I’ve never been super in to conspiracy theories. I didn’t even really know what they were until recently when I saw a YouTube video on something called The Mandela Effect. I’m not a believer in supernatural stuff like this but I researched it further and I don’t even know what to think anymore. Basically what the Mandela Effect is is when a lot of people remember something being a certain way, but it actually never happened. And when I say a lot of people, I mean most of the world. The reason it’s called the Mandela Effect is because many people remember Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 90’s, so when he died in 2013, people went crazy. There was even a book published in 1991 where the death of Nelson Mandela was discussed, stating he died in July of 1991. This was the first of many realizations that this conspiracy theory may be on to something. So, I’m going to share with you some of the most popular and mind blowing Mandela Effects out there.

1. The Bernstein Bears- I’m sure many of you are familiar with this children’s book-turned-show. I know I watched it a lot as a child and I had some of the books. I, along with everyone else, have always known this family of bears as the BerenSTEIN Bears. Sounds normal right? WRONG. It turns out, it’s never been the Berenstein Bears, but has always been the BerenSTAIN Bears. What. And if you’re skeptical, as I was at first, I invite you to Google this family of bears, or even better, find a hard copy of one of the books. It’ll be there in plain print as The Berenstain Bears.
2. Chic-Fil-A- The delicious fast food chain, which started in the Southern United States and has quickly taken over the rest of the country, is known by almost everyone as Chic-fil-a. Well, I’ve got some bad news for you. It’s always been Chick-fil-a. Even looking at that just looks wrong. Chick-fil-a was bombarded with E-Mails and tweets demanding an explanation. The fast food chain then released a statement that the restaurant’s name isn’t, and never has been, Chic-fil-a. There has always been a K.
3. Snow White- “Mirror Mirror on the wall.” We all remember this famous line from the Disney movie Snow White. It’s one of the most well known quotes from a movie and has been used in television several times. Children, as well as adults, know this famous line. But what if I told you that line was never actually said in Snow White? Yep. The real line the evil witch speaks is, “Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” If you don’t believe me, feel free to look it up on YouTube or re-watch an old recording of the film.
4. “Luke, I am your father.”- Nope, never said it. The famous (but incorrect) line spoken by Darth Vader in Star Wars is actually “No, I am your father.” So there it is. Probably the most famous line ever spoken in a movie and it never even happened. Again, watch the movie if you don’t believe it.
5. Jiffy Peanut Butter- If you’re like me, you love peanut butter. Doesn’t matter what brand, as long as it isn’t crunchy. So for all you peanut butter lovers out there, remember the peanut butter brand Jiffy? Yeah? Me too. Turns out it never existed, though. That’s right, it’s never been Jiffy, but rather just plain old Jif. There’s nowhere in this world you can find evidence of Jiffy Peanut Butter ever existing.
6. Kit-Kat- The popular candy bar has received a lot of attention for this theory. I, and many many others, remember the Kit-Kat logo having a dash between the two words. Well, there’s never been a dash. It’s always been KitKat. You won’t find a candy wrapper where there is a dash between the words.
7. Curious George- What a cutie. I remember this little monkey always having a tail and I’m pretty sure of this because I distinctly remember him hanging from trees by said tail. Well, it’s been discovered recently that Curious George never had a tail. People are shocked as well as extremely confused, because they, like me, remember him having a tail. The writers of the show have even released a statement confirming that the character never had a tail.
8. Febreez- You guys know Febreez. It’s the spray that you use to cover up odors but it usually just ends up making the room smell like BO and oranges. Well, it’s spelled Febreze. Millions of people remember it being spelled Febreez, but when they go to look at the bottle, it’s spelled Febreze. Even if you watch old commercials, it’s spelled Febreze. Kinda boring, but still weird.
9. Depends- You know those adult diapers? You’ve probably made jokes about them at some point in time, and you’ve probably called them “Depends.” Well, that’s where you were wrong. The adult diaper brand is actually simply known as Depend Adult Diapers. No S. Never has been. If that name didn’t sound weird before, it does now, but for a different reason.
10. Sketchers- The brand known for their practical yet butt-ugly shoes is actually spelled “Skechers”, with no T. It’s never had a T, and the company has released statements confirming that.
11. I Love Lucy- This hilarious TV show starring Lucille Ball was extremely popular in and around the 1950's. As a kid, I watched old episodes of this show quite often. In the show, Lucy's husband, Ricky is famous for two lines. The first is "Honey, I'm home!" Which he says in almost every episode when he returns from work. The next line was a little more popular. In the show, Lucy was always getting into some kind of trouble. When husband Ricky would find out about this, he would famously say, "Lucy, you got some 'splainin to do!" Again, one of the most famous lines in television history, was never actually said. If you go back and watch every episode ever aired, you will not come across a single one where Ricky says this famous line.

So there you go, 11 life-ruining Mandela Effects. Honestly, I still don’t know if I believe in all of this. I feel like it may be more of a psychological thing, but some of them or so weird that I kind of feel like the theory would make sense. I encourage you to research the Mandela Effect even more, it’s actually super interesting.