Can the past change? It sounds incredible, but scientists are debating exactly this, with various theories ranging from quantum mechanics to the many-worlds interpretation. If it could, how would it appear to us? The internet is buzzing with wild ideas, so it's time to go over where they originated, and consider in detail what exactly might be causing it.
The Mandela Effect
Ever had that feeling when you hear of something, like a celebrity dying, and was sure it had happened before? When that happens to a group of people it has a name: The Mandela Effect. It's called that because there are many who were sure Nelson Mandela died in the 1980's and not in 2013.
Welcome to Alternate Memories, where these and more are documented, discussed and puzzled over.
Please bear in mind that as you read about them more and more, some will hit you as being ridiculous, and others as spookily accurate. They are not the same for everyone, which is a huge part of their mystery ;-)
Paul Revere never made his midnight run?
- Ian Scott
Paul Revere's midnight run
MMDE: Paul Revere rode the streets shouting "The British are coming!"
Current: Paul Revere did not ride the streets shouting "The British are coming!"
Americans are familiar with the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem describing how Paul Revere made a midnight run on his horse, alerting the streets with his cry "The British are coming!". This is so ingrained it's become a major focal point of the history of the American revolution.
There's a problem though. Almost nothing in the story is true. For a start, he wasn't alone - there were two others with him - and he never made it to the end because he was stopped by a British soldier. He did escape, but without his horse, so walked back to Lexington where he then saw the fighting had begun. It wasn't him who actually succeeded in warning the American troops in Concord of the imminent arrival of the British, it was one of his companions. The other got lost in the dark.
Nazis made first public video call in 1936?
- Roy Rodriguez
Who made the first public video call?
MMDE: AT&T made the first public video call in the 1970's
Current: The Nazis made the first public video call in 1936
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a massive boost in the use of video conferencing technology.
This is because the social distancing rules mean most people are advised to work from home. Video conferencing helps with this tremendously, and like every technology, it has a history.
The idea itself first emerged in the 1870's, and was in the realm of science fiction. There was even a recognisable term for it: videotelephony. Various research projects made some progress alongside the invention of the television, but most involved just two transmitters and receivers, so weren't switchable in the way the term "public" meant. The first actual public one which could be described this way, because each party could connect to any of several different parties on the same network, was actually created in 1936 and known as the Gegensehn-Fernsprechanlagen system, It connected the cities of Berlin and Leipzig, and the governing party of the day was indeed the Nazi party.
Can flatlined patients be revived with a defibrillator?
- Eve Clemmons
Defibrillators on flatlined patients?
MMDE: Defibrillators can revive flatlined patients
Current: Defibrillators can't revive flatlined patients
We've all seen the scenes in movies and TV shows where a patient is lying still, and a monitor beside them makes a constant tone as the activity line remains flat. Then a doctor or nurse calls "Clear!" and the electric pads are applied, only for the patient to stir back to life as the monitor shows the line has peaks again.
The problem? Medical experts will confirm this doesn't happen. The electric shock is to stabilise a heart which isn't beating correctly, not to revive one which has stopped. This myth is so widespread in the media because it contains so much drama. There's nothing better to move a story along, or give one a happy ending, than a character being brought back to life. Unfortunately, that's just not how it is in this case.
The outfit of the Ninja
- Helen Phillips
Ninjas were masters of disguise
MMDE: Real Ninjas always wore black
Current: Real Ninjas did not wear black
The ninja is the legendary figure feared throughout history for their agility, stealth and above all superior fighting skills.
They are always depicted in an entirely black outfit with just a small slit for their eyes. They usually brandish various weapons such as one or two swords, a set of nunchaku or even the dreaded "flying star" shurikens.
There's a big problem with this picture, however. Ninjas did exist, and are well documented as a kind of mercenary force performing special missions where the army or Samurai were not best suited, for example espionage.To achieve this, they were renowned masters of disguise, often blending in perfectly with ordinary people, workers or government officials. You see the problem here? Any kind of instantly recognisable outfit would make this role completely useless. The impression given throughout history is wrong.
Mandela Effect featured on HBO's "How To with John Wilson"
- Bill Perez
How To Improve Your Memory
John Wilsons "How To ..." TV show focused on memory improvement recently, and the Mandela Effect got a look in including the conference. Chris Anatra gave an insight into the problems caused by the confusing change to various brand names.
The show started off generally, covering some useful techniques people have found to retain information better in their heads, and an interview with a world-class memory expert.
It then went into a supermarket, where, who should be there but the one and only Chris Anatra, a name well-know to the Mandela Effect community. Chris pointed out on the shelves the various brands which have been associated with the Mandela Effect, then went back to his office showing how even the food distribution software his company markets can be affected too.
Was Google's motto "Do no evil" or "Don't be evil" ?
- Cory Grajales
What was Google's motto?
MMDE: Motto was "Do no evil"
Current: Motto was "Don't be evil"
There were many other search engines around before Google, with a few notables being Yahoo, AltaVista and Lycos. Google wasn't really considered amongst them until 1998, but even from it's early days it strove to be different, and from the year 2000 it included a mission "motto". This was a cute phrase which encapsulated the whole company ethos, and the one it used was widely seen as a sly dig at Microsoft, because it those days that was the computing giant with a colorful history, whilst Google was the plucky new upstart.
The motto it used then was abandoned in 2018 following the Alphabet restructure, which it performed largely to mitigate against future anti-trust problems. There is confusion, however, over exactly what the original motto was, with many remembering 'Do no evil' and many also remembering "Don't be evil".
TS Eliot / TS Eliott?
- Bill Perez
The famous poet
MMDE: TS Eliott?
Current: TS Eliot
Considered one of the 20th century's major poets, in 1948 he won the Nobel Prize for literature for his "outstanding contribution to poetry", but was he called 'TS Eliot' or 'TS Eliott'?
Many remember it as "Eliott", but are they just assuming this because it's the more familiar spelling for a boy's first name?
He was born in the US in 1888 and moved to England in 1914, when he was only 25 and spent the rest of his life there, having become a British citizen in 1927. He was a pioneer of the Modernist movement, and also a renowned playwright of his day where his popularity was unprecedented.
