Something that I’ve been doing a ton of research on lately is conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories are these suspected beliefs that revolve around certain events, places, myths, and even science. It’s hard to really find a definition that would fit all of them because of how broad and different each of them are from each other, which is also what makes them so interesting and even addicting to research. It’s so easy to get lost in all of these opinions, theories, and ideas about this world but the one that I can’t seem to leave alone is “The Mandela Effect."

I am not going to lie to you; this theory has driven me absolutely insane and will probably do the same to you too. I’ve spent hours and hours researching this theory, how it came about, and all of the different examples of the effect. There’s so much evidence and proof that it’s hard to believe that it’s not true! That’s what really gets me. In fact, for the past week or so the only thing I’ve been able to ask myself is “How is this possible?” and “Why isn’t this widely addressed or even confirmed?” I’m sure you’ll be thinking the same exact things once I explain the effect to you. Before I begin, I want to warn you that this is extremely creepy and may leave you a bit unsettled.

So, to get this started, the Mandela Effect originates from a situation that obviously involves Nelson Mandela himself. The theory began because several people remember Mandela dying when he was in prison in the 1980s for standing up for the rights of South Africans during the apartheid. Well, as far as I know, Mandela died in his Johannesburg home in 2013, which was highly clarified in the media worldwide. For me, this example of the effect was one that I don’t remember, simply because I wasn’t alive at the time.

I guess what really struck attention to this was how many people actually remembered him dying in prison. If he hadn’t died in prison, why did a mass amount of people remember him doing so? And that’s exactly what the Mandela Effect is: the idea of large quantities of people remembering things differently than how we perceive them to be today. It’s as if there was a complete change to several unique things within our universe that no one really has an explanation for but can recall being different in the past within their minds. Many believe that this is due to us being introduced to alternate realities or even a fifth dimension. Some people even think it’s due to time travel and the idea of how going back in time and doing something differently can affect the future; but I’m not here to really get into the scientific aspects of it. I want you to make a decision and think about why our minds remember these things as being different than how they are perceived to be today. I want to present you with a few examples to - ya know - get your minds thinking a little bit. These examples are some of the most common and creepy due to all of the evidence and proof there is to back the fact that these things were in fact altered throughout time.

1. “Life WAS like a box of chocolates”

Now I know they say to save the best for last, but this is so crazy that I just had to put it first. We’ve all seen the movie “Forrest Gump” and we all know that famous quote that Forrest says while sitting on the bench waiting for the bus - or at least we thought we did. Take a second to think about that famous quote and what exactly is being said by Forest. Life is like a box of chocolates, right?

*********WRONG*********

If you go watch the movie or even search the clip on YouTube and listen closely to Forrest, the line being said is “Mama always said that life WAS like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gunna get.” PLEASE tell me I’m not crazy! Doesn’t that make you want to go absolutely insane?! I love that movie and have watched it a zillion times and always remember the first part saying, “Life is like a box of chocolates."

Something that proves that this is very off is David Letterman hosting the 67^th annual Academy Awards in 1995. During the opening words of the show, which can be found here, Letterman references Forrest Gump with the famous line “Life is (uh) like a box of chocolates…” There are two things that are very weird about this though. The first one is that Letterman said the phrase the way I assume most of us remember it without any hesitation or correction. The second thing is that there was no type of response or backlash to the host for saying the phrase wrong at all throughout the public or media. Why wouldn’t this be recognized if it were wrong? This phrase, being one of the most popular references of all time, ought to be embedded in most of our minds, especially back then in 1995 when the film was at its pinnacle of success. If Letterman had said it wrong, there clearly would have been some kind of response, but no, nothing was said or criticized about the host’s words.

I know I probably lost you back when I linked the video because of how amusing it is to think that for this whole time Tom Hanks was saying, “Life was like a box of chocolates” and that for the whole time majority of the world has been saying it wrong without ever really being criticized for it. Even when searching the phrase on Google or YouTube there are titles of videos and articles with the word IS instead of WAS. Why would the people responsible for these articles, references, and videos post them with the wrong title or using the wrong words? The Mandela effect is really the only way to account for such strange behavior surrounding this famous phrase. It’s as if there had to be a time when we weren’t paying attention it had changed, leaving behind all of the permanent evidence such as recorded speeches, references, and videos that all consist of a different tense of the verb. I wonder what Tom Hanks has to say about this…

2. “Interview with THE Vampire”

Interview with the Vampire was a novel originally written by Anne Rice in 1976 that was soon transformed into a fantasy/drama film in 1994. This is also an example that I may be too young to really be able to experience in terms of the Mandela effect but that doesn’t mean other people haven’t! Apparently, the when the novel was released it was called “Interview With A Vampire”. The A was replaced with the THE with the Mandela Effect. Several people remember this title with an A and once again there are several instances where the Mandela Effect is backed up in this situation. The first instance is once again: David Letterman hosting the 67^th annual Academy Awards in 1995. Now, there’s no way this man could’ve made TWO mistakes at such a popular, well watched event and not get criticized for or even mentioned about it like there is NO WAY. While listing the nominees for one of the categories, “Interview with the Vampire” being one of them, Letterman lists the film as “Interview with A Vampire”. Once again, no one even slightly attacked him for it, making it clear that it wasn’t really a mistake at all at the time. You can even see this for yourself here.

Now the second instance is absolutely INSANE. This piece of proof comes from an interview…WITH ANNE RICE HERSELF. Anne Rice, the AUTHOR of Interview with the Vampire, called her novel “Interview with A Vampire." The part of the interview can be watched hereat 2:14 to 2:21. Why would THE AUTHOR of a novel not know the title to her own book? Why didn’t the media or millions of book lovers that read her novel criticize her? It just doesn’t make sense. There is no way that multiple people were mispronouncing the title of both a novel and a film on NATIONAL television and get away with it. If someone were to make a mistake on TV today, which it definitely does, it’d be all over the media for weeks. It is absolutely crazy to think that without even realizing it, there has been a change within the universe that involved the title of that novel/film.

Are you done flipping out yet? Because I’m not. I’m still trying to get to the bottom of these two instances that involve the Mandela Effect. Well actually I’m trying to convince to myself that I’m not crazy by looking up more proof for these theories and the Mandela Effect in general. There are so many other examples that involve this conspiracy theory but these are the two that I have found the most physical proof on. A lot of the other examples include proof that generally comes from the idea of mass amounts of people remembering them. The craziest part about this effect is that if you go and search these instances, or any example involving the effect, you will see that you were "wrong." You will see that Forrest says "was" and that the title says "the." It's the fact that your mind and instincts are telling you differently that makes everything, including your own sanity, so questionable. Please consider researching the Mandela Effect and see whether you can relate or believe in the theory! Like I said, it’s extremely interesting but it can be a little creepy to think about because you’re not really given a clear explanation. It really gets you thinking about the things in this world that are hidden from us, which is what a lot of conspiracy do. Once you research one, you’re hooked… And be ready because people WILL think you’re crazy.