40 Mandela Effect examples that'll make you question everything

This feature was originally published on GH US.

“Luke, I am your father.” It’s one of the most famous movie quotes ever, right? Not quite. That line isn’t actually in the Star Wars movies. Darth Vader’s real line is, “No, I am your father.” If that’s definitely not how you remember it, you’re not alone. This is just one example of the Mandela effect.

The Mandela effect is a phenomenon where many people collectively misremember events, historical facts and pop culture, like so many fans confusing that iconic Star Wars line.

New examples of the Mandela effect, from the spelling of Berenstain Bears to the existence of a '90s movie called Shazaam, commonly sweep through social media. Some people are so surprised by their bad memories that they start conspiracy theories like an alternate timeline to explain it.

Why is it called the Mandela effect?

This phenomenon was named by paranormal researcher Fiona Broome. She wrongly recalled Nelson Mandela dying in the 1980s. She could remember news coverage of his funeral — even though he later became the president of South Africa, and passed away in 2013. After she found others who misremembered the same thing, she began studying the phenomena of collective false memory. Thus the Mandela effect was born!

Why does the Mandela effect interest so many people?

Wilma Bainbridge, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago, is a leading expert on the Mandela effect. She explains its popularity by noting, “We like to think we understand our minds well and have good control over our memories. The Mandela effect is one of those cases where our memory betrays us, creating a creepy, eerie feeling.”

What causes the Mandela effect?

According to Bainbridge, one possible reason for the shared false memories is that people may recall what they expected to see, rather than what they actually saw.

For example, many people remember the Monopoly Man having a monocle — even though he doesn’t wear one. This is because, Bainbridge says, many people have a preconceived idea “of what rich older men should look like” — like having a cane, a top hat and a monocle. When people misremember a monocle, it’s likely because they are falling back on those preconceived expectations. Another possibility is that “the power of suggestion could cause people to have these false memories,” Bainbridge says. When people discuss Mandela effect examples on social media, for example, it can create new false memories in people.

A last theory is that some images are less memorable than others. In Bainbridge’s research, participants were shown an image, then drew it from memory. Many of the drawings included similar Mandela effect errors. Regardless of who looked at them, some images were more likely to be remembered correctly, while others were more forgettable and more likely to be misremembered.

We were wrong about so many movie lines, facts and more. Keep reading for commonly misremembered Mandela effect examples.