An unexplained phenomenon that several people have experienced but may or may not have thought anything of, is the increasingly popular theory of what the internet calls, “The Mandela Effect.” This is the instance of someone remembering something in a particular way, but turning out to be incorrect.

The name of this theory comes from people thinking for certain that Nelson Mandela died in prison in the 1980’s. Mandela’s actual death was on Dec. 5, 2013, even though people claim to remember seeing clips of his funeral on TV.

Instead of reasoning these occurrences as poor memory, the theory focuses on the idea that we have merged with a parallel universe. One branch of the theory states that there are time travelers who have caused slight differences to the present each time they go back to the past.

Here are 10 examples of Mandela Effects below:

“We Are the Champions… of the world?”

Ever sung the song “We Are the Champions” by Queen? Do you belt out, “No time for losers, ‘cause we are the champions… of the world” at the end of the song? That’s wrong. There is no “of the world,” the song just ends at “champions.”

The Monopoly Man’s Monocle

Rich Uncle Pennybags, commonly known as the Monopoly man, does not have a monocle even though many remember him having one.

Pikachu’s tail

Pikachu does not have a black tip on the end of its tail even though so many remember it as a distinct aspect of the character. If you look at pictures of Pikachu now, the black tip does not exist.

The Berenstain Bears?

The children’s television show that many remember to be as “the Berenstein Bears” is actually called “the Berenstain Bears.”

Curious George’s “missing” tail

The debate over whether Curious George had a tail or not is also discussed by people who claim that he even used his tail to swing from the trees in the television show. If you search up pictures of Curious George now, he doesn’t have a tail.

Star Wars theories

In the movie “Star Wars,” there are a couple examples of the Mandela Effect. What many thought to be one of the most famous phrases from the movie, “Luke, I am your father,” is discovered to actually be, “No, I am your father.” There are clips of the movie that people went back to document, and it clearly says “No, I am your father.”

“Do you realize how many times I have seen this movie,” senior Kyler Voss said. After watching the clip of the movie, he remembers it as saying, “No, I am your father.” The Star Wars fan said he believes it was quoted more popularly saying Luke’s name so that people could relate it back to the movie and eventually people just assumed that’s what the movie said.

Another questionable occurrence in “Star Wars” is the fact that C-3PO is not all gold. He supposedly had a silver leg the entire time even though some remember him being completely gold. There are many collectibles that don’t feature the silver leg. Voss once again points out that after watching the movie an endless amount of times as a kid, that he remembers C-3PO having a silver leg. He thinks that in the comics and pre-sequels that C-3PO is featured without a silver leg which is possibly what those collectibles are based off.

Mona Lisa

It is also said that now the famous painting, Mona Lisa, depicts her with a smirk instead of an emotionless face which is what so many people remember her expressing.

Forrest Gump

Another famous movie quote from the words of Forrest Gump, “Life is like a box of chocolates” is not, in fact, those words. It turns out that he actually said, “Life was like a box of chocolates.”

Snow White film

Yet another well-known movie quote is different now than what people remember it to be. In the movie “Snow White” people recall the Queen saying, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?’ The correct line is, “Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?”

“Jif” or “Jiffy”

Lastly, there is and never was such thing as “Jiffy” peanut butter. People remember the brand of peanut butter being called “Jiffy” even though it is called, “Jif.” They also remember the brand having a campaign that told mothers they could fix their kids a snack “in a jiffy.” It was even spotted in an episode of “American Dad” when the character is uncovering a conspiracy.

In addition to not believing in the “Star Wars” Mandela effect, Voss does remember seeing this peanut butter as “Jiffy.”

Those were just a handful of examples of the Mandela Effect. There are tons more and if you’d like to check them out either surf the web on your own terms or click here.

18hdonaldson@usd489.com