58 Mandela Effects That Will Make You Question Everything
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If you've never heard of it, a Mandela effect is a phenomenon where a bunch of people remember the same thing, even though it didn't happen or wasn't accurate. It was named after Nelson Mandela and the false belief that the heroic activist was dead many years before he actually died.
These false memories have some people thinking their memory sucks — but others wonder if they’ve entered a parallel universe, if time travelers have gone to the past and slightly affected our present, or if they’re simply losing their freakin’ minds. Whichever it is, what’s most interesting about the Mandela effect is that so many individuals share the same false memories. Let's take a look at some of the most popular ones.
1."The fact that Shaggy from Scooby-Doo doesn’t have a protruding Adam’s apple."
2."I really thought the Raisin Bran sun wore sunglasses. Nope."
"Yeah, the big yellow sun wore black glasses. I was in that timeline too."
3."In 'The Song That Never Ends' from Lamb Chop's, they actually sing 'the song that DOESN'T end.'"
4."It’s spelled 'Febreze,' not 'Febreeze.'"
5.Ricky never actually said the sentence, "Lucy, you got some 'splaining to do."
6."Apparently, Kit Kat has no hyphen."
7.“Oscar Meyer” isn’t spelled that way.
In actuality, the famous brand of hot dogs and lunch meats is Oscar Mayer, but people have grown frustrated because they remember it as Meyer, with an “e.” A lot of people recall the jingle from the commercials and insist the lyrics were “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!” Still, somehow, it’s actually Mayer, though many people think that’s the real bologna here.
8.The show isn't called Sex in the City.
It’s Sex and the City, but many people insist they remember it being “in the” at some point. Some people have even posted pictures of old memorabilia they have that supports their false memory.
9.People think the Monopoly man, Rich Uncle Pennybags, has a monocle, but he doesn’t.
Perhaps they’re just confusing him with Mr. Peanut, the Planters peanut mascot, who also wears a top hat and carries around a cane, but there are a number of people who can’t seem to grasp how the Monopoly man is monocle-less, when they've distinctly known him to have one.
10."The Berenstein Bears" are actually called "the Berenstain Bears."
This is one of the more popular Mandela effect debates, in which some people seem to recall the book series/cartoon about a family of bears being known as The Berenstein Bears. However, if you look now, they’re actually called The Berenstain Bears. Many folks insist they remember it being spelled with an “e,” and one redditor even found an old VHS tape of the cartoon, and one of the labels shows “Berenstein” while the other says "Berenstain."
11.Curious George never had a tail.
A lot of people even claim to remember seeing him use his tail to swing from the trees. If you look up pictures of Curious George right now, you’ll see that he doesn’t have a tail, meaning either your memory made the whole thing up or you’ve, like, drifted into a parallel universe.
12.People think the Mona Lisa is smiling now, but she used to be emotionless.
A lot of folks passionately insist that the Mona Lisa has changed, because they remember her having a straight face, but now they feel it seems as if she’s got a smirk.
13.People remember a Sinbad genie movie from the '90s, but there isn’t one.
Many claim to recall a genie movie from the '90s that starred Sinbad; the only problem is, there never was one. Those same people insist they aren’t confusing it with the 1996 flick Kazaam, which starred Shaq as a genie. They don’t know the title, or what happened to the movie’s existence, but they’re all very certain that once upon a time, it was a thing.
14.Jiffy peanut butter doesn’t exist.
It's called Jif, even though people remember the popular brand of peanut butter being called “Jiffy” and having a campaign that told mothers they could fix their kids a snack “in a jiffy.” Jiffy has certainly been embedded in the minds of many, and it was even spotted in American Dad, during an episode in which the character is uncovering a conspiracy.
15.The commonly seen text on mirrors doesn't say, "Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear," as many remember. It says, "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.
16.Despite people remembering a cornucopia being in the Fruit of the Loom logo, it's actually just a bunch of fruit. No cornucopia.
17.Cheez-Itz are actually called Cheez-It, cut the extra Z.
18.Though many think it's "Captain Crunch," it's actually "Cap'n Crunch."
19.Some people recall a Disney intro in which Tinker Bell flies across the screen and writes out "Disney," then dots the "i" with her wand.
But that's not what happens. See it here.
20.@abdul.rehman9 addressed the Mandela Effect of "Funyuns" being spelled "Funions."
21.Some people remember a different number of rings around the Target bull's-eye logo, though the one on the left is the correct one.
22.In Toy Story, when Woody pulls his drawstring, he doesn't say, "There's a snake in my boot." He says "boots," plural, despite many people remembering it singular.
23.Some believe red and green swapped positions on traffic lights, but the order is red, yellow, green. The one on the left is correct.
24.Some people don't remember South America being as far east as it appears on world maps.
25.The Final Fantasy IX character is named "Blank."
