What’s the Mandela Effect?

Did anyone else feel like they learned that Nelson Mandela died in the 1980s? Yet Wikipedia insists he actually passed away in 2013. If you’ve had moments like this, you’ve encountered the Mandela Effect – that eerie phenomenon where a bunch of people collectively remembers something...wrong. Think “Berenstain Bears” vs. “Berenstein Bears.” It’s funny, even nostalgic, until you realize this collective misremembering can exist in far more serious ways - like in the underground utility industry. Famously, Fruit of the Loom tweeted out "The Mandela Effect is real, the cornucopia in our logo is not."

The Mandela Effect has an unlikely but serious cousin lurking in our streets, fields, and backyards: the mystery of abandoned underground utilities. These misremembered cables, pipes, and conduits, laid down and then left out of maps and records, create a dangerous gap in collective memory. Excavators and locators frequently discover they’re dealing with an entirely different underground reality than the one they were told about. The result? Utility strikes, injuries, and millions in costs.

It's the same story for incorrect as-builts, inaccurate mapping etc. Basically we can gaslight ourselves or others into believing that underground assets are in one place, when they're really not!

The Mandela Effect for Excavators and Why It’s Costly

When locators and excavators plan a dig, they’re expecting to follow precise blueprints. But what happens when half of those utilities – especially the abandoned ones – aren’t even on the map? Just as the collective memory of society sometimes gets it wrong, so too can utility records. And it turns out, a missing or misremembered utility line can be costly: inaccurate records create higher chances of striking something unexpected, leading to increased damages, project delays, and hazardous conditions.

In the utility world, “memory gaps” are more than a head-scratcher; they’re a reason why we see serious underground utility damage. According to the 2023 DIRT report, the data clearly shows that these misremembered or overlooked lines aren’t rare or isolated problems. In fact, abandoned facilities accounted for 961 instances of unmarked damages and 708 cases of inaccurate markings. In other words, these forgotten relics are behind hundreds of damage reports every year.

A Forgotten Hazard: Abandoned Utilities

Abandoned lines are essentially the industry’s own Mandela Effect: everyone assumes these relics are gone for good, yet there they are, disrupting excavations. This lack of historical updates leaves excavators vulnerable to encountering unknown or inaccurately marked lines. Each of those 961 unmarked incidents and 708 inaccurate markings is a result of abandoned facilities - ghosts of infrastructure past that somehow still manage to get in the way.

Bridging the Gap: Moving Past the Mandela Effect in Utility Management

Addressing the Mandela Effect for underground utilities takes more than just cross-checking old records. Here’s what the industry can do to get a better handle on forgotten or abandoned utilities:

• Updated Mapping and Record-Keeping:  Record-keeping in this industry hasn’t always kept pace with reality. Bringing utility maps up to date can help minimize unexpected encounters. Sharing records with 811 centers and utility companies ensures everyone is on the same page.
• Training and Technology for Locators: Locator error is a top reason for inaccurate or missed markings, but it’s not inevitable. Enhanced training and advanced tools, like ground-penetrating radar, can help locators find those out-of-place or abandoned lines before they cause a problem.
• Potholing and Verification Practices: Verifying marks by potholing is a crucial step that needs to happen every time. Taking that extra measure ensures that even abandoned lines don’t stay hidden hazards.

Conclusion: Rethinking Our Collective Memory for Safer Excavations

As strange as it sounds, the Mandela Effect has a lot in common with the challenges of managing underground utilities. Collective misremembering, gaps in records, and assumptions about what’s “not there” all contribute to significant risks. By understanding the problem, taking the time to update records, and staying vigilant, the industry can move away from Mandela Effect-level misunderstandings and toward safer, more reliable excavations.

In the end, managing utility memory is less about nostalgia and more about staying safe - and a lot less “Berenstein” vs. “Berenstain.”

Credit to Adam Zeciri for the inspiration and the Verbena tip