The Mandela Effect is a term used to describe a very interesting phenomenon observed in people. As it turns out, entire groups of individuals recall historical facts in a completely distorted way.
The effect is named after South African president Nelson Mandela because it has to do with the facts surrounding his death. Millions of people around the world are convinced that the black leader died in the 80s of the last century but this is not the case.
Nelson Mandela died in 2013, having served as president of South Africa for 1 term.
It is unclear why so many believe in an event that never took place but this effect has been noticed in numerous other examples. Historical facts become warped and circumstances changed, which are proven false after a single fact-check.
Conspiracy theories describe the Mandela Effect with the existence of adjacent parallel realities, which we go back and forth between, causing us to confuse our memories.
One of the most popular examples of this phenomenon is the so-called "Tank Man" event. In 1989, a man stood blocking the tanks of the Chinese army as a sign of protest.
The majority of people remember this historical event as having a fatal end. Hundreds of thousands of people believe the tanks ran the protester over, when in reality he was taken out of the tanks' way.
It's fascinating to see so many having a clear memory of how the tanks ran the protester over, without this having actually occurred.
Another example has to do with John F. Kennedy's assassination. It is one of the great tragedies in American history and every detail surrounding it should be remembered clearly. But that is not the case.
The assassination occurred while the president was riding in a car with his wife, Jackie Kennedy. According to the memories of most, and recreations and historical movies about Kennedy, there were 4 people riding in the car. But in reality there were 6.
Those who have seen the movie Forrest Gump probably remember the most popular line of the main character: "Life is like a box of chocolates." However, the real quote is, "Life was like a box of chocolates."
