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 ;-)
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.
Moonwalk dance in the 1930's?
- Roy Rodriguez
When was the first Moonwalk dance recorded?
MMDE: 1980's
Current: 1930's
Michael Jackson and the Moonwalk dance go together like Laurel and Hardy, Burgers and Coke or even Steve Jobs and Apple. Almost everyone assumes Jackson invented the dance, just because they'd never heard of or seen it before he brought it to the mainstream. In fact, it turns out this is wrong by quite a margin, since all he did was give an old move a new name.
So technically Jackson was the first if you ask "who first did the moonwalk?" and you strictly mean the dance with that name. There's even a date for that: 25th March, 1983 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, but he wasn't the first to perform the actual move itself.
Kite experiment: Was Ben Franklin struck by lightning?
- Ray Wu
Was Ben Franklin struck by lighting during his kite experiment?
MMDE: Ben Franklin was struck by lightning
Current: Ben Franklin was not struck by lightning
Ben Franklin is famous for many things, not least of which beimg so many people remembering him being President when he wasn't, but that's for another day.
He was one of the 8 founding fathers of the United States and helped draft the Declaration of Independence. Perhaps he's equally as well-known for his kite experiments, because this is taught in school so children get an impression of him flying a kite in a thunderstorm at an early age. This is likely to stick with them because it's so dramatic. However, there's a part of this story which seems to be ingrained in most people's minds which just isn't true, and that's the idea that he was struck by lightning during a storm.
It's easy to see how the dramatic idea that he was struck by lightning is given, especially because the famous painting of the experiment almost gives that impression. However, it's simply not the case as a little thought and research would uncover. Had he in fact been struck by lightning, he would likely been injured or killed since he was holding the line carrying the electricity. This is not the case when people are struck by it in open fields etc, and survive the brief bolt.
Batman movie in the 1940's?
- ZachKnife
When was the first Batman movie?
MMDE: 1960's
Current: 1940's
Many people are aware that there was a Superman movie in the 1950's. When you ask them about Batman however, they just remember Adam West playing him in the 1960's and think that was his first appearance on film. They are surprised to hear he was around even earlier than Superman.
Batman first appeared in comic form, since his creation by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. In fact his first two movies were in the 1940's and titled Batman (1943) and Batman and Robin (1949). The first actor to play him on film was Lewis Wilson, and his role was played by Robert Lowery in the second movie. There's some controversy around the first movie. Since it was made by the US during World War 2, there is a great deal of anti-Japanese sentiment present.
First Muppet in 1955?
- Bill Perez
When did the first muppet appear?
MMDE: 1955
Current: 1976
The Muppets are so ingrained in popular culture today that it's hard to think of a time when they didn't exist. From Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy through to the Animal and all the rest of them, the very term "Muppet" has entered the vocabulary as a descriptive term for someone.
Yet there was a time when they first appeared, and most people assume this was when they got their own show in 1976. They are incorrect. Those even more savvy might point out they were on Sesame Street for many years prior to that, but when it comes to the first appearance, they are out by a couple of decades.
That's because the first Muppet to appear on television was actually in 1955. Jim Henson created them for the show Sam and Friends, which ran for 6 years from 1955, and following appearances in advertising campaigns and some late night TV shows, joined Sesame Street in 1969.
Did sunlight kill Dracula in the novel?
- Eve Clemmons
Did sunlight kill Dracula in the novel?
MMDE: Sunlight killed Dracula in the novel
Current: Sunlight did not kill Dracula in the novel
Most everyone knows how Dracula in the movies flees sunlight. In many, he and other vampires are killed by it and his body is shown crumbling away to dust.
Not many people realise this is entirely a fiction introduced in the movies only, and was not present in the original novel.
In fact it is even possible to pinpoint which movie introduced this. It was the 1922 Nosferatu, which, whilst a classic in its own right, was widely regarded as a Dracula clone in all but name due to copyright reasons. It's not the only deviation from the novel either - a swarm of rats is brought in with his ship, which spreads a plague in the town. This is entirely missing from the novel.