Mandela Effect

Mandela effect: conspiracy theory of truth?

Chloe McBride '24

Copy Editor

The Mandela effect is defined as a type of false memory shared with a mass group of people and it’s highly plausible that, at one time or another, you have experienced the infamous Mandela effect in your own life. Whether that be the mysterious case of Nelson Mandela’s supposed death in the 1980’s (he died in 2015); or the line of, “Luke, I am your father” where it is universally recited wrong. Either way, the Mandela Effect is an incredibly debated topic about the truths of the universe. 

In this article, I discuss popular Mandela effect theories and ask Louisville students their thoughts and opinions on whether or not they are fact or fiction. 

It’s tunes. Looney Tunes was a staple in a majority of Gen Z’s childhood that lots of people grew up watching and many people, myself included, thought that it was actually spelled “Looney Toons,” rather than “Tunes.” Since people have spent so much time watching the channel, when people discover the correct name of it, they question their own minds, along with the news that has been fed to them since they were kids, bringing up the topic of the Mandela effect or a glitch in the simulation as a way to explain it.

I sent out a survey to the Louisville students and asked them how they thought the channel was spelled, and the majority, 61.6%, thought it was spelled “Looney Toons.”

One of the common misconceptions of the Mandela Effect

 2. Curious George’s tail

“Curious George” is a lovable childhood book and animated series. It follows a rambunctious monkey that makes mischief wherever he goes. However, when revisiting the series in their older years, people have come to the realization that George does not have a tail at all.

52.7% of Louisville thought that he did have one! While this one was a close response of people answering with both sides, it definitely still left a lot of people confused and they blamed their puzzlement on the Mandela effect.

 3. Mirror mirror vs. magic mirror

It’s magic! “Snow White” was the first Disney princess in the franchise. She paved the way for future princesses down the line and set the magic of Disney’s idea of “true love” in stone. In the film, the Evil Queen asks her mirror a question by referring to it as “Magic Mirror.” When I first learned this, it completely stunned me because I was led to believe that she said “Mirror mirror” for years. 

People aren’t sure where the line “Mirror mirror” actually started from and if it was just a rumor, or the line had somehow been changed; this is another Mandela effect that shook people to their cores upon discovery; 83.9% confidently answered that she said “Mirror Mirror” instead.

 4. Monopoly man; monocle or no monocle?

75.9% of the students that participated in the survey thought that he did in fact wear a monocle but he in fact does not. 

“Monopoly” is a family-fun game that puts the ideology of Capitalism onto a board. The mascot of the game is Mr. Monopoly, a money-hungry man that carries a bag of money, who was widely believed to wear a monocle. Weirdly enough, this is actually not the case. In fact, in all the versions of the game, he was never pictured having a monocle at all. This again sparked mass confusion and was deemed another case of the infamous Mandela effect.

The Mandela effect is such a strange occurrence that has many people questioning themselves and the news that has been fed to them since they were young. People have tried to figure out how this happens and if it is actually a glitch in the matrix or not. 

I interviewed Isabella Becker ’26 about her thoughts on the Mandela effect, and she provided an incredibly insightful answer:

“I think the Mandela effect is mainly about miscommunication because of the misinformation on social media that people spread, along with different events being spread through word of mouth. People end up confusing things, especially over the course of time, and they don’t remember things fully and they switch one thing up with another,” said Becker ’26.

Whether the Mandela effect is an actual time-glitch phenomenon or just people listening to wrong accounts of events, is up to your own interpretation. Either way, it is definitely a fun concept to debate.