The two of us remember reading The Berenstein Bears books when we were little. Each book focused on a specific life topic, like strangers, messy rooms, bullying and more. We were stunned when we came across the beloved childhood books, titled The Berenstain Bears, instead of The Berenstein Bears and then we remembered, The Mandela Effect.

If you search “berenstein or berenstain bears” on Google, what appears at the top in a box is “They believe that the name of the books was actually Berenstein at one point, but we’ve shifted into a parallel universe — an alternative timeline, if you will — where the title of the books is The Berenstain Bears.” There’s actually a name for this theory: The Mandela Effect.

The Mandela Effect is the theory that large groups of people can collectively mistake details from past events. Everyone we asked regarding the book title also remembered them being named The Berenstein Bears, not The Berenstain Bears. If it was Berenstain, then that is how we would have pronounced it, “Beren-stain”. A documentary we watched recently, covered the topic and also mentioned the Mandela Effect.

Most of us believe Nelson Mandela died on December 5th, 2013, but the Mandela Effect got its name when a mass of people came forward, vividly remembering Nelson Mandela having dying while in prison, back in the eighties. Many individuals even expressed remembering the funeral being televised. There are tons of examples that support the Mandela Effect theory and there are tons of other explanations.

Some believe that parallel universes have collided, we’re living in an alternate reality or time travel has resulted in blips and changes in time. Others believe events are and have been erased from history, to create an illusion and manipulate man. In any case, it’s super interesting to look at the possibilities.