So You Thought: Unraveling the Mandela Effect

By Logan Barragan 

     At this point, you would have to be living under a rock, under 10 layers of concrete, located in the middle of nowhere, to not have been affected by the Mandela Effect.  The basic idea of this controversial topic is that someone, or more commonly, a group of people, have a memory of something that never actually happened the way they were sure it did. The reason it was given the title, “The Mandela Effect” is because many people can remember President Nelson Mandela’s death taking place in a prison in the 1980s, however he actually passed away in the winter of 2013. The reason people have this belief is because he was imprisoned for a certain time. This situation sparked questions regarding why people remembered an event that did not actually happen, and it led to even more discoveries of past events at fueled countless theories.

     What was the famous line Darth Vader said to Luke Skywalker when he confessed to him that he was his father? What is the ending line of the famous 1977 Queen Song “We Are The Champions?”  Most believe that Darth Vader said “Luke I am your father” and that the song ends saying “of the world.” Wrong. “Of the world” was never written into the song, and Darth Vader actually said, “no, I am your father.” Another very popular example are the children’s book series The Berenstain Bears. Countless were floored when they found out that Berenstain actually ends with an “ain” as opposed to an “ein.”  Those are just three examples that have sent people into a frenzy, trying to figure out why if they remember something one way, what actually happened was nothing of the sort.

     Some extreme conspiracy theorists believe that alternate universes exist, and that we, as the human race, have been unknowingly going into these alternate universes and gaining memories of events that never occurred.  Now, this is somewhat of a hard concept to grasp. To each their own, but I personally think that is a little bit of a stretch. It is hard to consider “alternate universes” to be the only logical answer to this phenomenon. There is always the underwhelming possibility that a lot of us just have a bad memory. But where is the fun in that?

     For numerous individuals, this whole ordeal is very exciting, and extremely thought provoking. To think that there are other realms out there that alter our memory, even if it does seem absurd, why not consider it as a possibility? Or don’t, it is a little hard to wrap your head around. In the end, believe what you want, but be rest assured that this phenomenon will not be hushed. People want answers, no matter how complex they may be.