The term “Mandela Effect” is fairly new, yet many people believe in it, know about it or are devoted to uncovering new ones. Self-described paranormal consultant Fiona Broome first coined the term. She created a website back in 2009 in which she wrote extensively about her recollections of the former South African President, Nelson Mandela dying despite still being alive. Not long after, other people started to come forward about their shared memory of Mandela dying. This led to an incredibly active media presence and a community of people revealing things that they believed distinctly happened, only to come to realize they never happened. The term Mandela Effect is now used to describe a phenomenon in which people remember an event, saying, or item being one way when in reality it is presented in a completely different way.
What causes this mass belief?
The general beliefs amongst adherents of the Mandela Effect describe the cause as an alternate reality or parallel universe colliding or interacting with ours, including the idea that time travel exists or that we exist only in a simulation. However, the theory of non-believers is that when memories are recalled, instead of being recollected accurately, they are influenced so much that they eventually become incorrect. This is why many argue that memory is unreliable and has the potential to cause mass hysteria or these types of conspiracies.
If you were to ask me, I would personally say that I am open to the possibility that there are things going on that we don’t know about that have the potential to change the inner workings of memories. I don’t quite know if I believe that it’s the result of false memory or the theories of time travel, simulations or alternate realities. Yet, this theory in itself is incredibly fascinating and I could learn about it forever.
Mandela effects in music
Songs are a large source of the Mandela Effect because it’s not uncommon for people to mishear the lyrics and remember them a different way. Some Mandela Effects in music are in such well-known songs that it’s hard to wrap my brain around how so many people could collectively misremember the lyrics.
- “Starships” by Nicki Minaj
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“Starships” is a very well-known song, mainly among people 25 and under, and yet many of us have misheard the lyrics. The iconic verse that starts off the song seemingly has the lines “Let’s go to the beach, each / Let’s go get away,” but, in fact, the correct lyrics have always been “Let’s go to the beach, each / Let’s go get a wave.”
- “The One That Got Away” by Katy Perry
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“The One That Got Away” is another widely-played song from my childhood that has been misheard. The Mandela Effect lyrics are “Never thought that one day I’d be losing you.” The correct lines are “Never planned that one day I’d be losing you.” I am surprised at this one since the words don’t sound similar and I have never sung nor heard anyone use the word ‘planned’ in that line.
- “Barbie Girl” by Aqua
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Many people remember the most famous line from this song being “I’m a Barbie girl in a Barbie world.” However, the correct lyrics are “I’m a Barbie girl in the Barbie world.”