Nowadays we hear a lot about the Mandela Effect, but what is the Mandela Effect and how does it work?
The Mandela Effect is a crazy phenomenon when a large number of people remember precise details or occurrences about something that are inaccurate or never happened at all. One well known example of the Mandela Effect is a famous line from the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back. Instead of “Luke, I am your father,” Darth Vader actually says, “No, I am your father.” This is only one example of the Mandela Effect but it is one that most people recognize.
Mandela Effects can also be extremely small scale such as one experienced by only one person or a small group of people such as a family unit. An example of this would be thinking that the couch in your living room growing up was blue when it was actually gray. Many people believe that the Fruit of the Loom logo contains a cornucopia, but it does not. People believe this because of the Mandela Effect. If many people believe the same thing whether it be about an event or an image, more and more people will begin to believe this forced perspective.
How does the Mandela Effect work? The mind forms memories by experiencing an event and processing it in a specific manner. Proteins stimulate brain cells and form connections with different neurons in order to store information and create memories. The more you focus on a specific memory, the stronger this bond is and you can even change the way events happen in your brain. If many people recall something incorrectly and share it, others will begin to believe it and the memory will permanently be changed. This is how Mandela Effects are formed.
How did the Mandela Effect gain popularity? Nelson Mandela was a South African president in the 1990’s. Nelson Mandela served 27 years in prison and many people recall news coverage of him dying in prison in the 1980’s. There are articles written about his death and many many people recall similar memories of his death. Nelson Mandela in fact died in 2013 in his home. Fiona Broome created a website where she wrote about her memory of Mandela’s death and many people recalled the same memory. The “Mandela Effect” term came to be from this false death of Nelson Mandela. President de Klerk who was the South African President in 1990 released Mandela from prison on February 11, 1990. After being released from prison he was chosen as deputy president of the African National Congress. He officially received this title in July of 1991. Mandela assisted President de Klerk in order to peacefully transition to nonracial democracy.
I sent out a survey to the Carrollton community asking if they had ever experienced a Mandela Effect. A shocking 79.3% of the community responded saying they had.
Here are some of the responses to my second question, “What is the craziest Mandela Effect you have experienced?”
The JCPenney logo. I thought it was without an E.
I mispronounced Levi’s jeans until i was like 12.
I thought Curious George had a tail.
The Kit Kat one. You think It’s kit-kat with a dash BUT IT’S NOT. THERE’S NO DASH THERES NEVER BEEN A DASH. Also you would think the bear’s name is “Smokey the bear” BUT NO it’s just “Smokey Bear” weird.
The Fruit of the Loom logo doesn’t have a cornucopia in the background.
There was another princess in Mario Kart and there was even a show for it.
The eyeglass from the monopoly guy.
I thought that Wild Krats was spelled Wild Krattz. Crazy, right?🤯
Looney Tunes/toons
I honestly don’t remember what it was about but I know it has happened.
I thought there were two f’s in Double Stuf Oreos – but there’s only one.
I 100% thought that Curious George had a tail. And so did everyone else! I mean, he’s a MONKEY!
The burglar emoji
I SWEAR ON MY LIFE THAT AUNTIE ANNE’S WAS AUNTIE ANNIES
Cheez Its
When a group of friends and I remembered a person who didn’t even exist. We even remembered the color of clothes they were wearing and where we were when we saw them.
I’m just going to add to what I said before but the burglar emoji existed like he was tiptoeing with the little money bag over his shoulder and the little mask and the striped shirt. Like come one how did that not exist but nope and like curious George and the fruit of the loom like WHAT!?
I thought the fruit of the loom logo had a cornucopia, but it doesn’t.
Mirror mirror on the wall when its actually magic mirror
Cheez itz vs cheez it
As we can see from this survey it is evident that the majority of people have experienced a Mandela Effect at least once before. Showing that this is something that many people in our community have experienced helps prove that it is more common than expected. The Mandela effect has been going on for ages and will continue.
If you would like to know if you have ever experienced a Mandela Effect you can take this quiz to find out: https://www.buzzfeed.com/christopherhudspeth/tell-us-how-your-brain-remembers-these-mandela-effect
