Heeere's Johnny!

This one seems to be freaking many people out - even those who had heard of the Mandela Effect but dismissed it as some kind of false memory syndrome.

Do you remember Ed McMahon delivering PCH's oversized checks with his famous catch phrase and a bottle of champagne? If so, you are experiencing an MMDE, because he never did that. This is despite over 32,000 websites from a Google search which also associate him with PCH.

Current references show he worked for a rival - American Family Publishers - which did involve him visiting the houses of the lucky winners of their draws.

But PCH? Nope - he's their Shining star that never was. 

Mr Budweiser

Many people know Ed only from his cheque delivering antics, but he was a seriously accomplished name in his own right years before then. He was the sidekick of Johnny Carson for 30 years, right up until 1992, and also hosted Star Search. He had a few spots as a co-host, including the Jerry Lewis Telethon and TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes, and also featured in several movies such as Fun with Dick and Jane, Full Moon High and Butterfly. He even played Sanata Claus when he appeared on The Mitzi Gaynor Christmas Show.

All these co-host roles meant he's widely considered on of the greatest sidekicks in film & TV history.

He was also called Mr Budweiser after his long association with brewers Anheuser-Busch.

Giveaway rivalry

So why is Ed remembered as the PCH cheque giveaway guy? The controversy became so much that even PCH had to put out a statement confirming he never worked for them. The reason for the confusion is the almost identical sweepstakes model was operated by the company he did work for, AFP, which is no longer in business.

Here he is in action

Here's the Mandela Effect take on this: