The annual celebration of the late South African president Nelson Mandela was held on 18 July. But while his date of death was actually 2013, a large number of people firmly believed he died in prison in the 1980s, spawning the term “The Mandela Effect”.
The phrase itself was coined by writer and researcher Fiona Broome, who “remembered” news coverage of President Mandela’s death and found a number of people who shared these false memories.
This isn’t an isolated phenomenon, however. There are lots of misconceptions that are so prevalent many people simply take them as read.
1. “Luke, I am your father”
While most people are now aware of the relationship between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, at the time, this line from The Empire Strikes Back had audiences gasping. Except… the line is actually “No, I am your father.”
2. Looney Tunes
While it would seem logical for the name of the Warner Bros cartoon company to be Looney Toons, it’s actually Looney Tunes. But the Mandela effect has a lot of people – understandably – thinking it’s the former.
3. Monopoly Man
Does the famous logo figure have a monocle or not? There’s a whole swathe of people out there who’d swear that he does, but he’s completely monocle-free. His styling of a top hat and tails is likely the reason so many people make this mistake.
4. “Mirror, mirror on the wall”
“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” These iconic words, uttered by the wicked queen in Snow White, have actually been misremembered by many people. In the original Walt Disney adaptation her lines were “Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?”
5. “Play it again, Sam”
This is a double Mandela, as the famous line from Casablanca is actually “Won’t you play it one more time, Sam”. It’s also often attributed to Humphrey Bogart, but the line is spoken by Ingrid Bergman.
6. Robber emoji
Search “robber” on your emoji list and nothing will come up. Yet for many people, it definitely exists – a man in a striped top and a black mask carrying a bag of cash.
7. Leonardo DiCaprio
Superstar Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio has been a fixture on the Hollywood scene for years. Even though he’s had five nominations for Best Actor, he’s only actually won one, for his role in 2016’s The Revenant. But many people believe he’d won much earlier and taken home many more of the iconic awards.
8. KitKat
The famous chocolate bar with two or four fingers to snap off is a confectionery staple. But is it Kit-Kat, or KitKat? While many under the influence of the Mandela effect believe it’s the former, it’s actually the latter, with no hyphen. On the flip side, Coca-Cola is hyphenated, and also features distinctive red and white branding.
9. “Hello, Clarice”
In the tense first meeting between Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter in the film The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins’ Lecter utters the immortal words “Hello, Clarice”. Or so many people remember. But the true line, delivered with equal menace, is “Good morning”.
10. Gandalf
As the grey wizard Gandalf fights off the Balrog in The Fellowship of the Ring, he falls from the bridge and, clinging by his fingertips, whispers to his friends “Run, you fools.” It’s delivered quietly, but the phrase he actually uses is “Fly, you fools.”
The way our memory works causes the Mandela effect
According to Psychology Today, some people think that the Mandela effect is evidence of the existence of parallel universes. The truth, however, is somewhat less dramatic. Our memories are malleable, and our minds can often tweak details to fit with our expected narrative, such as the Monopoly Man and his (non-existent) monocle.
Sometimes, the Mandela effect is so powerful that it almost becomes the reality. Especially with things like film quotes, where we’ve heard the incorrect version more often than the right one.
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This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.