By Nicole Chedraoui 

Warning: This article may make you question EVERYTHING…

Calling all conspiracy lovers! It’s your time!  Today we’re talking about the Mandela Effect, one of the more wild conspiracy theories out there. Some of you may be asking yourself “what in the world is the Mandela Effect?” The Mandela Effect refers to a situation in which a large number of people remember an event occurring, when in reality it never happened. The reasoning behind the name “Mandela” Effect, is that millions of people around the world, strangely enough, remember Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1900’s when he actuality he died in December of  2013. An infamous book, still on the market, titled “English Alive,” was published on October 1, 1991, and contains a quote that reads, “Mandela died that night on the 23rd of July 1991.” This best selling book was written 28 years ago, so clearly people read it and agreed with it. So when people heard about his death “again” in 2013, it created the chaotic theory now referred to as “the Mandela Effect.”

In simple terms, conspiracist and quantum scientists believe that the reasoning behind the Mandela Effect is alternate realities. Basically, the Mandela Effect originates from quantum physics and relates to the idea that instead of our world existing in only one timeline of events, it’s possible that alternate realities are taking place and mixing with our timeline. Many believe that the boundaries between universes are more malleable than we’ll ever know, allowing our realities to be tampered with, and history to retroactively become changed.  The theory stands that you can even exist in other universes, and people share common beliefs simply because they existed in the same universe hexadent. A parallel universe appears to be almost exactly the same as our universe, but with small insignificant changes, which could explain all of these false memories. In theory, this would result in large groups of people having the same memories because the timeline has been altered as we shift between realities. As unbelievable as this may sound, it genuinely cannot be disproven and therefore, we cannot discount the possibility it exists. 

It became more widely accepted when people began finding little differences around them EVERYWHERE.  From their favorite shows and movies to different candy and foods, little things in the universe appeared to change. Some of the most widely identified Mandela Effects include the following: 

#1 The Berenstain Bears: 

Ah, yes, all of us early 2000s childhood babies remember the Berenstein Bears. WRONG! It’s been Berenstain the whole time! I don’t know about you, but I specifically remember it being “Berenstein,” not “Berenstain,” and everybody else did too!  Once other people discovered this change, people started freaking out, checking all of their book covers, DVDs, and other merchandise. They all said “Berenstain”, except for one scary exception. A Reddit user who grew up on the show went through all of their old VHS tapes, and found that the oldest VHS tape of the Berenstain Bears said “BerenSTAIN” on the cover, and “BerenSTEIN” on the side and back.  Additionally, in November 2018, a commercial aired on live television showing the bears and above it in big letters, “The Berenstein Bears,” with a bunch of little kids saying “stein” instead of “stain.”  

#2 Oscar Mayer

Not only was Oscar Mayer known for their bologna, hot dogs and other products, they are also known for their iconic spelling jingle. Most people around the world remember this jingle going: “My bologna has a first name, it’s O-S-C-A-R, my bologna has a second name, its M-E-Y-E-R”— NOPE!  It’s M-A-Y-E-R!  Pronounced like John Mayer.  

#3 Mr. Rogers Theme Song

 There is not one person I know who remebers Mr. Roger’s theme song the correct way. Most remember the song going:“It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day in the neighborhood”, when in reality it’s always been, “It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood-a beautiful day in this neighborhood.” Weird right? 

#4 Star Wars: I am Your Father Scene

Everyone knows this “Star Wars” scene, whether you are a fan or not, as it is one of the most widely recognized cinematic scenes in film history. In this scene, Darth Vader reveals to Luke that he is his father. Pretty much everyone remembers this scene as, “Luke I am your father,” when in reality, that is never said in the film. Vader always said, ”No, I am your father.”  There is merchandise sold in stores that says “Luke I am your father,” not “No, I am your Father.”

#5 The Monopoly Man

During one of your childhood Monopoly marathons, did you ever pause the game to pay attention to the little Monopoly man on the board game box? If you have, you most likely remember the man resembling a small cartoon character in a suit, bowtie, hat, and little monocle over his eye. On Halloween, people even dress up as him with his iconic monocle but strangely enough he never actually had one, we all just incorrectly remember him with a monocle. The creators of Monopoly heard about this controversy and even came out and said he never had a monocle over his eye, but the man without the monocle just looks wrong, even if it isn’t.  

#6 Curious George

Another childhood favorite of many was cartoon character Curious George. He had many books, merchandise, and even his own children’s television show. As children, and even now, many remember Curious George as having a tail. They remember him swinging around from tree to tree on his tail. Many have even shown stuffed animals they had from the early 90’s that HAD a tail. It was even a popular birthday game at parties to “Pin the tail on Curious George,” so why looking back, has Curious George never had a tail?  If you google the monkey or watch old reruns on television, they all show him with no tail. 

#7 Febreze 

Febreze is a cleaner that comes in a variety of scents used to make a room smell better. Most people  remember seeing “Febreeze” printed on the cleaner. It even makes sense, it’s in a spray bottle, and comes out like a BREEZE.  Nonetheless, all bottles and commercials show it printed as Febreze, except for one commercial from the early 2000’s. The commercial shows a dirty room with a before and after reaction of using cleaner. At the end, it shows up with the Febreze logo spelling it“Febreeze.”

These are just a few examples of the Mandela Effect found  all around us. To learn more about it, watch Shane Dawson’s explanation of the Mandela Effect on Youtube. It really will make you question your surroundings. What do you think?  Is the Mandela Effect all a conspiracy, or could there be some truth to it after all?