Top 10 Historical Examples of the Mandela Effect

Arguably the most famous Mandela effect of them all, Nelson Mandela gave the phenomenon its name! The late president of South Africa passed away in 2013 of a respiratory infection. However, a shocking number of people remember him dying decades before while in prison. Nelson Mandela isn’t even the only famous figure people remember dying before they actually died! People also remember Muhammad Ali and Fidel Castro having “premature” deaths. However, Mandela’s death is the one that has stuck in our collective minds as the one that doesn’t quite add up and which has come to represent collective false memories in general.

King Tutankhamun is one of the most famous pharaohs of ancient Egypt, in large part due to the discovery of his tomb and famed death mask. The golden mask is an icon of pop culture and is the basis for many pop culture depictions of Egyptian iconography. Except – picture it in your head. What animal is on the forehead? If you guessed a cobra, you’d be correct. But…if you said vulture, you’d also be correct! Many pieces of Egyptian artwork and sculpture depict just a cobra on headpieces, so it’s understandable that people would forget the vulture is there too. But even so, King Tut’s mask is one of the most famous Egyptian artifacts EVER – how do so many people miss the bird?

U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated during a motorcade in Dallas, Texas on November 22nd, 1963. It’s one of the most famous assassinations in history and certainly one of the most revisited. While there are many conspiracy theories regarding the events that day, one of the most bizarre involves the number of people present in the vehicle it occurred in. A lot of people remember there being only 4 people in the car. However, viewing the footage now will tell you there were 6! The Texas governor and his wife in the middle seats are often forgotten, probably because most convertible cars aren’t set up with 6 seats.

Of the kings of England, King Henry the VIII is notable for many things – the Protestant reformation of the English Church, his many wives, and holding a turkey leg in a painting. Except, that last one isn’t true. Despite what people remember, there is no painting of Henry VIII holding food. There’s actually a royal protocol forbidding the official depiction of English Royalty while eating. A few paintings do show Henry VIII holding objects that could be mistaken for bird legs, and one film memorably shows the king eating a whole roast chicken. Perhaps these were conflated in our collective memories to create the image.

When was the first act of terrorism in United States history? Many people point to 9/11, given how unprecedented it felt. Others cite the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 or Pearl Harbor. But the earliest terrorism was in 1916 on an island off the coast of Liberty Island in New York. A munitions dump was detonated by German agents, creating one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded. This event is also why the torch of the Statue of Liberty is closed to visitors, because the Statue was damaged in the event. It was not widely reported, which may explain why so many are confused…but it doesn’t explain why some people remember visiting the Statue of Liberty’s torch after 1916.

Arguably the most famous magician who ever lived, Harry Houdini’s death is perhaps less well-known. Houdini supposedly could withstand blows to the stomach, with preparation, and an unexpected hit to the stomach ruptured his appendix, leading to his death. However, some swear that the magician actually died in an even more dramatic fashion. Some recall that the great Houdini died doing a magic trick – his famous one involving being chained underwater in a tank. While a Hollywood movie from the ‘50s does indeed show Houdini dying in this way, it’s fiction, not fact. It’s possible people just took the movie at face value.

The Tiananmen Square protests and massacre are among the most horrifying events in recent Chinese history. Not that the Chinese government will let anyone inside the country talk about them. But while censorship inside China has led to younger people in China being unaware of the event, people outside are confused about its most striking image – Tank Man. This lone protestor stood in front of a line of tanks. According to video and historical records, the unidentified man climbed on top of the tank and later left. But there are those who remember a more tragic outcome – that Tank Man was run down. Is someone censoring reality or is it a case of mistaken memories?

The ‘60s featured several high-profile assassinations of public figures. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of these. The civil rights movement leader was killed from long range by a rifle while standing on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee. However, as well known as the killing is, some remember it happening differently. There are some who recall King being shot amid a crowd by someone with a handgun. Several famous individuals have been killed in this manner, so it’s possible that King’s assassination is being confused for one of theirs in people’s minds.

The Mona Lisa is perhaps the most famous and studied painting in the world. And yet, there are many who believe that the famed portrait is not the same as it used to be. While not everyone remembers her having a veil, the biggest change, some contend, is that she’s smiling. Some people remember Mona Lisa having a blank, mysterious expression, whose smile can only be seen from the corner of the eye. The reality of her more blatant smirk is unnerving to those who remember otherwise. Could it be a case of first seeing the Mona Lisa as children, when our facial recognition skills aren’t fully developed? Or is there some magic at work?

Famously referred to as “the crime of the century,” in 1932, famous aviator Charles Lindbergh’s son was kidnapped. After several months, the body was found in the woods, and two years later the ransom money was traced to a carpenter named Richard Hauptmann. While Hauptmann’s guilt or innocence has been debated in the years since, there are still those who recall the facts of the case differently. Namely, that the Lindbergh baby was never found at all! The boy’s disappearance remained a greater mystery than history recorded, at least according to them.