Have you heard of the Mandela Effect? Writer Arlin Cuncic says that it “refers to a situation in which a large mass of people believes that an event occurred when it did not. Looking at the origin of the Mandela effect, some famous examples, as well as some potential explanations for this strange confluence of perceptions can help to shed light on this unique phenomenon.” This term was coined by Fiona Broome who is a self-described ‘paranormal consultant’ and she had a false memory of the death of South African anti-Apartheid leader Nelson Mandela in prison in the 1980s (he actually died in 2013, after having served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999), which she claimed was shared by “perhaps thousands” of other people. This is not the first experience where a group of people has all experienced the same phenomenon that actually never happened though.
Here are some other crazy examples.
1. Shazaam
In his article, Cuncic discusses this “movie.” “One of the most well-known examples of the Mandela Effect is the collective memory of a movie called “Shazaam” that starred the actor/comedian Sinbad in the 1990s. In fact, no such movie exists, although there was a children’s movie called Kazaam and some other coincidences that could help to explain how this movie became created (or remembered) in many people’s minds.”
2. Curious George’s Tail
This cute, funny, and non-Earth-shattering example shows that many believe America’s favorite monkey had a tail when actually he did not.
3. The Monopoly Man
While many of us remember him to have a monocle he actually never did. We all just added one as a part of our alternate memories. (This one shook me. My whole childhood has been a lie!)
4. Mother Teresa
This woman is so giving and has always been a saint in our eyes. It appears a large segment of the population recalls her becoming a saint back in the 1990s. This, however, isn’t the case. According to CNN, Mother Teresa was declared a saint in 2016 by Pope Francis.
5. Only you can prevent forest fires?
Our favorite fire-preventing icon is often referred to as Smokey the Bear when in actuality his name is just Smokey Bear. We all just added the “the” for hoots.
6. We are the Champions
Everyone knows this song and loves to sing it with their friends. Especially the ending where everyone belts out “of the world!” but wait! According to the lyrics, that was never actually a part of the song. Mind. Blown.
7. Mr. Rogers
Here comes some more childhood shattering information. We all remember the opening song saying, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood” when the words are actually “this neighborhood.” Hey, it’s 2020 — sing what you want.
8. Where in the World…
Famous fictional character Carmen SanDiego is known to wear an iconic red coat. However, some people remember the color to be yellow. There is no evidence of this yellow coat though.
Now that your whole universe and reality was flipped around, I wonder what other Mandela effects we will discover.
Featured image via “Monopoly” by JeepersMedia / CC BY 2.0
“of the world” was part of We Are the Champions, just not at the end. The mandela effect theory isn’t whether it’s there, just it specifically if it was the end. They do every time in the chorus until the last time and then they just fade out when they say we are the champions.