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Saturday, 1 October 2022

New study seeks to explain the ‘Mandela Effect’ – the bizarre phenomenon of shared false memories

Imagine the Monopoly Man. Is he wearing a monocle or not?

If you pictured the character from the popular board game wearing one, you’d be wrong. In fact, he has never worn one.

If you’re surprised by this, you’re not alone. Many people possess the same false memory of this character. This phenomenon takes place for other characters, logos and quotes, too. For example, Pikachu from Pokémon is often thought to have a black tip on his tail, which he doesn’t have. And many people are convinced that the Fruit of the Loom logo includes a cornucopia. It doesn’t.

We call this phenomenon of shared false memories for certain cultural icons the “visual Mandela Effect.”

People tend to be puzzled when they learn that they share the same false memories with other people. That’s partly because they assume that what they remember and forget ought to be subjective and based on their own personal experiences...<<<Read More>>>...