I remember when this thread was about toilets in Iceland.
I don’t know if you are still reading this, but if you do, I would be very grateful if you could help me with my question:
It seems to me, that the “Mandela-Effect” is much more likely to happen with things we only have a vague memory of. A good example is its namesake himself: Many people from the US seem to have a memory of Nelson Mandela dying decades ago, conflicting with reality (he died in 2013). However, at least the two South Africans I have spoken to about this (I know, it is a small sample size) do not have this false/alternate memory: They remember Mandela dying in 2013, and don’t have a memory of him dying earlier. Have you ever heard of any South Africans being convinced that Mandela died some decades earlier?
Similar with geography: A common example of the Mandela effect seems to be the location of Berlin within modern Germany (perhaps this is what you are referring to?). Many people seem to remember Berlin as being in the center of Germany, and not rather offset to the east. I am German, and at least my parents, who are well versed in local geography and have lived here for 60 years, don’t share this memory: They know that Berlin is in the east of the country (at least with post WW2 borders).
Thus, to me it seems that the effect (based on very anecdotal evidence!) is much more pronounced with topics people have little knowledge about. This is at least some evidence of the effect being related to false/malleable memories and not shifting realities.
Do you share my observation, and, if yes, how would you explain it?
When I was a teenager, during the Cold War, I had a similar misconception about the location of Berlin. My suspicion is that it was the result of:
- Germany had been divided, roughly in half, into West Germany and East Germany after WWII
- Similarly, Berlin had been divided in half, into a West that was “free”, and an East that was under Communist control
- There was a wall dividing West Germany from East Germany
- There was a “Berlin Wall,” dividing West Berlin from East Berlin
So, not knowing the geography of Germany, I surmised that Berlin was on the border between the two nations (and, thus, in the center of the country), and that the wall that divided the two countries was the same wall that divided Berlin.
Yes, I’ve also met a few Germans with only cursory knowledge of German history, who thought that Berlin was directly at the border between East and West Germany. And, I guess, with rather superficial knowledge of German history and geography, that is a plausible thought. On top of that, some people may have seen maps of Germany in pre-ww2 borders, perhaps in movies about the world wars, in which Berlin was more central. Also, I would not be surprised if people had a tendency to think of a capital city as being more central than it actually is in general. Now, inutitively, this seems like a good explanation for these “Mandela Effects”, but if there is any South African here with a distinct memory of Mandela dying in the 80s, please come forward and share your thoughts.
I always knew that Berlin was within East Germany, meaning that it was probably within the eastern part of the unified Germany. What I had wrong was that I thought Checkpoint Charlie was on a bridge. I think when I was young I must have seen the movie trope of Americans and Soviets swapping captured spies on a bridge, and then I heard of Checkpoint Charlie as the entry point to East Berlin, and I assumed that was the bridge where the swaps took place.
I also assumed that the Berlin Wall had been in place since the city was partitioned at the end of World War II. I was surprised when I found out it was built in the early '60s. The Wall only stood for 30 years, and it’s been more than 30 years since it fell.
I actually got to visit Berlin in 2004, and I went to Checkpoint Charlie. I was a little surprised how low key it was. I’m sure it was a different experience entirely back in the day.
Memories can be funny things, sometimes.
The Mandela Effect came about in 2016 when a self-proclaimed “paranormal consultant” named Fiona Broome announced she and everybody at a dinner all remembered Mandela dying decades earlier. Nobody I knew had ever mentioned anything like this or most of the many other examples that the internet suddenly threw up.
All were variations of the well-known phenomenon of famous phrases being remembered incorrectly, usually simplifying or honing them or adding info so that they worked better out of context.
We have thousands of examples of personal information being misremembered both in good ways and evil ones. Many people are startled to read childhood diaries and realize that seemingly well-remembered events occurred differently. And implanting memories appears to be quite easy, as with child abuse accusations or the current Republican Big Lie. If memories aren’t reinforced regularly they can be shaped by others asserting statements as “facts” whether they are true or not.
There isn’t anything mysterious about it, and it shouldn’t rise to the level of an “Effect.” It’s just an internet meme, to be treated with an eye roll like most internet memes. Nobody is supernaturally altering reality. You do it to yourself every day.
The timeline has been changed! I never heard the word “gluten” before the 90’s , yet I was watching an episode of The Addams Family (1964) today where Morticia mentions it! 
In my universe there’s no such thing as the “Mandela-Effect.”
The what?
I’m reminded of that old Steven Wright joke about someone who broke into his apartment and stole every single thing he owned - and then replaced everything with an exact replica.
That sounds like this guy:
The seriously weird part of this story is that police even investigated. “Help, police, someone replaced my old shoes with exactly the same but new ones!” isn’t exactly a believable claim, but by damn those Japanese gumshoes tracked down the culprit. Kudos I guess?
ISWYDT
To be fair, the gum had been replaced with identical but unchewed gum.
This one is easily explainable.
People simply confused Jiffy baking mix with Jif peanut butter.
Foot fetishes are common, I don’t think it’s so far fetched if it’s a young woman. If I claimed somebody replaced my old shoes with identical new ones, that might be greeted with considerable skepticism.
I always remember it as being made by General Motors because it drove me crazy when my mom made it instead of stuffing from scratch.
I remember the big scandal when it was discovered that General Motors was using Pepperidge Farms breadcrumbs in Stove Top stuffing.
@Something, it looks like you take a looksee at the SDMB almost every day-Care to comment on what has been said about your topic?
The replies change every time he looks, but only he can tell.