The Mandela Effect by Meredith Colelli

Imagine picking up your favorite childhood book, reading the title and it being spelled different… Or, at least you thought it was spelled different. Imagine yourself watching the news and hearing Nelson Mandela died, and you distinctly remembered that happening in the 80’s. Imagine watching the classic Star Wars movie and you can’t wait for your favorite line, “Luke, I am your father”, but it turns out it is “No, I am your father”. Imagine looking at the continent Australia and you could have sworn that New Zealand was to the left of Australia and not on the right. Or that your favorite room freshener febreeze was in actuality spelt febreze. Yes, these are small details that in the long-run do not matter but they’ve formed many questions around it. These common mis-rememberings are known as The Mandela Effect (Broome).  The Mandela Effect is when someone clearly remembers a specific event or thing, and in reality it never actually occurred. It also questions into whether or not there is a parallel universe that these mis-rememberings are developing from.

The Mandela Effect is blossoming into a brand new phenomenon. Many people are starting to dive into these mysterious occurrences. Not many people seem to believe that there is a parallel universe but they know that what they remember is correct. Let’s take a look at the theories surrounding the Mandela Effect along with which theory works best to solve this mysterious conspiracy.

Being a Paranormal Researcher and activist for 35 years, Fiona developed some character traits from that line of work.(Broome) Externally, she developed the trait of being inquisitive and pursues a lot of life’s unanswered questions. Her website proves this by the quote of, “Research experience distinguishes her pursuit of unexplained phenomena in everyday life” (Broome)  She is really curious of the unexplained and by her 35 years of experience in researching it shows she also has perseverance.

 From her website she also considers herself as a “geek”.  Before her career blossomed, in college she spent all of the time that she was not studying, in the libraries of M.I.T, Harvard and  Belmont. She buried herself in her line of work before it was even her career. As an adult in her free time,  “Fiona analyzes and sometimes predicts paranormal activity.” (Broome) She obviously has a passion for her line of work if she brings her work into her personal life.

Fiona has been asked to speak at many events and many podcasts, Fiona was a speaker and panelist at many events including the New England Ghost Conference, GhoStock, Central Texas Paranormal Conference, and Canada’s annual G.H.O.S.T.S. conferences. From 2006, she’s frequently been invited as Guest and panelist at Dragon Con. (Broome). Broome has even been asked to be a celebrity guest at a local ghost convention. She was also mentioned in over six widely read magazines. She has been lead researcher and lead investigator in over fourteen investigations. (Broome)  From this information you can conclude that she is looked at as extremely reliable and infamous in the paranormal believing community. She has been an important figure to that community and has not been afraid to figure out the impossible.

 Project 3: Conspiracy

The Mandela effect is a newly researched conspiracy theory that questions the existence of a parallel universe. The Mandela Effect is the belief that a large amount of “the common person” remembers a certain event or a specific memory occurring when in “reality” it never occurred. The Mandela Effect is many conspiracy theories around one large conspiracy.

            What started the name of “The Mandela Effect” was the death of South American President Nelson Mandela. As you recall Nelson Mandela died December 5, 2013 soon after he had been released from prison. What many people seem to believe or remember is that he died in prison sometime in the 1980’s. These people remember a podcast of the funeral and the announcement of his death being shown all over the news his death. When his death was announced in 2013, it called for some questioning from conspirators including Fiona Broome, the creator of the Mandela Effect. She, along with thousands of others, seem to recall this event previously happening 30 years prior.

            Another conspiracy that is tied to the Mandela Effect is the Berenstain Bears. Everyone remembers the classic children’s books that was about a family of bears and their adventures, but what conspirators seem to say is they remember a certain spelling of Berenstein Bears with an “e” rather than an “a”. This has caught the attention of many young adults and high schoolers. I used to even read the classic stories and distinctly remember the title Berenst”E”in Bears.

            Another important conspiracy theory linked to the Mandela Effect would be the famous quote, “Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all”. This is a classic disney princess quote from the movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. If you ask anyone, including Selena Gomez who wrote a song about the infamous quote, they would say that is how the saying goes. If you re-watch the infamous movie you will notice that famous quote different than how you remember it. The real quote is “Magic Mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest one of all”.

In the movie, Star Wars we have the infamous line of “Luke, I am your father” which plays a big part to the storyline. What common people and conspirators noticed after watching that movie time-after-time was that the famous quote was actually “No, I am your father.” It is a minor detail but still perplexes those who are in belief of the Mandela Effect.

There are many other quotes in movies that have either completely changed or never existed. The famous quote of “Life is like a box of chocolates” in reality is “Life WAS like a box of chocolates”. In the famous movie Silence of the Lambs the famous eery quote of “Hello Clarice” in actuality never existed, he actually just says good morning and that is all. The famous song “Neighborhood” by Mister Rogers is not “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood” it is actually “It’s a beautiful day in THIS neighborhood” which actually does not even sound correct within the song.

            Though these are minor details and have no true effect on our world, it is rather unusual that people are just starting to realize these occurrences. A really large portion of the questioning of the mandela effect comes from the lack of evidence that there ever was those misspellings, or changed quotes. There is no absolute evidence that the classic children’s book was spelled Berenstein Bears, or that the quote was “Luke, I am your father.”

Thirty people were asked whether they believe in a possible “alternate universe” and most said no. There were three responses explaining that is could be possible due to all the unexplained change of events or minor details but the remaining twenty-seven others responded with the answer of not possible. It is extremely strange that we are finding such minute, but unusual changes on many occasions in the world around us.

In conclusion, the mandela effect is not one event with many theories around it. It is en effect that is spreading across the nation! There is not a parallel universe surrounding us but we should be skeptical over the minute detail changes.

To recap, the new Mandela Effect is common mis-rememberings of a certain event detail. This theory and its followers are becoming a strong community and are now growing in followers due to the media and by word of mouth. The Mandela Effect is such a newly researched topic and there is still a plethora of information, that is why it will grow and become even more controversial. This is definitely a unique type of Conspiracy theory, it is not a murder, not anything with the mafia, or a disappearance but solely whether or not there is a parallel world out there that is passing us by. This theory could lead to further theories that could expand to even more discoveries.

                                  Works Cited 

"About Fiona." Fiona Broome. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.

Broome, Fiona. "About." Mandela Effect. N.p., 2010. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

Broome, Author Fiona. "Mandela Effect - Alternate Memories - Alternate Realities." Mandela Effect. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.

@perpetua. "Did You Know There’s A Term For When You're Totally Positive Something Happened Even Though It Didn't?" BuzzFeed. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.

"The Mandela Effect Delusion." The Truth & The Light Ministries. N.p., 11 Nov. 2016. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.

Quietthinker1, Author. "The Mandela Effect – One of the Creepiest Conspiracy Theories." Writing Through Vet School. N.p., 20 June 2016. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.