The Mandela Effect Strikes Back!
Changed timeline or faulty memories?
Can you trust what you see or hear?
That's a fundamental question underpinning a phenomenon popularly known as The Mandela Effect. This bit of modern folklore has gained significant traction in the digital age. You can find countless videos on YouTube, TikTok, and other social media platforms devoted to offering evidence of why The Mandela Effect exists.
The Mandela Effect belongs to a growing family of modern conspiracy theories that exist on the assumption that our history has been altered by sinister, shadowy forces who don't want real events to become public knowledge. You'll find other examples of this type of folklore embodied in stories of lost advanced ancient civilizations, suppressed technology, suppressed archaeological discoveries, destruction of ancient written records, and so forth.
Ultimately, the Mandela Effect — like other conspiracy theories in general — is rooted in a deep fear that politicians, religious leaders, corporate executives, and Hollywood are colluding to hide the true nature of our world from the public.
Mandela Effect origins
The Mandela Effect derives its name from an odd claim that became popular on message boards and social media platforms in the 21st century. Several people insist they have memories of former South African president and anti-Apartheid leader Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s. These folks recall TV and newspaper reports of his death from this time. Some also claim they watched his funeral on TV.
Mandela, of course, was released from prison in 1990 after spending 27 years behind bars as a political prisoner and helped bring an end to Apartheid in South Africa. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was elected as President of South Africa soon after. Mandela served one five-year term from 1994 to 1999 before retiring from public office. He died in 2013 at 95 years old.
These are well-known facts concerning Mandela. Believers in the Mandela Effect insist the timeline was changed and history altered from what originally happened.
Mandela Effect causes
You could devote enough words to fill a college term paper chronicling all the purported examples of The Mandela Effect you’ll see outlined in other articles and videos on the topic. Generally, these alterations fall into a few basic categories.
Corporate logos and brand names.
Book, movie, and TV show dialogue/scenes
Book, movie, and TV show titles
Theories explaining why these changes occur are truly out-of-this-world. One popular theory proposes the world actually ended in 2012 when scientists discovered the subatomic Higgs boson particle (aka “The God Particle”) during experiments with the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. Their discovery, the theory claims, caused an apocalyptic explosion and shifted remnants of humanity into a parallel timeline with subtle alterations from the world those survivors once knew. Another popular theory says evidence of The Mandela Effect is a byproduct of glitches in a worldwide simulation that mimics the real world, and we are all part of that simulation.
Whether you claim ancient aliens are manipulating history and tampering with our memories or you believe a primordial monster like The Suff swallowed legions of souls and trapped them in a state of temporal purgatory, you'll likely find devoted believers in The Mandela Effect who will embrace your theory. Still, Occam's Razor offers a solution to inconsistencies in mundane details of daily life. The simplest explanation is usually the correct one.
What is the simplest explanation for The Mandela Effect?
People have faulty memories.
Can we honestly expect the average adult who struggles to remember where they put their car keys to have perfect recall of movie lines and corporate logos from their childhood? There's a reason why eyewitness testimony is sometimes unreliable in court cases. Two people can witness the same event or hear the same speech and their memories of it will vary significantly from what was actually said or done only a few hours afterward.
That in a nutshell is The Mandela Effect: misremembering details from the past.
Check out the Strange New Worlds archives for previous Folklore Friday features. If you have a specific urban legend, myth, or piece of folklore you want me to write about in the future, feel free to let me know in the comments.
But the mundane reason isn't as fun. =P
I really enjoyed the Mandela Catalogue, that’s where I first heard the term! Great read!