Ready to discover that everything you know is a lie? If you spend time scrolling through the internet, you’ve probably come across the Mandela Effect. An unexplained phenomenon, the Mandela Effect occurs when a large group of people remember an event fondly, even if the event never actually happened. It happens on small scales, like roommates fighting over the location of the TV remote, to a large scale, like hundreds of thousands of people remembering Nelson Mandela passing away in the 1990s even though he actually died in 2013. The Mandela Effect vividly projects itself throughout movies, television and even cereal. Climb aboard the U.S.S. Nothing Makes Sense and prepare to embark on the trippiest trip of your entire life.
1. Life is Like a Box of Chocolates
I can spend hours entertaining a group of friends reenacting Forrest sitting on the park bench and saying the famous line, “Momma always said, life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” Turns out that in a long twisted game of telephone, the quote was remembered from its original form of “Life was like a box of chocolates…” Florida State University Amber Nicholson said, “I refuse to believe this. I’ve seen the movie more times than I can count and the most famous quote in the whole thing isn’t about to change up on me now.” The subtle change from “was” to “is” changes the context of the entire quote, making the quote appear as if Forrest realized that the spontaneity of life no longer exists at his age, rather than him embracing the mystery of life.
2. Luke, I am Your Father
Even if you don’t care for Star Wars, you probably watched every movie in the series. You dug yourself deep into the couch as you sat through each flick while your parents relieved their glory days. As you counted down the minutes until the torture ended, Luke Skywalker gripped onto a pole over an empty void as Darth Vader closed in on him and proposed his plan for universal domination. Luke says no and refuses, to which ol’ Darth replies, “No, I am your father.” Stunned, Luke cries like a baby. Wait. Wait just a gosh darn second. Doesn’t he say, “Luke, I am your father”? Do you feel your whole world crumbling as you know it? Because same.
3. Hello, Claurice
Silence of the Lambs, an absolute psychological thriller and cult classic, has kept fans on the edge of their seats for 25 years. Do you remember that one scene where Clarice walks up to Hannibal’s cell for the first time and he famously (and creepily) says “Hello, Claurice”? Well, it would seem that the Mandela Effect got a hold of this movie, too. So what’s the heinous misquote here, you ask? Turns out, the quote doesn’t actually exist. “I’m actually mad right now. He definitely says ‘Hello Claurice!’,” said FSU junior Carlos Crespo. Go ahead, search up the screenplay and read. I’ll wait as you nervously flip page by page looking for it.
4. Mirror, Mirror on the wall
Not you too, Disney. Remember the super evil queen who would look into her super radical mirror that would show her just about anything she wanted? Half the universe remembers the evil queen chanting, “Mirror, mirror on the wall…” However, the true quote declares, “Magic mirror on the wall.” You’re currently digging through all your childhood toys and VHS tapes, trying to find some proof to show the world that I’m a fraud and I’m making this up as we go. Trust me, I wish I was. “I love Disney far too much to ever accept this as truth. I’m getting a headache just thinking about it changing,” said FSU sophomore Melanie Burgos.
5. Every Moment Gets Better
One of the most iconic parts of Disney’s history comes in the form of the magic carpet ride in Aladdin as Aladdin and Jasmine soar across Arabia. As “A Whole New World” comes to a close, Aladdin and Jasmine simultaneously belt out the lines, “With new horizons to pursue, every moment gets better…” Or do they? No, they sure as hell don’t (sigh). For whatever reason, Jasmine actually says “Every moment red letter.” What. The. F–k. What does a red letter have to do with anything. Nowhere in the movie does a red letter signify anything. I mean sure a “red letter” defines itself as a “special opportunity” but what kid will ever understand that?
6. The Berenst*in Bears
We knew them fondly as children, but now they loom above us, mocking our every move. Of course, I am talking about the Berenst*in Bears. I place the asterisk there because no one can agree whether they’re the BerenstEin Bears or the BerenstAin Bears. This question stumps the Mandela Effect community, debating about the name everyday. Proof stands behind both, but nobody seems to know the truth. I remember them as the Berenstein Bears, a wonderful childhood cartoon featuring a family of bears that taught us right or wrong, but who knows the rights and wrongs at this point.
7. Fruit Loops
I can’t even go to my kitchen without the Mandela Effect popping up in my refrigerator. Fruit Loops somehow changed overnight to Froot Loops, and Jiffy peanut butter switched over to Jif (Jiffy never existed). “I literally eat Fruit Loops every morning not Froot Loops. No, no, no I’m sorry but no,” said University of Florida sophomore Elexa Suarez. My leftover Chic-Fil-A has altered itself into Chick-Fil-A. Cheez-Its dropped the “s” at the end and I’ve lost my appetite. Maybe I’ll just go and get myself some chicken nuggets from Macdonalds. Wait, what’s that? It’s Mcdonalds? Dammit.
8. Sex in the City
First you take away our favorite movies, then you take away the songs in the movies. Hell, you even took away our food that we munch one while watching the movies. But you can not take away Sex in the City from us. I don’t even watch the show and refuse to believe that it’s Sex and The City. My mom used to talk about this show for hours on end, and not once was it referred to as, Sex and the City. Nothing make sense anymore.
9. Car Logos
When the world once made any sort of sense, The Ford logo didn’t have a little swish on the “F”, Volkswagen separated the W and V and Volvo was just a circle and not the universal symbol for a male. However, somewhere along the line I was picked up from my old dimension and dropped into this one, because now my memories no longer make sense. “I’m really not ok with this at all. I’ve been driving a Volkswagen since high school and I’ve never actually stopped to look at the logo on the car,” said Florida Atlantic University senior Sebastien Adams.
10. The Red and Blue Switcheroo
Every logo you know that involves blue and red switched the color scheme overnight. The Pepsi logo now features a red top and blue bottom. If I recall correctly, the blue always sat on top, followed by white and then red. Not the other way around. The gasoline company Chevron decided it was cool to throw blue on top and red on the bottom without telling anyone. I’m trying to envision what the actual color scheme is for these logos and I genuinely have no idea what is right. If you’ve decided to curl yourself into the fetal position and escape from the fake universe around you, join the rest of us.
