Has it ever happened to you that you had a clear memory of something that never happened or it happened in a different way? The Mandela effect is those curious instances in which many people are certain they remember something a particular way, but it turns out they’re incorrect.

The name of the theory comes from many people feeling certain they could remember Nelson Mandela dying while he was still in prison back in the ’80s. But Mandela’s actual death was on 5th December 2013, despite some people claiming to remember seeing clips of his funeral on TV.

Monopoly Man

Monopoly is a fun family board game. The face of the game is Rich Uncle Pennybags. People think that he has a monocle, but he doesn’t. He has a lot of things to make him look old and rich but even if people swear that he wears a monocle, based on the image of Uncle Pennybags in the front of the Monopoly game box actually he didn’t have a monocle at all.

Pikachu’s Tail

Pikachu is a short, chubby rodent Pokémon. It is covered in yellow fur with two horizontal brown stripes on its back. It has a small mouth, long, pointed ears with black tips, brown eyes, and two red circles on its cheeks. There are pouches inside its cheeks where it stores electricity. It has short forearms with five fingers on each paw, and its feet have three toes. People usually say that there’s a black mark on Pikachu’s tail, but in reality there isn’t.

Sex and the City

The iconic romantic comedy television series produced by HBO is remembered by most of the people as Sex in the City, although the posters and advertisement show Sex and the City. Many people insisted it was “in” at some point, even posted old photos that show “in” instead of “and”, but the truth is, it was Sex and the City from the very beginning, so the old photos that were posted were just supporting false memories.

KitKat

Have you ever taken a break, and eaten a KitKat? Have you ever wondered why they removed the dash in between the Kit and the Kat? Turns out, there wasn’t any dash in between the syllables to begin with. It was just KitKat from the beginning. It’s just our mind remembering stuff again based on the figment of our memories, which turns out to be a product of the Mandela Effect.

Star Wars

The phrase “Luke, I am your father” came from the movie we all know and love, Star Wars. Although we remember Darth Vader saying his child’s name before revealing the true identity of his father, in reality, Darth Vader told Luke Skywalker “No, I am your father”. Even if it’s the most famous line of the “The Empire Strikes Back” movie few people remember it correctly. Even James Earl Jones—the man behind the voice of Darth Vader—recalled his character’s line starting with “Luke” instead of “No” in an interview.

We are the Champions Lyrics

We all know this legendary Queen´s song, the final lyrics of which is “No time for losers, ’cause we are the champions… of the world!” But in fact, there is no “of the world!” there – only earlier in the song. The song just ends with “’cause we are the champions”, driving so many people crazy because they feel a hundred per cent sure that they’ve heard it otherwise in the past.

Curious George’s Tail

Curious George – who was best pals with the man in the yellow hat – is the main protagonist of a series of popular children’s books by the same name. He is a little chimp monkey without a tail which completely goes against basic monkey anatomy. Yet, a lot of people claim to remember seeing him use his tail to swing from the trees.

Snow White’s Evil Queen’s Saying

Most people remember the evil queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs going up to her enchanted mirror and saying “Mirror, mirror on the wall Who’s the fairest of them all?”. This line from Snow White is probably one of the most famous lines of any Disney movies. But if you re-watch any version of the movie you will discover that this phrase has never been there. The real phrase is actually “Magic mirror on the wall Who’s the fairest of them all?”

Forrest Gump

“Mama always said life is like a box of chocolates.” or “Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates”? What did mama actually say? Well, the first version is true: “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” But if you look for the movie clip on YouTube, the title usually is “Life was like a box of chocolates”.

Henry VIII Portrait

Henry VIII was a famous king of England. He is commonly depicted as fairly tall and heavyset. Possibly, the most famous image of him is a Renaissance painting, painted by Hans Holbein the Younger around 1540. He is standing tall and boisterous in the picture, dressed in a king’s attire, holding a pair of leather gloves in one hand. If you have a look at the picture, there is nothing in the king´s right hand but many people would swear he was holding a turkey leg or drumstick in his right hand, as a symbol of the king´s comfortable lifestyle and affluence because he was often associated with the huge feasts he would have.

