# Is this the Mandela effect? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 15, 2019, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-mandela-effect/844894 "2019-12-15T16:03:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-mandela-effect/844894/21 "2019-12-16T21:26:19Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Pretty much no one who uses the term “Mandela Effect” actually believes that it’s because of alternate universes. [If I understand correctly, the person who coined the term does, or at least claims to.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_memory#Mandela_Effect) ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-mandela-effect/844894/22 "2019-12-16T21:29:19Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > That’s the way it went on the X Files (more or less). Oh, do you remember details differently? That’s very common. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-mandela-effect/844894/23 "2019-12-16T21:31:02Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > That’s the way it went on the X Files (more or less). That’s not how I remember that episode going. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-mandela-effect/844894/24 "2019-12-16T21:39:54Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Then why don’t they use the term ‘false memory’? A false memory can be something that just a single person mis-remembers. The Mandela Effect refers to false memories that are relatively common in the population, not just one-off errors of recall specific to a particular person. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-mandela-effect/844894/25 "2019-12-16T21:46:34Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > A false memory can be something that just a single person mis-remembers. The Mandela Effect refers to false memories that are relatively common in the population, not just one-off errors of recall specific to a particular person. Or, equivalently, false beliefs that a significant portion of the population can be suggested into remembering. If the Internet existed decades ago, people would be asking “Remember that movie when Cary Grant said ‘Judy, Judy, Judy’? No one can find it, now! Schweitzer Effect!?!” People heard Grant impersonators say “Judy, Judy, Judy” a lot, possibly following Larry Storch, who was doing a Grant impersonation when Judy Garland came into the room ([Article - "Judy, Judy, Judy" - The Ultimate Cary Grant Pages](http://www.carygrant.net/articles/judy.htm)); it’s no surprise that people came to believe that it was a quote from an actual movie. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-mandela-effect/844894/26 "2019-12-19T15:08:07Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > …People heard Grant impersonators say “Judy, Judy, Judy” a lot, possibly following Larry Storch, who was doing a Grant impersonation when Judy Garland came into the room ([Article - "Judy, Judy, Judy" - The Ultimate Cary Grant Pages](http://www.carygrant.net/articles/judy.htm)); it’s no surprise that people came to believe that it was a quote from an actual movie. Or better impersonators who did it [much more realistically](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiBcwolNZME). ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-mandela-effect/844894/27 "2019-12-19T15:22:52Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > That’s not how I remember that episode going. That reminds me of a Kurasowa film, but I might be mis-remembering. ---
**Author:** ![nanancyy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/53a042/32.png) [@nanancyy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nanancyy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-mandela-effect/844894/28 "2019-12-28T16:29:33Z")
My memory is not reliable, so the first time this happened to me, i assumed I was mistaken. Then it kept happening. But all of you are right. There are many possible explanations for this. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-mandela-effect/844894/29 "2019-12-28T18:08:16Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Pretty much no one who uses the term “Mandela Effect” actually believes that it’s because of alternate universes. The way I remember the Mandela Effect, everyone definitely thought it was because of alternative universes. I have a clear memory of them all saying that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-mandela-effect/844894.md?page=1)