By Michael W. Howell
Staff Writer and Senior Editor at Fighting the Tyranny
Here is a strange phenomenon that has been going around and started quite a debate. Maybe you have heard of the Mandela Effect and what it is said to be doing. I will not try to convince you, or even deter you, or steer you in one way or the other. I merely ask you to search your heart of hearts and use your ingrained memory. Your long-term memory. Your long-term memory is proven to be stronger than your short-term memory so in this article summon up your long-term thoughts.
How the Mandela Effect gets its name is from Nelson Mandela’s death itself. It was coined by Fiona Broome, a writer, and paranormal investigator. Broome came up with the theory when she and a friend were discussing whether or not Nelson Mandela had died in prison, hence the name. Some remember Nelson Mandela dying while in prison while others remember his death in 2013. I must admit when he died in 2013 I thought he was already dead myself, but just chalked it up to “misremembering.” This word will be a continuing theme in this article.
If this was the only example of false memories the story would end there, but this is just the beginning. Actually, this is just the preface to the book that is being called “The Mandela Effect.”
In this article I do not want to place new ideas, thoughts, or anything foreign in your memory, I simply want to ask you how you remember things. All the questions I ask you are all examples that have already been exposed online, in articles and social media, but it may be first you have heard of these things.
Trivia Time
The first I want to ask you is relative to the movie Forrest Gump. In the movie, in the opening scene, Forrest is sitting on a park bench waiting for a bus to arrive. A lady sits next to him and Forrest Gump introduces himself to the lady and starts a conversation with her. He pulls out a box of chocolates and offers her some of his chocolate. In this dialogue with her, he says the now famous line. I will state the line and leave a blank in the word a question.
Momma always said life ____ like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.
Keep your answer in your head and we will come back to your answers at the end. Next one.
In the movie, The Empire Strikes Back there is a fight scene between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. This is a very important statement that is made by Darth Vader that actually changes the storyline and takes the story to a whole new level. The line made by Darth Vader is made when reveling to Luke the connection between the two. The line is:
____, I am your Father.
The next example I want to give you is straight out of my childhood as well as many of yours. It involves the famous children’s book that even had a cartoon to go along with the books. In this question, I will simply ask you how do you remember the spelling.
In the book/cartoon is it “Berenstain Bears” or “Berenstein Bears?”
Sticking with the childhood theme let’s talk about Mister Roger’s Neighborhood for a second. I am sure everyone can hum along to this theme song, but can you sing the lyrics?
Let’s see if you can.
“It’s a beautiful day in ____ neighborhood.”
Snow White was a very popular cartoon and has a line we have all said out loud a million times. Have we been saying it wrong? You tell me.
“______, ______ on the wall…” Fill in the blanks
He’s one I will randomly throw in. Do you remember “The Brady Bunch Variety Hour?” It was a spin-off to the original show that included everyone in the original cast except Eve Plum who played Jan Brady. It was a typical 70’s skit show where they performed skits, musicals, etc.
In the H.B.O. series that has spawned a couple of movies was a show that starred Sarah Jessica Parker and her life in the city of New York.
Was the title of the show “Sex in the City” or “Sex and the City?”
One of the more controversial instances of the Mandela Effect is centered around the changing of the Bible. One of the verses that have people remembering one way is the Lord’s Prayer. You have been saying this since the first time you went to Sunday School. I bet right now you could say it frontwards and backward and have it etched in your memory, right? Well, like the other examples, let’s see.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our ______, as we also have forgiven our ______. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Could you fill in the blanks? Was it like second nature to you? Now I will give you the answers, or said answers to these examples and see if you got them….uh….right.
In the Forrest Gump example, it is “Mamma always said life was like a box of chocolates…”
In Star Wars, Darth Vader tells Luke Skywalker, “No, I am your Father.”
The cartoon/book is Berenstain Bears, not Berenstein Bears.
Mister Roger’s sings, “It’s a beautiful day in THIS neighborhood.
I and no one I know remembers the Brady Bunch Variety Show, however, there are episodes online that can be found.
The show starring Sarah Jessica Parker is “Sex AND the City” not “Sex in the City.”
And how about the Lord’s Prayer? Did you say debt and debtors or do you remember trespass and trespasses? The Bible says debt and debtors.
Is it even possible that so many people could “misremember” the same exact word in the same exact sentence, or the movies, or even the Lord’s Prayer with the same error? I mean think about it, debt is not even close to trespass in spelling or definition. Yet, many have the very vivid memory of trespass. How is this happening? How can very passionate Star Wars fans who roleplay, go to conventions, own all the toys and memorabilia, and can tell you the backstory on anything Star Wars related all of a sudden misremember one of the most pivotal lines in the movie? This line is one of great importance as it changes the entire storyline in finding out that Darth Vader is actually Luke’s Father.
The Berenstein (my memory) was an eye-opener for me. It is pronounced like Berenstain, so if I were to misremember that would also mean that I would have had to create a spelling in my head that doesn’t even look or sound like the pronunciation. That makes no sense. I would have easily reverted to spelling it as it sounds. Like we do with all words, especially when we do not know how to spell them. I even remember thinking it didn’t look right.
There are tons more examples of the Mandela Effect as I encourage you to look farther into this phenomenon. Are we in a parallel dimension? Seems laughable, right? Not so fast. Are you aware of the project on the French-Swiss border called CERN? They admit to finding “other dimensions” and the god particle. Is all of this a direct result of their research? I do not know, but I believe they have opened something that was to remain shut. Look into CERN and their research. It is mind-boggling to hear what they have accomplished and the work they continue to do.
Or is it that I along with million others just misremembered things in our daily lives. The odds of that would be unmeasurable and astronomical. If that is the case then I need to go buy a lottery ticket as the odds are in my favor
Please be sure to check out the Fighting the Tyranny Blog site for more articles
Follow Fighting the Tyranny on Facebook
Pick up a copy of Michael W. Howell’s book, Anatomy of the Global Agenda available on Amazon or get a personalized copy here
Fighting The Tyranny 