What is the Mandela Effect? 12 times when it blew our minds including Queen’s We Are The Champions
This might make you question some information you thought was fact
There are some pieces of information that we don’t question because it’s just an accepted truth. It feels as if everyone knows certain facts and there’s no need to look them up or verify them because you trust the knowledge of society as a whole.
But, what if some of those pieces of information were wrong? Now, it’s not that you are being purposefully misled. Instead, we can all fall victim to something called the Mandela Effect. But, what exactly is the Mandela Effect, and what are some ‘facts’ you will likely believe that are not actually facts at all? Read on to have your mind blown.
The Mandela Effect refers to something which is so widely misremembered that the incorrect version becomes widely accepted as fact. The naming of the phenomenon refers to the fact that a lot of people think that famous South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela died while he was in prison in the 1980s, but in fact he died in 2013 - over two decades after his release.
Here are some surprising examples of the Mandela Effect. See how many of them you are aware of. Click through our gallery to see all of them.
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1. Queen’s We are the Champions
We all know the chorus to Queen’s We are the Champions. It’s one of those songs that is loved by generation after generation. But, do you know how the song ends? Most of us will sing “we are the champions of the world” - and that’s even what’s written if you look the lyrics up online. When you listen to the song, however, you’ll realise that Freddie Mercury never actually says “of the world”. Although this version of the ending has become so popular you will find it in remastered versions.
2. Darth Vader
Many will repeat the line “Luke, I am your father” as the most famous line from Star Wars, but what he actually says is “No, I am your father”.
3. The Monopoly Man
If most people are asked to draw an image of the Monopoly man, most people will draw an elderly man with a monocle, but he doesn’t actually have one.
4. Forrest Gump’s chocolates
Life is a box of chocolates, right, so said Tom Hanks’ loveable character of Forrest Gump. Actually, that’s not right. What he really says is “life was like a box of chocolates”.