Remember being a kid and reading about a family of anthropomorphic bears? What was the family called? The Berenstein Bears, right? Bzzzz, wrong! The nostalgic bear family was actually called the Berenstain Bears. What?! I distinctly remember reading these books as a kid and could have guaranteed their family name was Berenstein. What kind of an alternate reality is this?? I am not the only one to be confused by this; however, as many other "Berenstain Bear" readers are puzzled by the spelling of the bears' name, as well.
This phenomenon is called the Mandela Effect and is defined as a group of people who remember a certain event happening when, in reality, it never actually occurred. This jarring effect was named after Nelson Mandela due to many individuals being bewildered by Mandela's death on December 5, 2013, because they had believed that he had already passed away during his imprisonment sometime in the 1980s.
Furthermore, many conspiracy theorists believe they have an explanation for the Mandela Effect: time travel. They argue that people from the future might have time traveled to the past and minutely altered it in some way causing a butterfly effect, which resulted in our present time branching off into some parallel universe—gee thanks, Marty McFly-wannabes! On the other hand, a more plausible explanation by psychologists deems the Mandela Effect to be none other than confabulation, a condition prominently found in patients with brain damage, which leads them to create false narratives in their minds that they believe to be true. However, confabulation can be experienced by anyone since our memory is not always the most reliable and we sometimes tend to blur the lines between fact and fiction.
Pretty interesting stuff, huh? Here are 11 other times the Mandela Effect has popped up in pop culture.
1. "Jaws" Movie Misquote
When they first encounter the shark in the movie "Jaws," most people believe the character Martin Brody to say the famous line, "We're gonna need a bigger boat." What he actually said: "You're gonna need a bigger boat."
2. Febreeze?
Many believe this household odor eliminator brand to be spelled Febreeze, but it is actually Febreze. *Cue minds exploding*
3. "My bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R. My bologna has a second name, it's M-E-Y-E-R"...or is it?
Contrary to popular belief, the American meat company is called Oscar Mayer as opposed to Oscar Meyer. When did this happen? I guess I was singing the jingle wrong all these years.
4. JCPenny or JCPenney?
This century-old department store has had two e's in the spelling of its name since its inception—making it JCPenney— despite what some people may think.
5. "Star Wars: Episode V" Movie Misquote
The quote, "Luke, I am your father," is arguably one of the most famous quotes in modern day pop culture, yet it is remembered incorrectly. The original quote is actually, "No, I am your father." Nonetheless, James Earl Jones—the man behind the voice of Darth Vader—even recalled his character's line starting with "Luke" instead of "No" in an interview.
6. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" Movie Misquote
A lot of viewers recall the Evil Queen in "Snow White" uttering the famous words, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall..." to her enchanted mirror, but she actually says, "Magic mirror on the wall..."
7. What color is chartreuse?
Many people remember chartreuse to be a maroonish-red color. In actuality, it is a yellowish-green color.
8. Fruit Loops or Froot Loops?
This popular brand of cereal is called Froot Loops, despite some individuals believing it to be named Fruit Loops. Perhaps they are getting the spelling confused with another popular cereal: Fruity Pebbles.
9. Muhammad Ali's Death
After battling Parkinson's Disease for 32 years, Muhammad Ali, unfortunately, passed away on June 16, 2016. Some sports fans were surprised initially, as they believed the famous boxer to have already died several years ago.
10. The Supposed Death of William Daniels
William Daniels is an actor, popular for portraying Mr. Feeny on the American sitcom "Boy Meets World." Against some speculations of Daniels having died in the early 2000s, he is alive and well today at the age of 89 and even recently returned to make several guest appearances as Mr. Feeny in Disney Channel's "Girl Meets World."
11. "Forrest Gump" Movie Misquote
A majority of viewers falsely remember Forrest Gump saying, "Life is like a box of chocolates..."—making it one of the most misquoted movie lines to this day. In reality, Forrest says, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get".
So what do you think? I find the Mandela Effect to be super trippy—like a glitch in the matrix—but I know there is ultimately a logical explanation for it all. Why do you think this happens? Do you believe in the confabulation theory or do you think it could be a consequence from a time travel mishap? Both ideas are quite interesting in their own right. If you want to do more research on the Mandela Effect and see more examples go here and here!
