The Mandela Effect: a phenomenon in which a large number of people share false memories of past events.

Across the world, a mass of people are affected by this strange theory. This speculation all began from the belief that Nelson Mandela died in prison, when he actually served his respective 27 years and later was elected the first black president of South Africa. After the realization that Mandela, in fact, did not die in prison, many individuals started to recognize other big differences from what they thought were to be true and what is actually false.

Some of the most recognizable Mandela Effects include: The Berenstein Bears being The Berenstain Bears, Oscar Meyer being Oscar Mayer, the idea that the Monopoly man wore a monocle (he does not), Snow White’s “mirror, mirror on the wall” being “magic mirror on the wall” and Star Wars’ “Luke I am your father” being “No, I am your father.”

To freshman Elijah Ruano, the Mandela Effect took him by surprise.

“I was appalled by what I found,” Ruano said. “I didn’t want to believe it at first. I always thought Froot Loops were spelled F-R-U-I-T, not with two ‘o’s.”

The Mandela Effect reached its popularity in 2013 when Nelson Mandela passed away. His death was a revelation for a majority because they already thought he was dead.

Senior Katherine Sorensen is a strong believer of the Mandela Effect. She was not on board with the whole idea of the theory until her junior year.

“My lunch table last year had a whole discussion on the Mandela Effect and what is real or not,” Sorenson said. “I remember it lasted a week and every time it’s brought up, it really makes me think.”

For those who believe in the Mandela Effect, they are torn between the false memories caused by a parallel universe or failure of collective memory.

“A part of me believes there’s a parallel universe, but that is a little bit of a stretch,” Sorensen said. “I just find it fascinating that so many people believe in things that are not correct.”

Even with false memories corrected, some people still stand to their original opinion on the matter.

“I don’t care what people say, it’s Sex in the City, not Sex and the City, which is the correct name,” senior Emily Palmer said. “I grew up with my aunt constantly watching the show. I think I know the correct name of it.”

The amount of people who cannot seem to remember or come to terms with the truth of the real world show the truth the Mandela Effect might hold. Believing in the Mandela Effect is based on opinion, but with facts being questioned, one cannot help but wonder: what if the Mandela Effect is real? Maybe life does not contain all the events people think it does. Maybe, just maybe, everyone is a victim to the Mandela Effect.