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When asked to recall the popular children’s book series ‘The Berenstain Bears,’ many people make the same error by spelling it ‘The Berenstein Bears.’ Stephen Osman/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Deepasri Prasad, Dartmouth College and Wilma Bainbridge, University of Chicago Imagine the Monopoly Man. Is he wearing a monocle or not? If you pictured the character from the popular board game wearing one, you’d be wrong. In fact, he has never worn one. If you’re surprised by this, you’re not alone. Many people possess the same false memory of this character. This phenomenon takes place for other characters, logos and quotes, too. For example, Pikachu from Pokémon is often thought to have a black tip on his tail, which he doesn’t have. And many people are convinced that the Fruit of the Loom logo includes a cornucopia. It doesn’t. We call this phenomenon of shared false memories for certain cultural icons the “visual Mandela Effect.” People tend to be puzzled when they learn that they share the same false memories with other people. That’s partly because they assume that what they remember and forget ought to be subjective and based on their own personal experiences. However, research we have conducted shows that people tend to remember and forget the same images as one another, regardless of the diversity of their individual experiences. Recently, we have shown these similarities in our memories even extend to our false memories. What is the Mandela Effect? The term “Mandela Effect” was coined by Fiona Broome, a self-described paranormal researcher, to describe her false memory of former South African president Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s. She realized that many other people also shared this same false memory and wrote an article about her experience on her website. The concept of shared false memories spread to other forums and websites, including Reddit. Since then, examples of the Mandela Effect have been widely shared on the internet. These include names like “the Berenstain Bears,” a children’s book series that is falsely remembered as spelled “-ein” instead of “-ain,” and characters like Star Wars’ C-3PO, who is falsely remembered with two gold legs instead of one gold and one silver leg. The Fruit of the Loom logo has never had a cornucopia. Wikimedia Commons The Mandela Effect became fodder for conspiracists – the false memories so strong and so specific that some people see them as evidence of an alternate dimension. Because of that, scientific research has only studied the Mandela Effect as an example of how conspiracy theories spread on the internet. There has been very little research looking into the Mandela Effect as a memory phenomenon. But understanding why these icons trigger such specific false memories might give us more insight into how false memories form. The visual Mandela Effect, which affects icons specifically, was a perfect way to study this. A robust false memory phenomenon To see whether the visual Mandela Effect really exists, we ran an experiment in which we presented people with three versions of the same icon. One was correct and two were manipulated, and we asked them to select the correct one. There were 40 sets of icons, and they included C-3PO from the Star Wars franchise, the Fruit of the Loom logo and the Monopoly Man from the board game. In the results, which have been accepted for publication in the journal Psychological Sciences, we found that people fared very poorly on seven of them, only choosing the correct one around or less than 33% of the time. For these seven images, people consistently identified the same incorrect version, not just randomly choosing one of the two incorrect versions. In addition, participants reported being very confident in their choices and having high familiarity with these icons despite being wrong. Put together, it’s clear evidence of the phenomenon that people on the internet have talked about for years: The visual Mandela Effect is a real and consistent memory error. The correct version of Pikachu is the one on the left. Most participants in the study not only chose a wrong version of the popular cartoon character, but they also chose the same wrong one – the Pikachu with the black tip on its tail. Wilma Bainbridge and Deepasri Prasad, CC BY-SA We found that this false memory effect was incredibly strong, across multiple different ways of testing memory. Even when people saw the correct version of the icon, they still chose the incorrect version just a few minutes later. And when asked to freely draw the icons from their memory, people also included the same incorrect features. No universal cause What causes this shared false memory for specific icons? We found that visual features like color and brightness could not explain the effect. We also tracked participants’ mouse movements as they viewed the images on a computer screen to see if they simply didn’t scan over a particular part, such as Pikachu’s tail. But even when people directly viewed the correct part of the image, they still chose the false version immediately afterward. We also found that for most icons, it was unlikely people had seen the false version beforehand and were just remembering that version, rather than the correct version. It may be that there is no one universal cause. Different images may elicit the visual Mandela Effect for different reasons. Some could be related to prior expectations for an image, some might be related to prior visual experience with an image and others could have to do with something entirely different than the images themselves. For example, we found that, for the most part, people only see C-3PO’s upper body depicted in media. The falsely remembered gold leg might be a result of them using prior knowledge – bodies are usually only one color – to fill in this gap. But the fact that we can demonstrate consistencies in false memories for certain icons suggests that part of what drives false memories is dependent on our environment – and independent of our subjective experiences with the world. Deepasri Prasad, Ph.D. Student in Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College and Wilma Bainbridge, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Chicago This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Question: What other "Mandela Effect" examples can you think of?

On September 22nd, 2022 Elmira Police Department Officers conducted a traffic stop on Mt Zoar St. in the City of Elmira. During the traffic stop it was learned that the operator of the vehicle was in possession of a quantity of narcotics and was taken into custody. As Officers continued to conduct their investigation, a search of the vehicle was conducted and officers located a 9mm handgun loaded with 15 rounds. Additionally, an extended magazine loaded with 17 rounds of 9mm ammunition, a large quantity of marihuana and a large quantity of US Currency were also recovered. As a result of this investigation, Brendon T White, a 22 year old male, was charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd Degree (Class C Felony), and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th Degree (Class A Misdemeanor). The passenger, Nicholas W Decker a 29 year old male, was also charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd Degree.

