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The Mandela effect is a mass misrecollection of events where millions of people vividly remember something which never happened. Like the existence of the word misrecollection. It was first discovered in 1983 when everyone replied 'yeah, probably' to the question 'do you remember when Nelson Mandela pinched Bananarama's bottoms?'


It has since been recognised, however, that all who responded to the survey can't now remember what they had for breakfast. Even when reading this while eating their breakfast. Therefore, a whole new generation of people have been asked, 'do you remember when Liz Truss was Prime Minister?'


Professor Anna High from the Institute of Erm, Er, You Know, Thingy explained, 'Many people have a false memory of professional bonkers lettucehead Liz Truss being Prime Minister of Britain. It's clearly ridiculous, eminently untrue, and could be no more a reality than a flange of Not The Nine O'Clock News sketches.'


Professor Hannah Fry who is real and lovely and thoroughly respected confirmed, 'There was never anything called the Mandela effect. The whole thing is misremembered by lots of people. And misremembered is a real word. Rather, it is something which is technically termed a Trap Street, when the London A to Z inserted non-existent roads into their maps to catch rotters out who were copying their science and claiming it as their own work. People who remember living on those roads don't actually exist themselves.


'So the Mandela effect is in itself a Mandela effect, which is a beautiful event horizon of infinite butterflies within butterflies where science becomes art and quiz question setters don't know where they stand.'


Picture credit: Wix AI



A man has glanced back at least a dozen times to remind himself of the pump number on the 10 metre walk from petrol forecourt to the payment kiosk , it has been confirmed.


‘Pump 3, its pump 3…don’t forget to buy some milk…yep pump 3…why do petrol stations always sell barbecue coals outside in one of those big Perspex fronted receptacles….er…which was it again…ah yes pump 3, £1.99 for a Lion Bar Duo - ridiculous, PUMP BLOODY 3’, muttered Mike McBride’s inner dialogue at the Telford Town Centre Esso garage today.


Despite all these checks, McBride has confirmed he will still do a final check, with an exaggerated twist of his head towards the pump when he reaches the kiosk, before proudly announcing ‘pump 3 please’ to the attendant.


‘I knew which one it was anyway’, noted the kiosk attendant to himself, for the 100th time today.




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