Mandela Effect: Examples and explanation

Examples and explanation of the Mandela Effect

The Mandela Effect is a type of false memory that occurs when many different people incorrectly remember the same thing. It refers to a widespread false memory that Nelson Mandela died in prison in the 1980s.

Memories are not always precise recordings of events. They can change with time, and people may have different memories in different contexts. Memory is also highly suggestible, which means that other people’s opinions and memories may influence what a person remembers.

Thus, widespread incorrect information can subtly influence individual memories, giving rise to conspiracy theories and harmful false beliefs. Incorrect beliefs about the death of Nelson Mandela are just one example of the Mandela effect.

Read on to learn more about the Mandela Effect, including examples and possible causes.

What is the Mandela Effect?

The Mandela Effect is a group of people misremembering a historical event or person.

Writer and researcher Fiona Broome coined the term over a decade ago when she created a website detailing her recollections of former South African President Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s.

Nelson Mandela did not die in prison in the 1980s. After serving 27 years in prison, Mandela became president of South Africa from 1994–1999. He died in 2013.

Examples

Here are a few famous examples of the Mandela effect.

‘Luke, I am your father.’

Many people misquote James Earl Jones’s famous line from the 1980 film “Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back.”

Instead of “Luke, I am your father,” Darth Vader actually says, “No, I am your father.”

Berenstein Bears

In reality, both the bears and the author’s name are Berenstain.

Monopoly monocle

What did the Monopoly Man look like in the game Monopoly? Many people assert he had a monocle and cane.

He did not have a monocle. This provides evidence for a visual Mandela Effect.

‘Play it again, Sam.’

In “ Casablanca,” another Hollywood classic, people remember Humphrey Bogart’s character Rick saying, “Play it again, Sam.” Some people say they can even “hear” his voice saying those words.

However, Ingrid Bergman’s character Elsa says, “Play it, Sam.”

Sinbad’s Shazam

Some people who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s reported on a movie called “Shazam,” in which Sinbad played a genie or other magical character fulfilling a child’s wishes.

Sinbad never made such a movie.

Causes

Memory is highly malleable. Input from other people can change memories, causing people to misremember events or remember events that never happened. Some potential causes of the Mandela effect include:

False memories

False memories are untrue or distorted recollections of an event. Some false memories contain elements of fact closely resembling the actual event in question. However, others are entirely false.

Memory is very suggestible. This means that information from another person, a person’s desire to believe something different, or false information online can influence memory.

People can believe a wide variety of false things. For example, scientists have been able to falsely induce memories of committing a crime. In one study, people could not distinguish false from real memories.

• zebra
• monkey
• whale
• snake
• elephant

Usually, the participants will recognize the lure word and recall reading it, even though it was never on the list.

Confabulation

Confabulations are Trusted Source false memories a person spontaneously generates, often to compensate for holes in a person’s memory.

For example, a person who does not recall what happened to Nelson Mandela might conclude that he died a long time ago and then report remembering this “fact.” The person is not lying; they truly believe the false memory.

Confabulation is a common symptom Trusted Source of neurological conditions that affect memory, such as Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. When someone with dementia confabulates, they are not lying or attempting to deceive. They simply lack the necessary information or awareness to recall a specific memory or event accurately.

Priming

Priming uses suggestive techniques to trigger a certain response. For instance, “Did you grab the red ball from the shelf?” is more suggestive than the phrase, “Did you take anything from the shelf?”

This is because the second phrase contains a general, open-ended question, while the first describes the action of grabbing a specific object: “the” red ball. Therefore, the first phrase has a stronger influence on memory than the second.

Alternate realities or parallel universes

For example, some argue that the Mandela Effect provides evidence for multiple universes. Some physicists, drawing on theories such as string theory, argue that there are infinite possible universes.

Scientists have not tested the claim that the Mandela Effect provides evidence for multiple universes. Evidence from memory research suggests that other theories of false memory might better explain the phenomenon.

While mathematical modeling supports string theory and the notion of multiple universes, both remain controversial.

Internet influence

The internet is a potent tool for spreading false memories and beliefs. Drawing upon the basic principles of memories, some websites may be able to convince people to believe things that never happened by using tactics such as:

• priming
• combining false information with true information
• repeating a false claim so often that it begins to seem true
• spreading fake news stories to support a false claim

Features

Features of the Mandela Effect can include:

The Mandela Effect occurs when a person believes that their distorted memories are, in fact, accurate recollections. They can clearly remember events that happened differently or events that never occurred at all.

The Mandela Effect does not involve lying or deception. Instead, it occurs when a person or group has clear but false memories.

How to recognize false memories

One of the challenges of false memories is that they present similarly to real memories. A person may be confident in the memory and spontaneously generate details to support it. Without external evidence of the memory’s falseness, there may be no evidence that it is untrue.

A 2020 paper supports this claim, finding that people are no better than chance at detecting false memories.

A person can improve their chances of detecting false memories by:

• consulting reliable sources such as encyclopedias, mainstream news sites, or peer-reviewed journals
• considering whether they may have a memory because someone else has that memory
• seeking independent evidence to support memories that seem suspicious or potentially harmful

Frequently asked questions

Here are some frequently asked questions about the Mandela Effect.

What is a Mandela Effect example?

Examples of the Mandela Effect include the famously misquoted 1980s Star Wars film quote, “Luke, I am your father,”.

Darth Vader actually says, “No, I am your father.”

What is an example of a false memory?

An example of false memory is a person believing they did something before leaving the house, such as putting the washing machine on or washing dishes in the sink, only to come home and find they did neither.

Summary

The Mandela Effect refers to widespread false memories that large numbers of people or a group of individuals believe. They may be harmless but can also support conspiracy theories or political agendas.

Memory is not a perfect recording of events that happened. It can change with time and with practice and priming. If a person’s only source of evidence that something happened is from their memory, it is possible that it did not happen.