Have You Experienced The Mandela Effect? | JP

On Feb 19, 2025

Have you ever heard of The Mandela Effect?

Have you ever experienced it?

I’ve been wanted to write about this for a long time and I’m finally getting the chance to do it today.

Many of you have probably heard of The Mandela Effect before, but I’m guessing this will be new for many of you as well.

Even for those familiar with it, I bet I’ll have some new information for you in everything I’m about to show you….

Let’s start with the most basic question: What exactly IS the Mandela Effect?

It’s basically the idea that there are many examples of a shared false memory.

Let me break that down…

We all remember things wrong from time to time.

We forget where we left something….

We get details wrong or can’t remember them at all….

It’s one of the reasons why “eyewitness testimony” is so notoriously unreliable.

In study after study, researchers have shown that eyewitness testimony is constantly wrong and conflicting.

To that point, have you ever seen this video?

This might just blow your mind:

So there’s no doubt we don’t all have perfect memories, definitely not in the long term and often not even in the short term.

Heck, if we all had perfect memories then we all would have scored an A+ in every single class we ever took in school!

Of course that’s not the case, but that’s not what really makes The Mandela Effect so strange.

The strangeness comes in because we’re not talking about just bad memories or remembering things incorrectly, we’re talking about SHARED false memories.

It’s one thing for ONE person to have a false memory or a hallucination….

But it’s extremely rare, if not impossible, for dozens, hundreds, thousands or even millions of people to all have the SAME shared false memory or hallucination.

And that is exactly what The Mandela Effect is all about.

It all started with its namesake, Nelson Mandela.

Millions of people are adamant they remember him dying in prison in the 1980s, but it turns out that was not the case. He died peacefully at home in 2013 after serving as South Africa’s President after his release from prison.

And once people started talking about the shared false memory of him dying in prison in the 1980s, people started realizing that’s not the only example.

There are actually HUNDREDS of shared false memories that are truly perplexing people.

I’m going to show you a list of 100 of them and I want to know which ones resonate with you.

If you’re like me, most of these will not be things you remember (or “mis-remember) and some will seem like they might have obvious explanations for how something could get twisted over the years and decades, almost like a giant game of Telephone.

But if you’re like me, there will be 5 or 10 on this list, or maybe just a small handful, that will stop you dead in your tracks and you’ll say there’s no way that is true. There’s not way it’s NOT the (false) way I remember it!

And that’s what makes this so absolutely compelling.

So now let me give you the list of 100, and I’ll put in red the ones I absolutely 100% remember being true:

Nelson Mandela’s Death
- Misremembered: Died in prison in the 1980s.
- Reality: Died in 2013 at home, after serving as South Africa’s president.
Berenstain Bears vs. Berenstein Bears
- Misremembered: Spelled “Berenstein” with an “e.”
- Reality: Always “Berenstain” with an “a.”
Star Wars: “Luke, I am your father”
- Misremembered: Darth Vader says, “Luke, I am your father.”
- Reality: He says, “No, I am your father.”
Monopoly Man’s Monocle
- Misremembered: The Monopoly Man (Rich Uncle Pennybags) wears a monocle.
- Reality: He has never had a monocle.
Fruit of the Loom Cornucopia
- Misremembered: The logo features a cornucopia behind the fruit.
- Reality: No cornucopia has ever been part of the logo.
Shazaam (Sinbad Genie Movie)
- Misremembered: A 1990s movie called “Shazaam” starring Sinbad as a genie.
- Reality: No such movie exists; often confused with “Kazaam” starring Shaquille O’Neal.
Curious George’s Tail
- Misremembered: The monkey has a tail.
- Reality: Curious George has always been tailless.
Febreze vs. Febreeze
- Misremembered: Spelled “Febreeze” with two “e’s.”
- Reality: It’s “Febreze” with one “e.”
Snow White: “Mirror, Mirror”
- Misremembered: The Queen says, “Mirror, mirror on the wall.”
- Reality: She says, “Magic mirror on the wall.”
Jif vs. Jiffy Peanut Butter
- Misremembered: Called “Jiffy” peanut butter.
- Reality: Always been “Jif.”
Looney Tunes vs. Looney Toons
- Misremembered: Spelled “Toons” (short for cartoons).
- Reality: It’s “Tunes” (referring to music).
Sex and the City vs. Sex in the City
- Misremembered: Titled “Sex in the City.”
- Reality: It’s “Sex and the City.”
Chic-fil-A vs. Chick-fil-A
- Misremembered: Spelled “Chic-fil-A” or “Chik-fil-A.”
- Reality: Always “Chick-fil-A.”
Froot Loops vs. Fruit Loops
- Misremembered: Spelled “Fruit Loops.”
- Reality: It’s “Froot Loops” with two “o’s” in “Froot.”
The Thinker Statue Pose
- Misremembered: Hand on forehead or in a fist.
- Reality: Hand rests under the chin, knuckles near the mouth.
C-3PO’s Color (Star Wars)
- Misremembered: Entirely gold.
- Reality: Has a silver lower right leg.
Pikachu’s Tail (Pokémon)
- Misremembered: Black-tipped tail.
- Reality: Fully yellow tail.
Kit Kat Dash
- Misremembered: “Kit-Kat” with a hyphen.
- Reality: Officially “Kit Kat” with no hyphen.
Forrest Gump Quote
- Misremembered: “Life is like a box of chocolates.”
- Reality: “Life was like a box of chocolates.”
Mickey Mouse’s Suspenders
- Misremembered: Wears red suspenders.
- Reality: Wears no suspenders, just red shorts.
Oscar Mayer vs. Oscar Meyer
- Misremembered: Spelled “Meyer” with an “e.”
- Reality: It’s “Mayer” with an “a.”
Queen’s “We Are the Champions”
- Misremembered: Ends with “…of the world!”
- Reality: The studio version doesn’t include that line at the end.
Silence of the Lambs: “Hello, Clarice”
- Misremembered: Hannibal Lecter says, “Hello, Clarice.”
- Reality: He says, “Good evening, Clarice,” or other variations.
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood Song
- Misremembered: “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”
- Reality: “It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood.”
The Wizard of Oz: “Fly, My Pretties”
- Misremembered: Wicked Witch says, “Fly, my pretties, fly!”
- Reality: She says, “Fly! Fly! Fly!”
Tinkerbell Dots the “i” in Disney Logo
- Misremembered: Tinkerbell flies across and dots the “i” in the Disney intro.
- Reality: Never officially part of the standard logo animation.
Sally Field’s Oscar Speech
- Misremembered: “You like me, you really like me!”
- Reality: “I can’t deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!”
Cinderella’s Castle Location (Disney World)
- Misremembered: At the entrance of the park.
- Reality: Located at the end of Main Street, U.S.A.
Ed McMahon and Publishers Clearing House
- Misremembered: Delivered giant checks for Publishers Clearing House.
- Reality: Worked for American Family Publishers, not PCH.
The Flintstones Spelling
- Misremembered: “Flinstones” with one “t.”
- Reality: “Flintstones” with two “t’s.”
Chartreuse Color
- Misremembered: A shade of pink or magenta.
- Reality: A yellow-green color.
Henry VIII Turkey Leg Portrait
- Misremembered: Famous painting of him holding a turkey leg.
- Reality: No such painting exists.
Mother Teresa’s Sainthood
- Misremembered: Canonized in the 1980s or ‘90s.
- Reality: Sainted in 2016.
Dolly’s Braces (Moonraker)
- Misremembered: Dolly has braces in the James Bond film.
- Reality: She has no braces.
Billy Graham’s Death
- Misremembered: Died years earlier with televised funeral.
- Reality: Died in 2018.
Tiananmen Square Tank Man
- Misremembered: Run over by tanks.
- Reality: Stood in front, tanks stopped, and he walked away.
Smokey Bear vs. Smokey the Bear

Source
Las Vegas News Magazine