Back in Part Four of my Con[CERN]ing the Mandela Effect series, I highlighted a cited change revolving around one of the most popular, longest running (and apparently award-winning?) commercials. It was an ad for Life cereal and featured a pair of children attempting to get their younger brother, Mikey, to consume it because they refused to after hearing is was purportedly "good for you" and who in their right mind would trust it tasting delicious if that were the case?! Not them! But Mikey...?

Here was the posited question back from that quiz:

In the Life cereal commercials of the late 70's/early 80's featuring a character named Mikey, when his brothers refuse to try the cereal, what did his brothers claim was the reason they passed him the bowl of cereal? "Let's get Mikey! _______"?

Was it just as you remembered it, or has something been altered? Obviously it can be hard to remember something from so long ago in its entirety, but that question associates with the only (and most popular) cited instance. In the commercial above, Mikey is clearly an incredibly picky eater who doesn't like anything. Many people, however (including myself), remember Mikey being a child who would try/eat anything.

What those affected by the Mandela Effect (ME) claim to remember the children saying fell more along the lines of: "Mikey will eat it. He'll eat anything!"

This phrase (or rather the no-longer-existing phrase), as I recall it, was quickly adopted into pop culture/everyday use with people swapping out Mikey's name with others. Someone didn't like something? Give it to "What's his face", "What's his face" will eat anything! Of course, the context could also be changed, not having to necessarily revolve around food.

So what is the residual evidence available for the possibility that the non-existent phrase actually had at one point or another? Below we have a clip from The Jacksons, a TV variety show featuring Michael Jackson and most of his siblings. In the clip, we are offered a humorous parody of the famous Life commercial:

As you can see, the reason given for giving their brother the cereal was because he would eat anything.

It's argued that the commercial makes more sense if Mikey hates everything, so that by eating the cereal it proves it's so good even a picky eater likes it. But it could also be argued that a genuinely picky eater isn't someone you'd go to in the attempt of making them eat something new. They wouldn't want anything to do with it. You'd want to give it to someone who eats anything. That's not saying the individual likes it, just that they would be willing to try it and you could find out if they liked it or not.

Overall, both instances make sense and work. Well, except for the fact that the one was never actually a reality. And I understand it's a parody, but that would be focused on the "dying" part of the skit. Which is ironic given the other disturbing circumstances associated with "Mikey", played by John Gilchrist. It appears that rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated, once upon a time. This is the focus of the next clip from the movie, Urban Legend (which also mentions Mikey's penchant for eating anything):

John Gilchrist is indeed still alive and Pop Rocks are safe to mix with soda, but I believe he claims to have little recollection of his limited acting career as a child. Mayhaps in another timeline Pop Rocks and soda lead to one's unfortunate and explosive demise. Mayhaps "Mikey" was a hapless victim of such a concoction, but that reality either no longer exists or has shifted into another?

All I know is that when I showed my grandmother the commercial (one she was excited to watch as it was one she loved), she attempting to recite the pertinent line in question and at first, since she was speaking, didn't hear what was actually said. After playing it again for her, the perplexed expression given and questioning why (or how) they would change it was priceless. I regret not recording it despite my gut feeling to do so.

But really, I'm glad John Gilchrist didn't die from a stomach explosion. At least in this reality...

Are you familiar with the Life cereal commercial featuring Mikey? If so, was it as you remember it? For you did Mikey always hate everything? Or eat everything? Do you recall the urban legend of the actor portraying Mikey, John Gilchrist, dying from mixing Pop Rocks and soda? What are your thoughts on some of the residual evidence provided?

Have you found any different residual evidence associated with the subject matter above?