Nelson Mandela, who has died at the age of 95, was one of the world’s most revered statesmen. The former president and freedom fighter led the struggle to replace the apartheid regime of South Africa with a multi-racial democracy.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela,often also called by his Xhosa clan name Madiba, was born on 18 July 1918 in the village of Mvezo in Umtatu in South Africa’s Cape Province of the time. His birth name Rolihlahla means “troublemaker” in his native language, and as a kind of prophecy, he did stir quite some trouble while fighting against apartheid and for equal rights and peace throughout his life.

He comes from a royal Thembu family, a cadet branch who provided court councilors to the Thembu king. He was educated by missionaries who gave him his Christian name, Nelson. Later he studied law at Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand. He first became politically active while living in Johannesburg and was influenced by anti-colonial politics. After joining the ANC (African National Congress) he took part in founding its Youth League, and eventually became the president of the Transvaal ANC Branch after the 1952 Defiance Campaign against the spread of apartheid policies implemented more and more by the Afrikaner nationalists of the National Party that come to power in 1948. His long line of anti-apartheid struggles, though he primarily supported non-violent methods of protest, saw him repeatedly arrested on charges of treason. Eventually he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1962, one year after co-founding the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in association with the South African Communist Party, which targeted the government through a bombing campaign. He had served 27 years in prison before being released in 1990 as a result of an international campaign lobbying for the termination of his sentence.

He became the president of the ANC and led negotiations with President F.W. de Klerk to abolish apartheid and establish multi-racial elections, which he won and became the President of South Africa in 1994. Mandela became the first black South African to hold the office, forming a Government of National Unity, establishing a new constitution, fighting institutionalized racism, poverty and inequality, introducing policies for the development of land reform and healthcare services. He declined to run for second term and focused on charitable work through the Nelson Mandela Foundation, fighting poverty and HIV/AIDS.

Mandela also gained international recognition through his involvement in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial as a mediator between Libya and the United Kingdom, and for overseeing the military intervention in Lesotho, while he also acted as the Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement 1998-1999. He received over 250 awards for his endeavors and achievements, including a Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Soviet Order of Lenin.

For South Africans he is the “father of the nation”, for the rest of the world one of the most deeply respected figures of modern day history.

revered– nagyra becsült
statesman – államférfi
former – előző, korábbi
freedom fighter – szabadságharcos
apartheid – fajüldözés
prophecy – jóslat
to stir trouble – bajt keverni
equal rights – egyenlő jogok
royal – királyi
cadet branch – katonatiszti/kadét ágazat
to provide – nyújtani, biztosítani, ellátni
court councilor – udvari tanácsos
to educate – tanítani, oktatni
missionary – misszionárius
to be influenced – befolyásolva lenni
to take part – résztvenni
to implement – létrehozni, végrehajtani, megvalósítani
to come to power – hatalomra kerülni
non-violent  method – erőszakmentes módszer
protest – tiltakozás
repeatedly – ismételten
to arrest – letartóztatni
charge – vád
treason – árulás
to sentenced to – ítélni (bünt.)
life imprisonment – életfogytiglani börtönbüntetés
in association with – valakivel társulva
to target – (meg)célozni, célba venni
to serve in prison – (le)tölteni börtönbüntetést
to release – elengedni, szabadon engedni
as a result of – valaminek eredményeként
to abolish – eltötölni, megszüntetni
to establish – létrehozni, alapítani
constitution – alkotmány
institutionalized racism – intézményesített rasszizmus
poverty – szegénység
inequality – egyenlőtlenség
land reform – földreform
healthcare services – egészségügyi szolgáltatások
to decline – elutasítani, elhárítani
to focus on – összpontosítani valamire
charitable work – jótékonykodás
to gain international recognition – nemzetközi elismerést nyerni
involvement – részvállalás
mediator – közvetítő, közbenjáró
to oversee – felügyelni
military intervention – katonai beavatkozás
endeavor – törekvés, erőfeszítés
achievement – teljesítmény
respected – tisztelt