PART ONE: The Mandela Effect Quiz | PART TWO: False Memories
PART THREE: The Devil | PART FOUR: The Mandela Effect Quiz II
PART FIVE: The Multiverse | PART SIX: Quantum Computers
PART SEVEN: The Mandela Effect Quiz III | PART EIGHT: CERN
PART NINE: CERN II | PART TEN: The Mandela Effect Quiz IV
PART ELEVEN: The Matrix | PART TWELVE: The Matrix II
PART THIRTEEN: The Mandela Effect Quiz V | PART FOURTEEN: Time Travel
PART FIFTEEN: Project Pegasus | PART SIXTEEN: The Mandela Effect Quiz VI
PART SEVENTEEN: PsyOps | PART EIGHTEEN: Ascension
PART NINETEEN: The Mandela Effect Quiz VII | PART TWENTY: Parting Thoughts

I've done fairly decent, in my sporadic blogging "career", at avoiding most subject matter revolving around aliens, conspiracy theories, supernatural phenomenon, and many other topics that people tend to strongly criticize. That's not to say that I have no interest in these topics — I do very much so — but I've always felt a strong aversion to turning my personal blog into a dumping ground of ridicule and hostility.

That hasn't changed. But in my waxing and waning of all things conspiratorial, I've recently come across something that I can't help find intriguing. And lucky for you, there's a fun, easy way to be introduced to it, in the form of a trivia game.

It's important to stress, just like with any trivia game, that the only tool you exercise is your memory. No cheating and using the internet! There will be plenty of time for that afterwards...

Pop Quiz Asshole

Okay, it sounds way better coming from Keanu, but trust me, it doesn't sound too shabby when I recite the line either... Seriously... Mind you, I stop at "asshole" and fill in the blank, which is catered to the occasion.

So anyway, let's get right to it. These are what many would consider fairly light, simple questions, even for non-TV show/movie/entertainment buffs, but don't get too frustrated if you don't know/can't remember some. Chances are good, however, that you'll know at least one reference.

And remember... only answer from memory!

NOTE: In regards to the videos giving the answers, make sure to actually watch and specifically listen to them, don't just read the video title!

1. What is the iconic line, spoken by Darth Vader to Luke Skywalker, at the end of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back?

2. What does Kevin Costner's character hear whispered in the wind, while out in a corn field, in Field of Dreams?

3. What is the famous quote about Life, delivered by Tom Hanks, in Forrest Gump?

4. What are the opening lines of the Mister Rogers' Neighborhood theme song (feel free to sing the whole thing if you can't resist its charm and nevermind the typo)?

5. What is the iconic line spoken by Roy Scheider, in regards to a boat, after his character Chief Brody catches a glimpse of the shark in Jaws?

6. In the classic Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, what is the famous line spoken by the Evil Queen to a mirror?

7. In The Silence of the Lambs, how does Hannibal Lector greet Clarice?

Okay, while there are many more, that's probably enough for now.  Out of the seven questions above, how many did you get right? Six? Four? All of them? None of them?

I got all of them wrong. Not a single one right. And I'm a self-proclaimed movie buff that loves to quote movies whenever given the chance! Perhaps we should move on to some non-movie/music quote/line trivia for a moment...

1. What is the name of the children's book series featuring a family of bears living in a big treehouse that eventually received it's own animated series in the mid-80's? Specifically, how is it spelled?
Answer

2. Try to name three popular peanut butter brands from your childhood (I know this may vary upon generation, sorry):
Answer | Answer | Answer

3. What is the title of the hit HBO series described as "Four female New Yorkers gossip about their sex-lives (or lack thereof) and find new ways to deal with being a woman in the '90s"?
Answer

4. What is the title of the famous novel about vampires, written by Anne Rice, that was eventually adapted into a movie (of the same name) starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt?
Answer

5. When did Nelson Mandela die?
Answer

We'll stop here again. How many of these question did you answer correctly? Certainly more than I, which was another whopping big, fat zero! However, despite [ALL] of the movie quotes I got wrong — which was disheartening, to say the least — it was the first two questions of this second batch that confused and caused me some distress. They involved memories that I was certain were accurate and unpolluted (okay, I feel that way about those movie quotes too), and piqued my curiosity into what the ever-living-fuck was going on. How could I have misremembered so many iconic moments and, what I felt was, ingrained information?

It was then that I stumbled upon a phenomenon that was inspired by that final trivia question. Like you've possibly experienced here, I was crash-coursed by a friend into...

