The Mandela Effect

 

The Mandela Effect exposes a fundamental vulnerability in hippocampal memory encoding.

Reconstructive memory theory confirms each retrieval event modifies the original neural trace - inserting fabricated details, altering sequences, eliminating contradictory information.

Your memories are not recordings. They are reconstructions.

The Mandela Effect is a phenomenon in which large groups of people share the same false memory. It shows up in moments like remembering the children’s book as The Berenstein Bears instead of its actual title, The Berenstain Bears.

The term was coined in 2009 by researcher Fiona Broome after she discovered that many people—including herself—remembered Nelson Mandela dying in the 1980s, even though he actually died in 2013.

Origins of the Mandela Effect

The term "Mandela Effect" was first coined in 2009 by Fiona Broome when she created a website to detail her observance of the phenomenon. Broome was at a conference talking with other people about how she remembered the tragedy of former South African president Nelson Mandela's death in a South African prison in the 1980s.

However, Nelson Mandela did not die in the 1980s in prison—he passed away in 2013. As Broome began talking to others about her memories, she learned she was not alone. Others remembered seeing news coverage of his death as well as a speech by his widow.

Broome was shocked that so many people could remember the same event in such detail when it never happened. Encouraged by her book publisher, she began a website to discuss what she called the Mandela Effect and similar incidents.

Key Takeaways

• The Mandela Effect is when a large number of people remember an event differently from how it actually happened.
• False memories, influenced by outside information, can change how we remember events.
• The internet plays a role in spreading misinformation that can contribute to collective misremembering.

Notable Examples

The story of Nelson Mandela is not the only example of this type of false group memory. As the concept of the Mandela Effect grew along with Broome's website, other group false memories began to emerge.

• Henry VIII Eating a Turkey Leg: People think they remember seeing a famous portrait of Henry VIII eating or holding a turkey leg, though no such painting has ever existed. There have, however, been similar cartoons created. This may be related to the common knowledge of Henry VIII as a large man.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: Many remember Darth Vader saying, "Luke, I am your father," but the actual line is, "No, I am your father."
• Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Many remember Snow White saying, "Mirror, mirror on the wall…" but the line actually begins, "Magic mirror on the wall." The 2012 film Mirror Mirror likely added to the confusion.
• Oscar Meyer or Oscar Mayer?: Some recall the hot dog brand as "Oscar Meyer," but it’s actually spelled "Mayer." The pronunciation likely fuels the confusion.
• Location of New Zealand: Where is New Zealand in relation to Australia? If you look at a map, you will see that it is southeast of the country. However, there is a community of people who claim to remember New Zealand being northeast instead of southeast.
• Berenstein Bears: The famous children's series The Berenstain Bears by Stan and Jan Berenstain isn’t immune to the Mandela Effect. Many remember it as Berenstein Bears—with an "e" instead of an "a"—similar to the Oscar Mayer case, suggesting a cognitive explanation rather than parallel realities.
• Shazaam, Starring Sinbad: A famous Mandela Effect example is the supposed 1990s movie Shazaam starring Sinbad—which doesn’t exist. People may be confusing it with Kazaam (starring Shaquille O’Neal) or the DC superhero Shazam films, though neither features Sinbad.
• Pikachu's Black-Tipped Tail: Many people report remembering Pikachu, a Pokémon character, as having a black-tipped tail. In reality, the character has always had a solid yellow tail. The confusion or false memory may stem from the fact that Pikachu, as you can see, does have black-tipped ears.
• Mickey Mouse's Suspenders: Mickey Mouse might be the most famous cartoon character in the world, but even Disney's famous mouse is often misremembered in the minds of fans. People often report the character wearing suspenders when he does not. The original Mickey is wearing shorts, but is completely unclothed on the top half of his body—how scandalous.
• Sally Field's Famous Oscar Speech: When Sally Field won her 1985 Oscar, many remember her saying, "You like me, you really like me!" But she actually said, "I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me." The misquote was popularized by Jim Carrey’s parody in The Mask.
• Looney Toons vs Looney Tunes: Yes, the Looney Tunes are in fact cartoons, not cartunes. And yes, you may remember watching the next generation of characters on a TV show called Tiny Toon Adventures. Nonetheless, the original show was Looney Tunes, not Looney Toons, as a companion to Merrie Melodies.
• Jiffy Peanut Butter: There is Jiffy Lube, there's Jiffy Pop popcorn, there's Skippy peanut butter, and you may be able to whip up a PB&J in a jiffy, but no, there is no such thing as Jiffy Peanut Butter. It is and has always been Jif, though many people would swear to the contrary.
• Curious George's Tail: This one is, well, curious. The assumption is that Curious George is a monkey, and most monkeys are understood to have tails. Many remember Curious George having a tail, but alas, everyone's favorite curious primate is, in fact, tailless. We hope this hasn't caused George any kind of existential crisis.
• Froot Loops: You can thank Kellogg's for this entry in the weird spelling section of the Mandela effect catalog. While the very well-known cereal is supposedly fruit-flavored, they decided to lean into the loops and double up on the double O's, opting for Froot Loops instead of Fruit Loops, much to our surprise.
• Fruit of the Loom's Logo: You may not be able to identify every piece of fruit in the logo for the clothing brand Fruit of the Loom, but everybody at least knows that there is a cornucopia behind all the fruit, right? Wrong! Just ask the company itself—there is no cornucopia, even if we all remember it.
• C-3PO's Leg: C-3PO, the iconic Star Wars droid, actually has a silver right leg. With older film resolution, waist-up shots, and all-gold toys, it’s easy to see why most people remember him as all gold.
• "Play It Again, Sam"...Or Not: Casablanca is famous for the line "Play it again, Sam"—though it was never said exactly that way. Ingrid Bergman actually says, "Play it once, Sam," and Woody Allen’s 1972 film Play It Again, Sam added to the mix-up.
• It's a Beautiful Day...Where?: Hollywood fueled the Mandela Effect with the 2019 Mister Rogers biopic, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, referencing the song that actually begins, "It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood," not "the neighborhood."
• Mr. Monopoly's Monocle: Rich Uncle Pennybags, aka Mr. Monopoly, looks like he should wear a monocle—but he doesn’t. People likely confuse him with the monocled Mr. Peanut, and a scene in Ace Ventura 2 calling a character "The Monopoly Guy" may have added to the mix-up.

