Remembering Stuff That Didn’t Happen
Have you ever remember something, and are 100% sure that it happened. Still, when you mention it to someone, they remember it entirely differently? And then, because you obviously believe yourself more, you double-check only to find that the other person is right? That, in a nutshell, the Mandela effect.
It’s the idea that details of our reality are in a sort of flux. When details change, some people remember what the world was like before the flux, some people remember after the change, so to speak. A little confusing? Let’s talk about some examples, and you’ll see what I mean.
Examples of the Mandela Effect
Nelson Mandela, famed revolutionary for the oppressed people of South Africa and the man for which the effect is named. Was incarcerated before he became president of South Africa in 1994, Nelson Mandela was imprisoned by the racist Apartheid government for over 27 years, starting in 1962. The thing is, quite a bit of people, as many as thousands and thousands have vivid memories of Nelson Mandela, dying in prison during the 1980s.
The issue was brought to prominence after the death of Mandela in 2013 when media reports prompted thousands of people to take to the internet. Proclaiming that they vividly remember Nelson Mandela’s death 30 years earlier. I have a peculiar relationship with this particular instance because I was born in the 90s. And I do have this nagging feeling that I learned about Mandela in the context of him already being dead.
The Bombing of the Bologna Centrale Railway
Another example of the Mandela Effect is related to the 1980 bombing of the Bologna Centrale railway station in Italy. Many people remember the familiar clock at the train station, something many of the commuters would rely on and look at regularly. After the bombing, many people—people who frequented this very train station—found that the clock was stuck on the time when the first bomb went off. But in fact, the clock continues to function to this day.
This Mandela effect was so widespread that it was actually polled. It was found that people who were familiar with the clock, a whopping 92% of respondents recall the clock being permanently stopped at the time from the initial bombing. A fact that just simply does not line up with the current iteration of the universe, because the clock is running.
What Does Rapper Sinbad and Nelson Mandela Have in Common?
One of the less serious examples of a widespread Mandela effect involves rapper, Sinbad. There are a lot of people who distinctly remember a family comedy film about a genie that was released in the 1990s starring Sinbad as the titular genie, Shazaam.
There is speculation that people may be confusing this film with a similar movie titled Kazaam. Witnesses, however, say that they remember both films existing in the same universe and that they are definitely not confusing them. The above are only a few of the widespread examples of the Mandela Effect. Remember that the Mandela Effect is as much about small details that only you would notice as it is about the significant discrepancies.
My Personal Mandela Effect Story
I have a personal Mandela Effect story and I have a very clear, vivid memory of having a pet snake as a child. I remember what the snake looked like, where his tank was in the house, and what was in his tank. Still I was not super young, but about eight or nine. Years later, I referenced my “old pet snake” in passing to my mother, who immediately shot me a confused look and asked, “Snake? What snake?”. I refreshed her memory. But she still had no idea what I was talking about, so I quietly dropped the issue. Later, I privately asked my sister about my pet snake, and she too had no recollection of what I was talking about.
Ever since I have been fascinated with stories like mine and the Mandela Effect. The more people I’ve talked to about it, the more I’ve found who claim to have had similar experiences. Think back on old memories and see how they line up with the facts of reality, you may be surprised. Oftentimes it’s as innocuous as a song lyric. Other times it’s an entire reptile living in your living room that no one else remembers. When you get the chance, make sure to talk about the Mandela Effect. Because you never know what you’ll learn about the alternate dimensions.
Addition from Lori Bogedin
I LOVE this article and have been intrigued by the Mandela Effect for years. Many blame these glitches in memory on possible supernatural experiments at CERN or even quantum computers. CERN is a European Organization for Nuclear Research that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Who knows? But if you own a Bible, look up Isaiah 11:6 and see if it matches your memory of this famous verse.
