09 January 2024 , 16:22
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There are lots of theories in life that we use to explain things away when rare incidences happen. One such example is the Mandela Effect, where large numbers of people collectively misremember an image, event, or things like movies, books, or television.
It was first coined in 2010 by researcher Fiona Broome when she claimed that she and many people believed Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, had died in prison in the 1980s. In reality, Mandela was still alive and didn’t pass away until 2013.
There have been many examples of the Mandela Effect, including that of Mr. Monopoly, the mascot of the popular board game, Monopoly. People often picture them with a monocle - but he has never had ocular help.
Another such example is the ‘burnt toast theory’ which people use to describe an inconvenient situation that results in a fortuitous occasion. Posting their question on Reddit, someone wrote: “I just saw a scary image of the wall of a plane being ripped out mid-flight and someone in the comment section said that it was a perfect example of the burnt toast theory. The two people that were supposed to sit in the area of the wall collapse missed their flights that day so no one got hurt but what does this have to do with the burnt toast theory?”
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Sharing their wisdom, one user replied: “It isn’t really a theory in any meaningful way, rather it's a way of looking at inconveniences in life as being actually beneficial by saving you from unknown tragedy that would have happened if the inconvenience hadn’t happened. The idea is that burning toast may have been bad, but it could have been that burning toast saved you from dying in a car crash, so perhaps it was actually a good thing?
“For the people who missed their flights, typically missing a flight is seen as a major inconvenience and is a major concern for many people when flying. However, for those two people missing their flight may have actually saved their lives - an actual example of what could be considered ‘burnt toast theory’s’ premise. This does suffer severely from selection bias, but for people who find “burnt toast theory” a helpful way to look at life it can be a way to reinforce that perspective.”
Someone else responded: “It’s also called butterfly effect but more formally chaos theory, the explanation is that small differences in starting conditions or small differences affect a larger system greatly over time.”
Many people began sharing examples of the Burnt Toast Theory, including that of Family Guy star Seth McFarlane, who was too hungover one day and missed his flight - American Airlines flight 11. The plane that crashed in the south Twin Tower on 9/11. One person shared: “My uncles apartment had a power outage the night of 9/10. Because of that he slept in and missed his job interview in tower two the next day.”
Another person shared: “My mom had picked me up from dance class and class had ran over a few minutes. On the way home, my mom and I drove up on a car accident that had happened just minutes before. A truck ran a stop sign and hit a small car. The driver of the car had actually passed away. If we had gotten out of dance on time, it very easily could have been us.”
Do you have a 'burnt toast theory' story to share? Email