Humans are not meant to retain every piece of information they receive in their lives. Most memories are short-term unless they have been rehearsed, repeated or have emotional significance. Short-term memory is only stored in one part of the brain, the hippocampus. This is why some people may remember their memories differently or may not remember them at all. But what if many people remember a specific memory inaccurately? This concept can be explained by a theory called the Mandela Effect.
“The Mandela Effect” was coined by Fiona Broome, a paranormal researcher, in 2009, after she noticed that many people were convinced activist and former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, died in prison after protesting apartheid, even though he was still alive. People worldwide seemed to believe Mandela died in the 1980s, but he actually died from a lung infection in 2013, long after the theory was introduced by Broome. To spread her findings, she created a website called “The Mandela Effect.”
Since then, “Mandela effects” have taken over pop culture. From entertainment to advertising, they have appeared everywhere.
John Paul Garrison, a clinical and forensic psychologist, told Forbes.com that he is skeptical, but not dismissive, of the concept.
“I suspect that some memories are spontaneously created when we read certain Mandela Effect news. However, once that new memory is in there, it might seem like it has been there forever,” Garrison said.
Company logos have been a major source of confusion, particularly the spelling of their names. Some examples include Oscar Mayer, a food manufacturing company that was believed by consumers to be “Oscar Meyer;” Skechers, a shoe company, lacking a “t” in the name and Cheez-It, a snack company, not going by its plural name “Cheez-Itz.” Even hyphens have caused controversy, as it has been debated whether the candy “KitKat” has one or not.
Elizabeth Wilson (12) has heard of many effects, but one in particular has left her questioning her memory.
“One that particularly freaks me out is the Fruit of the Loom logo. I have always remembered with a cornucopia, but it has never had one,” Wilson said.
The Mandela Effect in movies has caused distress as some of the most famous movie quotes of all time are not what people remember them to be. In “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back,” one of the biggest plot twists in history was the reveal of Darth Vader declaring that he is Luke Skywalker’s father. “Luke, I am your father” is frequently quoted in pop culture, but that was never the line. The line was really, “No, I am your father.” This also happens in Disney’s first movie, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” when the Evil Queen says, “Magic Mirror on the wall” instead of “Mirror, Mirror on the wall.”
With thousands of these effects being recognized, researchers have tried to develop theories as to why they exist. Conspiracy theorists claim that time travel is a possibility, as when people go back in time, Mandela effects are things they have changed and that’s why individuals remember them differently. More plausible theories have gone back to the fact that the brain does not store short-term memory the same way that it does long term.
Wilma Bainbridge, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, has studied the Mandela Effect alongside Deeparsi Prasad, a graduate assistant in the psychology department at Dartmouth College. They conducted experiments to determine how they are created, bringing in test subjects to see if they could discern the truth from the Mandela Effect. They could not determine the cause, but they found that simple images with a couple of interesting quirks tend to be the most memorable and discrepancies are consistent as they become more common with repetition.
Prasad shared with nationalgeographic.com how she believes the Mandela Effect influences memories.
“I think misinformation, especially when presented as the truth repeatedly, could definitely lead to the creation of false memories, or at least, doubting the validity of your own memories,” Prasad said.
