Your Mind is Playing Tricks on You: The Mandela Effect

February 02, 2020

Your Mind is Playing Tricks on You: The Mandela Effect

I had heard this term before but didn’t know much details. Today I came across a detailed article on this topic and it left me absolutely mind-boggled.

Nelson Mandela died from a respiratory tract infection on December 5th, 2013. But, why is it that some of us think he died in prison in the early nineties? It’s a phenomenon known as the ‘Mandela Effect’ , a complete mystery. An enigmatic anomaly on Earth with no scientific explanation.

Basically, it’s this theory that Nelson Mandela did die in prison in the nineties. But then, something happened that somehow reversed this event, and he went on to live decades longer, before dying again in 2013. Though some of us don’t remember Mandela dying in the twentieth century, others do. They remember the news coverage, the papers, the heartfelt speech from his widow- but all of it vanished from the universe when this “event” took place and rewrote history. And all that’s left is this huge collective memory. These people that “know” he died like this, and all remember that same thing somehow, but it’s “wrong.”

There are two theories behind it. The first and less common is time travel. They say that someone went back in time and altered an event just slightly, but it created a ripple effect that resulted in something changing dramatically. But time travel is believed to be entirely fictional and improbable. The more common theory is that there are several universes, all alternate, and that sometimes they “rub shoulders,” or, essentially, cross paths.

I can swear I remember(like many others) King Tut’s burial mask as having a snake, but I was wrong. At least, partly. There’s a snake. And a bird. A bird that looks so outlandish and unnatural on that mask that I should have remembered. Popular cartoons draw it wrong all the time, too. Have a look below:

Real: (Snake and Bird)

Not real: (Just a snake)

Many people remember ‘The Thinker’ statue as having his fist on his head and not chin. People who had seen the statue went back to see photos and saw the statue’s fist was on his chin, but their own was on the head. See the image below:

How many of you remember the Monopoly guy wearing a monocle? Guess what? He never wore a monocle.

Think about Pikachu’s design for a moment. It has adorable red cheeks, long ears, and a yellow tail with a black tip, right? Wrong. Pikachu’s design actually has a tail that is fully yellow.