Lockdown boredom has sent me down some interesting Google/IMDb/Wikipedia rabbit holes but none more annoying than the big Walkers crisps debacle. It started innocently enough with wanting to know the year that Walkers salt & vinegar crisps changed from blue to green packets, but ended in the questioning of my existence. 

It will come as zero shock to most, but Walkers has NEVER changed the colour of its salt & vinegar packets. Golden Wonder did, but I’d have bet my worldly possessions on the fact that, sometime in the 1990s, the Lineker-loving brand did the blue/green switcheroo. 

I’m not the only one. Head to the FAQ section of the Walkers website, and you’ll find this: 

Question: Why did you change your packaging for Salt and Vinegar and Cheese and Onion so they're in the wrong colours?

Answer: Contrary to popular belief, Walkers Cheese and Onion have always been in blue packets, and Salt and Vinegar have always been in green packets. We don't have a plan to change this, as it's signature to our brand. 

Unless I’ve hopped into an alternate reality, the confusion is a result of the Mandela Effect. For those who don’t already know, it’s a false memory shared by multiple people and coined by paranormal consultant Fiona Broome who is not alone in “remembering” the death of Mandela in prison in the 1980s. 

It’s a weird one. I don’t want to be alone in my misery, so I’ve listed some famous occurrences of when the Mandela Effect impacted other household brands. 

Looney Toons? 

It’s Looney Tunes, but you’re not alone if you remember it as Toons. 

Febreeeeeeeeeeze

The brand is actually Febreze, but do you remember an extra ‘e’ to make it Febreeze? 

Spill the T

There was a ‘T’, right? Wrong, it’s always been Skechers. 

Monopoly Man 🧐

Despite what some might think, Rich Uncle Pennybags has never had a monocle. 

Have a break...

Some believe Kit Kat has a hyphen. Alas, it does not. 

Eh? 

Can’t even think of a subheading for this debacle. The Fruit of the Loom logo had a cornucopia in my version of events. I’m wrong, of course. 

I’ve had enough now. Something about branding...lessons we can learn...power of the collective conscious…

I’m going to bed to think about the big fat lie that is my life. Have a nosey at our services in the meantime…