The Mandela Effect is a weird phenomenon of many people remembering something that does not match the actual reality. The term was first coined in 2010 by a paranormal researcher, Fiona Broome. A vast number of people insisted that Nelson Mandela had died during his 27-year imprisonment. Instead, the well-known leader didn’t die until he was 97-years old, in 2013, twenty-three years after his release from prison.
We often live in a different reality. In recent years, the term “living in a different reality” has been used more colloquially to describe situations where people have different opinions or interpretations of events, such as in cases of political polarization or disagreements about current events. In these cases, the phrase is often used to highlight the ways in which people’s perceptions of reality can differ based on their personal experiences, beliefs, and biases. I’m sure 30 years from 9/11 people will have entirely different concepts of what actually happened. We also apply the Mandela Effect in our day-to-day lives, so let’s take a look at a few fun ones.
Looney Tunes or Looney Toons?
We have done a similar article to this some time ago, but it is fun to revisit ideas. When asked was the 1930 cartoon series called Looney Tunes or Looney Toons, the majority of people will say Looney Toons, but it was in fact Looney Tunes. The true fact is that it was called Looney Tunes.
Toontown did not feature in the 1988 film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Then Toontown became a multiplayer, Walt Disney-online role-playing game based on a cartoon animal world in 2003 and was discontinued in 2013.
Is it Kit Kat, Kit-Kat, or KitKat?
How would you write the name of the chocolate enjoyed by thousands? Believe it or not, the majority of people would spell it with a hyphen. Wrong.
In 1935, the KitKat was designed as a chocolate bar that a man (no women) could take to work in his lunchbox, highlighting how often women are limited by societal demands.
KitKat was first called Rowntree’s Chocolate Crisp, but renamed in 1937, after the Kit-Cat Club. A local pastry chef supplied the club with meat pies, that he called Kit-Cats. What chocolate bars has to do with meat pies is totally beyond me?
Flinstones
Is the 1960s television that amused millions of viewers, The Flinstones or The Flintstones?
Nearly everyone gets this one wrong. We all say Flintstones and expect to see it written that way. Dear old Fred came from the Flinstones family – only one T. I wonder how many other words we pronounce or spell incorrectly?
Maybe the phonetic way of writing would be easier. Try these three words for size. ‘Necessity’ could be spelled “nes-ess-ih-tee,” ‘restaurant’ could be spelled “res-tuh-rant,” and “Wednesday” could be spelled “Wenz-day.” Would that make life easier?
Later Mandela Effects
If you ask people is chartreuse Pink or Green most instantly answer it is a magenta-pink shade. Actually, chartreuse is named that because of its resemblance to the French liqueur called green chartreuse introduced in 1974, which is a yellow green colour.
Is C3PO the robot from Stars War all gold coloured?
There are fans worldwide to the Stars War series. They know every character and details. Ask the majority and they will insist that the 1977 robot C3PO is all gold coloured. How wrong they are. C3PO’s right leg is in fact silver from the knee down. Even the Halloween costume manufacturers get this wrong and suits appear all gold coloured.
Is the correct title of the late 1990s and early 2000s TV series Sex And The City, or Sex In The City? Common sense says it is Sex In The City. Most get it wrong as it was Sex And The City, which gives it a whole different connotation.
Double Stuff Oreo or Double Suf Oreo – one ‘f‘
Oreos were designed to be a crème lovers dream cookie that started away back in 1912. Over the years it has become the world’s top selling cookie, sold in over 100 countries.
In 1974, the company decided to put twice as much cream filling in as the original Oreo and called it Double Stuf Oreo. Some say there is only one f in Stuff because it really isn’t twice the crème, but only 1.86 of the original Oreo. There is a Mew the rarest Pokémon Oreo that some people sell for thousands of dollars. Imagine if some kid came along and ate a Mew? There also meant to be 11 other rare Pokémon Oreo cookies.
Now there is a 2023, Limited Edition Oreo the Most Stuf Oreo, cookies with triple the crème. How much crème filling is too much?
Did you know there is even a dog known as Oreo Cloud, besides there being an Oreo McFlurry ice cream? In 2022 the Oreo Cookie Brand Mondelez was involved in a ground-breaking lawsuit that involved the cyber insurance market, and a malware lockup of 1,700 servers and a staggering 24,000 laptops in 2017. What a rabbit, or Oreo hole that turned out to be? You will never be able to look at Oreos in the same way again. I must admit I did a double take at the Supermarket after writing this article, particularly as I am not an Oreo fan.
Some More Quick Mandela Effects
This is a favourite Mandela Effect. “Mirror, mirror on the wall…” was in fact “Magic mirror on the wall.” It’s no wonder we get mirror stories wrong, as mirrors have been around since 2900 B.C.
The 1840 Three Little Pigs is often quoted as, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down.” Wrong. It was actually, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house IN.”
The artist Albert Staehle painting of 1944, is said to be Smokey the Bear, but was in fact Smokey Bear.
In 1982 ET didn’t say “E.T. phone home”, but “E.T. home phone.”
Box of Chocolates
The next time you are sharing a memory with someone, you won’t really know if it’s fact or fiction, for that is life. We all have selective memories and each time you revisit a memory, it becomes more firmly implanted in your mind. It becomes like the game of Whispers. Everyone hears what they think is correct and firmly believe in what they think they know, to the point they refuse to agree their version is an alternative reality. After all it takes courage to admit you are wrong.
What did Forest Grump say about chocolates in 1994? “Life is like a box of chocolates,” or “Life is a box of chocolates. You never know that you are going to get.” The second one is correct and we hope that you find Whispering Encouragement a little ‘like a box of chocolates’. You never know what delightful titbits you are going to find that will encourage, or amuse you on your journey.
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