The Mandela Effect has gone mainstream. Now that the internet is buzzing with wild theories and new examples every day, it's time to go over where the ideas originated, and consider in detail what exactly might be causing it.
- Cory Grajales 0 Comments
Slash died in 1992?
MMDE: Slash did not die in 1992
Current: Slash died in 1992
Don't panic!
This isn't your regular MMDE. Slash technically did die in 1992 for 8 minutes after an overdose, but was revived and made a full recovery. This news still comes as a shock to most people, so it's being classed as one where the news "seems to come from nowhere, all of a sudden."
He was on tour with Metallica and in a hotel, and was apparently very annoyed at himself having died.
He was found in a hotel corridor and the procedure to revive him was very similar to the one in the movie "Pulp Fiction", where a sringe full of naloxone was injected directly to the heart through his chest.
- Ian Scott 0 Comments
How were the Salem Witches executed?
MMDE: The Salem Witches were drowned or burnt at the stake
Current: The Salem Witches were hanged
The year is 1692.
Superstition in Europe regarding devilry sweeps across America, and reaches a fever pitch in Salem, Massachusetts. A group of local young women claimed others were practicing witchcraft, and so began the infamous Salem Witch trials.
By the time they were over, more than 150 men women and children were accused and 19 were executed. Eventually, they were all pardoned, but that brought little solace to the families and community as a whole.
How were they executed? The popular notion is they were all burnt at the stake, but it turns out that wasn't the case, and in fact never happened in the USA, only Europe, and even then rarely. The Salem Witches were all hanged apart from one male, who died whilst being pressed under stones refusing to confess.
- Tracy Cooper 0 Comments
Steve Jobs and the Mouse
MMDE: Steve Jobs stole the idea for the mouse from Xerox
Current: Steve Jobs did not steal the idea for the mouse from Xerox
There's a story going round in tech circles that Steve Jobs got the idea for the mouse when he saw a clunky prototype on a visit to Xerox labs in 1979.
In fact, when the first Apple mouse became available commercially in 1984, a Xerox computer featuring one had been on sale for years. Since you can't steal an idea for which products are aleady available, because they are in the public domain, the notion he did so is incorrect.
He definitely did improve on the physical implementation, making them much easier to use, more reliable, more stylish and much more affordable, but that's a different argument.
- Joe Hutt 0 Comments
Who was the first to put expiration dates on milk bottles?
MMDE: Al Capone was the first to put expiration dates on milk bottles
Current: The FDA was the first to put expiration dates on milk bottles
It sounds like a joke, but it's true - Al Capone was the first to put expiration dates on milk bottles, and not the FDA which most people would assume to be the case.
When the prohibition ended, he had the trucks and infrastructure already in place to distribute drinks other than the banned ones which had been so lucrative, so for business reasons he switched to milk.
Al Capone was sent to Alcatraz for tax evasion, because he aparrantly never personally murdered anyone and the blame for those which he was suspected of being behind, including the notorious St Valentines Day Massacre, could not be pinned on him.
- Ray Wu 0 Comments
Where is Australia's highest mountain?
MMDE: Australia's highest mountain is Kosciuszko
Current: Australia's highest mountain is not Kosciuszko
It sounds like a crazy trick question - which country is Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mountain in? The answer is a little contrived but none the less very surprising. To cut to the chase, it might be helpful to ask if Britain's highest mountain is still Ben Nevis if you include Britain's external territories. The technical answer, which itself comes as news to many, is no, it becomes Mount Paget in the South Atlantic.
The situation in Australia is similar. The highest point on mainland Australia is Mount Kosciuszko. But that's not the highest mountain in Australia. In 1947, Great Britain handed over to the Commonwealth of Australia one of its most remote areas, the Heard and McDonald Islands in the Indian Ocean. Heard Island is home to Mawson Peak, which is 1,700 feet higher than Kosciuszko, and that's why you'd naturally think the highest point on the mainland is Australia's highest mountain, but technically it's not.
- Joe Hill 0 Comments
Can an entire country "larger than Russia" disappear?
MMDE: Tartary never existed
Current: Tartary existed from the middle ages to the mid 1800's
Why have so few people heard of the country called Tartary, said to be 'larger than Russia', which existed from the middle ages until the mid-1800's? Is it possible it has been deliberately erased from history, or is there more to this than meets the eye?
There is a growing body of evidence which shows Tartary simply disappeared from existence. This was not due to a war, since any it was involved in would certainly be well-known in world history.
Tartary had it's own flag, government and was considered a major political power as recently as the 18th century.
- Joe Hutt 0 Comments
The Gospel of Judas Iscariot
MMDE: There is no Gospel according to Judas
Current: There is a Gospel according to Judas
A carbon dated leather-bound papyrus manuscript from 280AD was published by The National Geographic Society as The Gospel of Judas.
It was called the Codex Tchacos when first discovered in Egypt in the 1970's, after the antiquities dealer, Frieda Nussberger-Tchacos. It's in over a thousand fragments, and is thought to be a translation of an older Greek manuscript from AD 130-170.
The contents are controversial. It is said Judas was the only disciple who was told the true message from Jesus, and far from being his betrayer was in fact acting according to the instructions of Jesus.
