mandela Effect -- maybe you've heard of it, maybe you haven't -- nonetheless, you've probably experienced this strange phenomenon.
According to the official Mandela Effect website, the Mandela Effect "refers to apparently real, alternate memories of a history that doesn't match the documented history in this reality." The theory was named after Nelson Mandela, who was a leader of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, because many people vividly remember Mandela dying when he was in prison. This of course is false, because Mandela died in 2013 -- yet so many people have extremely vivid memories of him dying in prison.
Another popular Mandela Effect phenomenon is "The Berenstein Bears" vs. "The Berenstain Bears."
"The Berenstain Bears" was a very popular children's book, and for years, people always referred to it as "The Berenstein Bears," because that is what they remember reading as the title. Soon, a debate began over whether it was "Berenstein" or "Berenstain," and surely enough people discovered that their old books said "The Berenstain Bears." This of course brought people to question the existence of parallel universes, and if maybe at one point the universe we exist in briefly entered a parallel universe, causing some sort of change, such as "Berenstein" becoming "Berenstain," and even though the title of the book changed, people's memories of what they believed to be the original title did not change -- almost as if a piece of history was deleted or altered.
While the "Berenstein" vs. "Berenstain" debate didn't affect everyone, there is one Mandela Effect phenomenon that has most likely happened to everyone, and it will probably turn your world upside down.
In "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the Evil Queen says the famous line, "Mirror, mirror on the wall..." which people have been repeating for decades. However, the real line is "Magic mirror on the wall..." If you still have your old "Snow White" VHS tape, go ahead and pop it in if you don't believe this.
Similar to "Snow White," is an incredibly famous line from "Star Wars." Even if you haven't seen "Star Wars," you know the meaning behind "Luke, I am your father." Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but that is not the real line. The real line is "No, I am your father." As upsetting as this may be, the silver lining is that everyone with the name Luke will no longer have people constantly telling them that they are their father!
I even had my own experience with the Mandela Effect recently. Back in elementary school, I did a project on Muhammad Ali, and I very vividly remember when I was researching him, he was dead. So, when Ali died recently, I was actually extremely confused and taken aback. Just when I thought I was alone though, I was telling one of my friends about the Mandela Effect and this particular instance, and she told me that she also remembers Muhammad Ali dying years ago -- very creepy.
Here are some other popular and commonly experienced Mandela Effects:
Maybe the Mandela Effect is just a result of poor relaying of information, or maybe it's just a result of people hearing things incorrectly and reading things incorrectly. The fact that there are so many of these incidents though, especially on such a large scale with things like famous movie lines, can't help but make one think that maybe there really is something more to all of this. Maybe one day we'll really learn what's going on, if there is something more to all of this.
But until then, take photos and recordings of everything you hold near and dear to you, because tomorrow you might find out it isn't what you remember it to be.
