Mandela effect: did it happen to me?

Self-tutoring about psychology: the tutor mentions a possible case of the Mandela effect.

When I moved to the Annapolis Valley in spring 1980, the pace of my life increased because the big school – 700 kids – was a lot to navigate. I liked it from the start, but coming from a small school of about 130 kids, some things just got by me. Moreover, I arrived at the end of fourth grade: I’d never been a “little kid” at the big school. In the blur of learning my way around, I noticed that I’d already missed some things that school offered, since I’d been elsewhere. It was the first time I had such a realization, but wouldn’t be the last.

Like normal in elementary school, our class visited the library sometimes to sign out books and bring back the ones we had. However, because I was already in grade four, our class went to a different part of the library from where the K-3 students went. We walked past the K-3 area to get to ours.

A book I noticed every time we went, that year and the next, was Bear, Your Manners are Showing. The book attracted me; I wanted to read it. It remained on display, in the same place, April to the end of my grade four year, then throughout my grade five year. I remember it had a picture of a bear on the cover.

I realized that I would have read Bear, Your Manners are Showing, had I been there in K-3. However, it was too late: I’d arrived in grade four, and that book was out of bounds.

Any day, I could have just walked over, picked Bear, Your Manners are Showing from the shelf, and read it standing there. I could’ve done so after school or even before: I’m sure the library was open outside of classroom hours. Yet, because of social convention, I never did, even though that book fetched my attention every time I walked past.

Ever since, I recall Bear, Your Manners are Showing every now and then, as it sat on the shelf there, 1980 -1981. Today I looked it up: online it says that it was published in 1987.

In 1987, I was on the west coast in high school; there’s no chance what I relate could’ve happened there and then, or any time since. I maintain that I saw Bear, Your Manners are Showing in 1980-81 on the library shelf just as I’ve described. Am I right?

Source:

goodreads.com