The effect earned its name from the fact that millions of people have strong memories of Nelson Mandela having died while still in prison. Many of those same people even remember seeing his funeral on television. Yet, in this reality, Mandela died in 2013, which is 23 years after having been released from prison.
My own experience with this bizarre effect occurred several years ago when I happened to be viewing the life story of Johnny Cash. His death was recorded as having occurred in 2003. However, I have a very strong memory of having announced his death to two of my friends the day after his death. I distinctly remember their lack of enthusiasm at hearing the news. I met these two friends in April of 2005. I have e-mails to back up my memory. I asked these same two friends whether they remembered me telling them about his death. Of course, they did not. Why would they? It was a trivial event. This experience left me with a weird feeling for quite a while.
I recently stumbled upon a couple of videos dealing with the Mandela Effect.
Here is the first video:
Besides the death of Nelson Mandela, here are some of the the anomalies listed in this video:
- How many people were in the car when J.F.K. was assassinated? I only remember 4 people, but the memory isn't that strong for me, so learning that there were indeed six people only vaguely surprises me.
- What does Crocodile Dundee actually say? Did he say "This is a knife", or did he say "That's a knife"? Again, my memory isn't clear, so I have no attachment to either answer. The correct answer is the second quote.
- Rubik's Cube spelling. Do you remember the spelling as Rubik's or Rubix? I always knew the spelling as Rubik's, which is the correct spelling.
- Does Mickey Mouse have suspenders? Apparently, he never did have suspenders. I have no clear memory of this aspect of his costume.
- Does Darth Vader say "Luke, I am your father", or does he say "No, I am your father"? Over the past few decades, so many people have quoted the first phrase, that it seems normal that this would become our memory of the phrase. Even James Earl Jones said the first quote during an interview on some talk show. However, if you watch the movie, he says the second quote with the stress on the word "I".
- Do you remember C-3PO being all gold or do you remember him having a silver leg? Apparently, he did have a silver leg. I don't have any strong memory either way, but it did surprise me to see photos of him with a silver leg.
- Is evangelist Billy Graham dead or alive? Apparently, he is still alive and kicking. I do not follow his life, so I have no memory either way.
- Is the movie title "Interview With A Vampire", or is the title "Interview With The Vampire"? Do you have a strong memory either way? I do not. I have not even seen the movie.
- Do you remember the game Monopoly? Does the tuxedoed moneybag guy wear a monocle, yes or no? He does not. I have memory of him having a monocle, but it doesn't bother me that he does not.
- In the movie "Jaws", does Roy Scheider's character say "We're gonna need a bigger boat", or does he say "You're gonna need a bigger boat"? I have no clear memory either way.
- In the movie "Sleeping Beauty", does the evil queen say to the mirror, "Mirror, Mirror on the wall...", or does she say "Magic mirror on the wall..."? I again suspect that this is a case of so many people mis-remembering the actual quote over the decades that the mis-remembered quote takes on a life of its own. I have not seen the movie, but I always did believe that the first quote would have been the correct one. However, I am willing to acknowledge that I am probably remembering the phrase that millions of others also remember.
Watch the video for more examples.
Here is another video to test whether you may experiencing the Mandela Effect:
Let me know if you have your own Mandela-Effect anomalies happening in your life.
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