The Mandela Effect, Part 3

Perhaps I beat this topic to death in Part 1, and was whipping a dead horse in Part 2, but I am rather captivated by the fact that something I experienced and thought was very strange actually has a name and that many people seem to have had similar experiences.

I beg the good reader's indulgence while I take one more pass at it before moving on.

In surveying the internet, I have found a great number of claimed experiences.  Everything from changing movie lines and titles to islands and continents being in the wrong place or misaligned.  In many instances, I have thought long and hard on whether I recall any memory from at least 20 years ago (figuring the effect began within the past two decades) that would invalidate or call into question claimed effects.

There are examples, like New Zealand being out of place or having been one island instead of two.  The "two island" issue is easy.  I distinctly remember from grade school geography that New Zealand is composed of a North and South island.  As for its location, it is precisely where I always remember it being, so no issue there.

In a related issue, Australia hasn't moved either.

Another common one is the color Chartreuse.  This one is easy.  First, I knew a man in my neighborhood in the Houston Heights back in the early 90s who had a small shop that only sold items that were Chartreuse in color.  The vibrant yellow-green is emblazoned on my brain.  More than that, though, the color takes its name from a very old brandy liqueur of that name and color.  It is similar in color and composition to another liqueur called Beckerovka, produced in the Czech Republic.  One may forget entire evenings while drinking the stuff, but one never forgets the color.

A rather common issue attached to the Mandela Effect is the name of a popular series of children's books called the Berenstain Bears.  Since I was an avid fan of the series as a child, I distinctly remember the spelling being "Berensain" and not "Berenstein."  I remember because I had a mnemonic to help be remember: Remove a Berenstain from the shelf.  It worked, so don't ask.

As for movie lines, people often alter them because taken out of context, they rarely make sense.  By adding, changing or dropping words, they become more iconic.  

Take, for instance, "No, I am your father," the line often cited in relation to the Mandela Effect.  This line, as it occurs in the film, seems incomplete without the context of the battle between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker in Empire Strikes Back.  Without any identifying information, the line could be from anything, really; however, by modifying it to, "Luke, I am your father," it takes on much more depth and meaning, since the words "Luke" and "father" together immediately recall the film within the context of the culture surrounding it.  This could originally have been an emulation of a popular parody, or simply a subconscious paring of two terms to clarify the allusion.

One of the most famous misquotes of all time is "Play it again, Sam."  This line is probably one of the most commonly used when doing impersonations of Humphrey Bogart, but as I mentioned previously, it was never spoken, by Bogart nor anyone else in the film Casablanca.  Below are as close as it gets:

Ilsa: Play it once, Sam, for old times' sake.

Ilsa: [whispered] Play it, Sam. Play As Time Goes By.

Rick: If she can stand it, I can!  Play it!

As you can see, the closest line to the famous "quote" is Ilsa's line to "Play it once, Sam."  So not only has the line been misquoted, it's even attributed to the wrong actor - in this case Ingrid Bergman.  This has been a topic of trivia since I can remember, so we know the Mandela Effect had nothing to do with the misquote, and therefore, it is more likely that, as with the other examples, this may just be a case of popular impersonations being better remembered than the actual event.

As for Interview with a/the Vampire, this one can be deduced simply from the context.  Anne Rice wrote a very popular series of books based on the character Lestat.  This particular title dealt with Louis, another vampire who was close to Lestat and was being interviewed by a slack-jawed reporter.  Since the interview is with a specific, definite vampire, then it makes sense the title would use the definite article, which adds also a certain drama and anticipation, much more than the indefinite article would.

In the final analysis, the sheer number of people who remembered Nelson Mandela's death being in the 80s/90s, and similar types of events, it is very difficult to explain how so many people could have specific memories of a celebrity dying, or not dying as the case may be.  It's hard to justify this phenomenon with a pop culture spoof or impersonation causing so many people to have specific memories of someone dying.  While I can picture lots of Bogart impersonations, I can't think of one of Mandela dying.

So, filtering through the usual chaff of internet rumor-mongering and deliberate misinformation, we can narrow this issue down:

1. Talk of celebrities dying twice, or not dying when remembered as having died;
2. There is usually a time lag, most commonly 10 years, between the remembered and actual events;
3. By the nature of it, groups of people must have the same memories, and not just individuals.

Based on my experience and research, this is a real phenomenon and not some "conspiracy" or internet gag.  The issue is quickly being covered with a lot of noise from various quarters.  I've seen it related to mental disorders, religious claptrap and "conspiracy theories."

If there is a conspiracy, then it involves the who and why behind it.  My own conclusion, at least at this time pending further information, is that it is an accidental result of scientific research.  It is most likely being investigated by filtering social media and other sources of public communications because the group(s) behind it are just as mystified and/or surprised as those who have experienced it.

I am one of those people who thinks that every possible alternative exists in the Universe, whether as alternate time lines or parallel Universes.  It seems logical to me that some experiment in quantum mechanics could cause a "leak" between closely related time lines.  It is even conceivable, regardless of how fantastic it may seem, that individuals have swapped with alternative selves unknowingly.  If the time lines are close enough, they wouldn't even notice except for certain events, such as celebrity deaths, or lack thereof.

If you've made it through all of this and you are still with me, then here's the bombshell.  On 1 March 1954, the US set off the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test.  It got out of control and caused all kinds of trouble.  That same year (some say July), a mysterious traveler is reported to have arrived at the Tokyo international airport carrying an authentic-looking passport from a country called Taured, that has never existed.  Suppose the two incidents are related, and the mystery man "fell" through a leak between parallel time lines?  If we can conceptually join the two events, then it becomes possible for information of all kinds to intermingle in quantum flux states initiated by similar events.

Two atomic bombs dropped on Japan.  The Castle Bravo test in Bikini Atoll.  The mystery  man from Taured in Tokyo.  The Mandela Effect.

Makes you wonder.