On Thursday September 22nd, 2022 Elmira Police Department Officers observed two subjects operating gasoline powered Mini bikes in the roadway in violation of the NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law. When Officers attempted to stop the operators, both fled from police. One of the operators was located stopped in the area, and was issued traffic tickets before being released. At the same time the second operator was located within the 300 block of W Third St and fled from officers on foot. The second operator, Davonte L Alligood was located and arrested. Subsequent investigation by officers led to the recovery of a semi-automatic 9mm hand gun loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition As a result of the investigation, Davonte L Alligood, a 22-year-old male, was arrested and charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd Degree(Class C Felony), Obstruction of Governmental Administration (Class A Misdemeanor) and several other Vehicle and Traffic violations. Alligood was arraigned in Elmira City Court and was remanded to the Chemung County jail. If anyone has any further information regarding this incident, please contact the Elmira Police Department at (607)737-5626, or the tip line at (607)271-HALT.

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ALBANY, NY – Republican Members of the New York State Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, Senator Tom O’Mara and Senator Anthony Palumbo, today called on Committee Chairman James Skoufis to open an immediate investigation into the Hochul Digital Gadgets Contract Scandal and the Governor’s slow-walked “after-action Covid review.” “Governor Hochul’s outside consultant – being hired by her own administration – to conduct an ‘After-Action Review’ of the state’s pandemic response clearly will not do. The firm to conduct this so-called ‘outside’ review isn’t being hired until sometime this month with work only to begin after Election Day. Enough of the slow-walking. We need answers and we need answers now. The full story of this contract and all emergency contracts need to be brought to light by a full investigation now,” said Senator Tom O’Mara, Ranking Member of the Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee. “Senate Democrats have not reinforced ethics – they have reinforced corruption. A fear of holding their own party accountable has blinded them from doing the right thing. As members of the Investigations Committee, we are here to seek the truth on behalf of all New Yorkers. Regardless of political party affiliation, our focus should be ethics, truth, and accountability. Governor Hochul’s contract with Digital Gadgets has raised very serious questions – let’s find the answers,”said Senator Anthony Palumbo, Member of the Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee. Last week, it was reported again that Governor Kathy Hochul’s deal for COVID-19 tests with a major campaign donor has left taxpayers on the hook for millions. The State of California paid 45 percent less for the same COVID-19 tests that New York obtained through this contract. According to the report, if New York had paid the same amount as California, it would have saved taxpayers $286 million. It was reported today that the founder of the company that landed the deal with the Hochul administration threw a fundraiser for her just a week prior to the contract being signed. Four days after the fundraiser, the Governor declared a statewide emergency, which allowed her administration to avoid the standard state bidding process and official oversight conducted from the Office of the Comptroller for the purchasing of the Digital Gadgets COVID-19 Tests. Senate Republicans and stakeholders have called on the Governor for over a year to allow for an independent commission with subpoena power to conduct an after-action review of New York’s Covid Response. Coincidentally, Governor Hochul will be handpicking an outside consultant to do an after action review with results not to be available till after Election Day. The firm will be reporting directly to the Governor, not the public. The recent stories of possible pay-to-play corruption raises further questions about the Governor’s slow-walking on this announced review of the state’s pandemic response. Republicans say an investigation would need to answer a series of questions: Who negotiated the Digital Gadgets COVID-19 Testing contract? Was the Governor directly involved? Is the Governor aware that a younger member of the company founder’s family began working as a paid intern for Hochul’s campaign fundraising staff in November? Is the Governor aware that New York City under the former de Blasio administration had to cancel a $91 Million ventilator contract with Digital Gadgets, after they failed to deliver the goods? Will the after-action Covid review contract need the State Comptroller’s approval? Or will it be signed like the emergency contracts were signed? Will this after-action review examine all emergency contracts, including the Digital Gadgets COVID-19 Testing contract? “New Yorkers – who work hard every day and move this state forward – are sick and tired of watching the same corruption nightmare repeat in Albany. We need a complete restoration of ethics in our State Capital and that starts with Senate Democrats initiating a Senate Investigations Committee Process for accountability – not covering for their own party interests,” concluded ranking Member O’Mara.

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Elmira, N.Y., September 6—The state’s Farm Laborers Wage Board late today approved its final recommendation to roll back the current 60-hour-per-week overtime threshold for farm workers to 40 hours in a move strongly criticized by State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C-Big Flats). The three-member Wage Board, by a vote of 2-1, handed down its final recommendation during a virtual meeting. Board member David Fisher, President of the New York Farm Bureau, voted against it. Governor Hochul now has 45 days to either approve or reject the board’s recommendation. O’Mara, who over the past three years has been a strong critic of the Wage Board and its move to lower the overtime threshold, again urged Hochul to put a stop to the misguided action. O’Mara said, “The Wage Board has been moving in this direction from the start and now Governor Hochul has the opportunity to finally reject it. She should listen to the thousands of farmers, farm workers, farm advocates, agricultural representatives, community leaders, and legislators, including me, in near-unanimous opposition. The message has been delivered from the industry’s top advocates, including the New York Farm Bureau, the Northeast Dairy Producers Association, Grow NY Farms, and numerous others. Local, federal, and state representatives have made it known that we fear the undermining of an industry and, equally important, a way of life that has defined the regions we represent. If left to stand, it will change the face of New York State agriculture as we have known it for generations. It will risk the future of high quality, local food production. It will spark the loss of more family farms and the livelihoods these farms support across the industry and throughout hundreds of local economies. Now is no time to risk regulating and mandating an even more uncertain future for family farmers, farm workers, farm communities, and New York’s agricultural industry overall.” In 2019, he strongly opposed the legislation, known as the “Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act,” creating the Wage Board when it was enacted by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Democrat-led majorities in the Senate and Assembly.

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