"There's a character in Final Fantasy IX named 'Blanc.' My roommate and I even joked that it seemed very French, and we made sure to pronounce it that way every time he came on screen. Except it was never actually spelled that way. The official spelling is 'Blank' and always has been, and it confuses me every time I think about it." —u/37bagsofdragonass
26.Chick-fil-A is not spelled Chic-fil-A or Chik-fil-A.
27.The tip of Pikachu’s tail isn’t black.
28."Ed McMahon never did the prize awards for Publishers Clearing House."
"GTFO. I looked up his picture to be sure it was who I had in mind. My great-grandma watched it with me often. I looked up him and PCH, and it says he wasn't on it. Mind blown."
"In the timeline I come from, he absolutely did!"
29.Some think they remember Henry VIII holding a turkey leg in this famous portrait, but he's actually holding his gloves.
30.Though there are many "What if I told you..." memes, Morpheus never says this at any point in The Matrix trilogy.
31.Ben Franklin was never president.
"I thought I learned that Benjamin Franklin was the president of the United States at some point. He was never a president." —u/theloneman1996
32."Stouffer’s Stove Top stuffing has apparently never existed."
"Okay, I've been really digging into Mandela effects for years now, and I didn't even hear this one. And I know for a fact Stouffer's had commercials for stuffing. OMG. This is going to ruin my night if that's not real."
33.Spider-Man is missing from the cartridges of a video game from the year 2000. While he's still seen on the box and manual covers, many believe he used to be on the cartridge, but vanished.
34.White-Out is actually spelled "Wite-Out."
35.Double Stuff Oreos actually only have one "f" — "Double Stuf."
36.Skechers isn't spelled "Sketchers" as some people remember it to be.
37.C-3PO isn’t 100% gold, he has a silver leg, though many fans never noticed the distinct feature.
38.Fruit Loops is actually spelled “Froot Loops.”
Some say it was originally "Fruit Loops" and then changed to "Froot Loops,” while others believe it went from “Froot Loops” to “Fruit Loops." Many people claim this change happened during their childhood, while others say they just noticed it in recent months. Whatever you believe, if you google the cereal or find a box in real life, you’ll see “Froot Loops” printed across the front. Unless, of course, you’re reading this from some other dimension.
39.The opening line to Mister Rogers' intro song isn't "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood" as many people remembered. It's "It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood."
40.Forrest Gump didn't say "Life is like a box of chocolates," he said, "Life was like a box of chocolates."
41.Hannibal Lecter never said “Hello, Clarice.” When Clarice meets Hannibal, he simply says, "Good morning." Folks might be misremembering a line from Jim Carrey in The Cable Guy.
42.This Star Wars quote is "No, I am your father," not "Luke, I am your father."
43.Many people remember Smokey Bear being named "Smokey The Bear," and some recall him wearing red suspenders.
44.The Queen in Snow White never said, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” She says, "Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?"
45.Interview with a Vampire is actually Interview with the Vampire.
46.Some people remember Uncle Sam's hat being red and white...but it's actually white and blue!
47."Looney Toons" is actually spelled "Looney Tunes."
"Toons" makes sense for cartoons, so that's why we thought it was spelled that way. The end. Or should I say, "That's all, folks."
48.Some remember Tony the Tiger's nose being black, but it's actually blue.
Similar to the Pikachu confusion, Tony the Tiger has black stripes all over him, so a misremembering of nose color is pretty feasible.
49.Some people believe the Laughing Cow logo had a nose ring, but it does not.
Bulls sometimes wear nose rings, not cows, but the mascot does have a pair of large cheese earrings, so perhaps that's why people created this idea in their heads.
50.How many T's are there in the middle of the "Sweet Tarts" logo? Just one: Sweetarts.
51.Have you ever had a Cup o' Noodles? No, you haven't, because it's just "Cup Noodles."
52.Everyone's favorite childhood snack is Pixie Stix. Um, I mean Pixy Stix.
53.Remember Mike 'N' Ike candies? They've always been named Mike and Ike.
54.Speaking of incorrect names, it's not "Chuckie Cheese's." It's "Chuck E. Cheese's."
55.Not only is the correct spelling "York Peppermint Pattie," but the slogan is "Get the sensation," not "Feel the sensation."
56.Do you love Rice Krispie Treats? What about Rice Crispy cereal? Sorry, but the name has always been "Rice Krispies."
57.I think we can all agree that the perfect after-school snack was Tostino's Pizza Rolls. I mean Totino's Pizza Rolls.
58.How many F's are in the Cliff Bar logo? Just one! It's "Clif Bar."
This article contains content from Morgan Sloss, Christopher Hudspeth, Farrah Penn, Spencer Althouse, and Ryan Schocket. It was compiled by Laura Frustaci.