Explanations for the Mandela Effect

So why would this effect even happen? Let's explore.

False Memories

A likely explanation for the Mandela effect involves false memories.1 Before we consider what is meant by false memories, let's look at another example of the Mandela effect, as it will help us to understand how memory can be faulty (and may lead to the phenomenon that we are describing).

Who was Alexander Hamilton? Most Americans learned in school that he was a founding father of the United States of America, but that he was not a president. However, when asked about the presidents of the United States, many people mistakenly believe that Hamilton was a president. Why?

If we consider a simple neuroscience explanation, the memory of Alexander Hamilton is encoded in the same area of the brain where the memories of the presidents of the United States are stored. The means by which memory traces are stored is called the engram, and the framework in which similar memories are associated with each other is called the schema.

So when people try to recall Hamilton, this sets off the neurons in close connection to each other, bringing with it the memory of the presidents. (Though this is an oversimplified explanation, it illustrates the general process.)

When memories are recalled, rather than remembered perfectly, they are influenced to the point that they can eventually become incorrect. In this way, memory is unreliable and not infallible.

Confabulation

Confabulation involves your brain filling in gaps in your memories to make them more sense. This isn't lying; it's remembering details that never happened. Confabulation tends to increase with age.2

Misleading Post-Event Information

Information you learn after an event can change your memory of it. This includes even subtle information and helps to explain why eyewitness testimony can be unreliable.3

Priming

Priming refers to the factors that precede an event and affect our perception of it.4 Also called suggestibility and presupposition, priming is the difference between asking how short a person is versus how tall a person is. Saying, "Did you see the black car?" instead of "...a black car?" makes a subtle suggestion that influences response and memory.

In essence, memories are vulnerable bits of information stored in the brain that can be changed over time. While we assume that our memories are accurate, this is not necessarily the case.

Alternate Realities

One theory for the basis of the Mandela effect originates from quantum physics and suggests that alternate realities or universes may be taking place and mixing with our timeline.5 In theory, this would result in groups of people having the same memories because the timeline has been altered as we shift between these different realities.

You aren't alone if you think this sounds unrealistic. Unfortunately, the idea of alternate realities is unfalsifiable, meaning there is no way to disprove that these other universes don’t exist.

This is why such a far-fetched theory continues to gain traction among the Mandela effect communities. You can't prove it's not real, so you can't discount the possibility of it. For many people, the excitement of a bit of mystery in everyday life also likely comes into play.

While the notion of alternate realities might appeal due to its air of mystery, many examples of the Mandela effect are likely due to some type of collective misremembering. Incorrectly recalling information is, in fact, quite common. One study found that 76% of people made some type of mistake when asked to recall information.6

The Internet's Impact

The role of the internet in influencing the memories of the masses should not be underestimated. It's probably no coincidence that consideration of the Mandela effect has grown in this digital age.

The internet is a powerful way to spread information, and with that comes the potential for misconceptions and falsehoods to gain traction. People then begin to create communities based on these falsehoods, and what was once in the imagination starts to seem factual.5

In fact, a large study of over 100,000 news stories shared on Twitter over 10 years showed that hoaxes and rumors prevailed over the truth by about 70%.7 This wasn't the result of manipulation or bots either—real verified accounts of real people were responsible for spreading false information at a much higher rate than the truth.

This notion of the speed with which false information spreads on the internet could help to explain the Mandela effect.

As each person chimes in with their own experience or memory of an event, those false memories could affect others' memories of the same event, thus coloring their memories of it.

For example, Sinbad did star in other movies in the 1990s and appeared in a movie poster for the film "Houseguest" coming out of a mailbox (this looked similar to a genie, which could explain the association with the movie "Shazaam"). Sinbad also dressed as a genie for an event he hosted in the 1990s.

When one person mentioned this movie "Shazaam" (likely on the internet), it altered the memories of other people who tried to recall the movies that Sinbad made in the 1990s. Online communities spread this information until it appeared to be factual.

This explanation is supported by evidence that repeatedly recalling something builds your confidence in the memory, even as it becomes more inaccurate over time.8 As more and more people provided incorrect details, these became incorporated into other people's memories as facts and strengthened their conviction that they were correct.

The Mandela effect continues to be hotly debated, despite reasonable evidence that it is more likely explained in terms of the fallibility of human memory than some form of parallel universes at work.

Of course, we don't know everything. As more incidents of the Mandela effect occur, perhaps more research into its origins will shed light on its causes.

By Arlin Cuncic, MA
Arlin Cuncic, MA, is the author of The Anxiety Workbook and founder of the website About Social Anxiety. She has a Master's degree in clinical psychology.