The Mandela Effect Will Make You Question Everything


By Amanda Restano

Do you remember the iconic line in Star Wars “Luke, I am your father”? What if someone told you that Darth Vader never says this in the movie? Many people recall that famous quote from “The Empire Strikes Back”. The phrase can be found on t-shirts, phone cases, and anything in between. Except that is not what Darth Vader says. The actual quote is “No, I am your father.” So how come so many people remember it the other way? This can be explained by the theory of false memories, recently dubbed “The Mandela Effect”.

The name “Mandela Effect” comes from paranormal consultant Fiona Broome, who discovered she and many others claim to remember Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s when he actually died in 2013.

Some believers of the Mandela Effect claim it to be evidence that we are living in an alternate universe. According to them these memories can be a result of someone time travelling and changing history. But these theories lack proof, it is more probable that the “glitches” happening are in your brain, not in the universe.

No example of the Mandela Effect has created more talk than that of the children’s book and TV series The Berenstain Bears. Many claim to remember it being called The Berenstein Bears and were shocked when they found out the actual spelling.

Here’s a list of some other Mandela Effects that have taken over the internet:

Screen Shot 2017-12-19 at 8.32.25 AMSome people insist that Target has more rings on their logo. The first logo is the correct one.

 

Screen Shot 2017-12-19 at 8.32.59 AM.pngSome claim they remember The Laughing Cow having a nose ring but she never had one.

 

Screen Shot 2017-12-19 at 8.33.55 AM.pngMany remember Pikachu’s tail having a black mark in the end but if you go back and look at him, you’ll see nothing there.

 

Screen Shot 2017-12-19 at 8.40.53 AMSurprisingly, Curious George never had a tail.

Whether this means that we are living an alternate reality or that our brains are simply confusing facts after seeing these things so often misrepresented, it is amazing how many of us share the same false memories.


Amanda is a grade 11 student at FHCI and is a Technology Editor for The Golden Falcon newspaper.

 

Image Citations:

Hudspeth, Christopher. https://www.buzzfeed.com/christopherhudspeth/crazy-examples-of-the-mandela-effect-that-will-make-you-ques?utm_term=.igDqQQjN1#.sm3DWW3ZJ

Hudspeth, Christopher. https://www.buzzfeed.com/christopherhudspeth/15-new-mandela-effect-examples-that-are-going-to-turn-your?utm_term=.annQbbj94#.lrRNppq8V