The Mandela Effect

The Mandela Effect is "...a term for where a group of people all misremember the same detail, event or physicality. It is named after the instance in which a large group of people all shared the same memory that Nelson Mandela died prior to his actual 2013 death, usually some time in the 1980's" coined, supposedly, by Fiona Broome, who was among the described individuals.

This is where the theory originated from, a large group of people remembering Nelson Mandela dying while in prison during the 80's, when in "actual" reality — and evidence shows, of course — that that is not the case. He became the first President of South Africa, eventually passing away of a prolonged respiratory infection in 2013, at the age of 95.

But, naturally, it doesn't stop there. The Mandela Effect is an all-encompassing term for similar experiences.

All of the trivia questions above are of memory contention and debate among individuals. Many claim that the quotes, lyrics, titles, etc have always been as presented, others swearing there now exists subtle differences. It used to be "Life is like a box of chocolates..." not was. It used to be "Sex in the City" not and (coincidentally, last night I watched Bad Boys 2, where the show was referenced as in not and, but this is a discussion for later). BerenstEin Bears over BerenstAin Bears is a popular discussion point when it comes to The Mandela Effect. Many bewildered people, including myself, remember the children's books being spelled with an "E", instead of the now current "A" iteration, for lack of a better word.

Admittedly, most of these examples involve very minute word changes or spellings. Things that an individual may easily remember incorrectly and appear silly to argue. Others, however, are more substantial. Bible passage changes (and no, not just variances between editions), most notably Isaiah 11:6. Land masses appearing/disappearing, changing in size, shifting in location. Brand logos/names changing (not just rebranding, but all traces of previously believed iterations erased). Changes in the JFK assassination (an elongated 6-seater car, when many recall the vehicle being a 4-seater). There are many more, even to the extreme claims involving people disappearing or being "replaced" by another version of said individual.

There is no Jiffy. Only Jif.

It's easy to laugh and blow off the whole phenomenon as complete, utter nonsense, but there is no doubt that for some people, whether real or imagined, it can get pretty intense and emotional. And for those who are affected by The Mandela Effect, the trigger can vary. For some, it's a change in one of their favorite movie quotes. For others, changes in key world events they were alive to witness and/or researched.

For me? It was Jiffy peanut butter. One of the three most popular brands when I was a child. Or at least I thought. It apparently no longer exists. Every physical (and digital) trace is gone and there's no information about a potential rebranding. Everything simply points to Jif. When looking for Jiffy online, thinking I may have finally found proof it existed (because a title says Jiffy), clicking the link just reveals Jif. It's maddening. I know this was a brand of peanut butter. But yet, I and others sharing the similar memory, are told otherwise.

So what the hell is going on?

Isn't It Obvious?

The strongest counter-argument for the phenomenon is simply memory discrepancies. People are just misremembering. I understand this explanation. Memory can be a fickle thing, and certainly some people have a greater memory capacity than others. But everyone experiencing The Mandela Effect having faulty memory recollection? It's a hard pill to swallow, especially for those who feel certain they are remembering accurately.

It's here where things start sounding more like the Twilight Zone than the really real world...

For those unable to accept that their own memory could be the cause behind their distress at discovering these mistaken remembrances, there are a handful of alternative explanations they embrace. These range from parallel universes, to time travel, to humanity living in a simulation. None of these are new concepts, and some of them are believed to be true and very plausible by people worlds smarter than myself!

There are also people who believe there exists entities behind the phenomenon, most notably CERN (the organization housing a Large Hadron Collider — LHC — you may have caught mention of over the years), who are either purposefully rewriting history (currently initiating small, controlled tests) or are unintentionally creating the changes — side-effects resulting from experiments. There are also claims that the Big Guy Down Under is responsible. The Prince of Darkness. That's right. The Devil.

To Be Continued

Part Two will explore and take a closer look at these theories. While some may sound far-fetched, there are proposed discoveries that could possibly offer support and credence to the claims.

Whether taking the quiz and being struck by The Mandela Effect or not, I find it to be a fascinating subject and recommend exploring/researching the phenomenon when having the time. You may come across compelling information that challenges what you believe to be true.

Hope to catch you in the second installment!

Part Two: False Memories

How many questions did you get right in the first section? The second? Are any of the answers different from what you remember, even ones you feel certain about? Have you heard of The Mandela Effect? Do you think everyone sharing the same experiences are just misremembering the same things?