The Reddi-Wip Conspiracy Theory You Should Stop Believing
Do you remember Nelson Mandela passing away while incarcerated? Is it "Berenstain Bears" or "Berenstein Bears?" Does Mr. Monopoly have a monocle? These are a few examples of a concept known as "the Mandela effect," named after the former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela (who, by the way, died a free man in 2013, not in prison in the '80s). Verywell Mind defines the Mandela effect as "a situation in which a large mass of people believes that an event occurred when it did not," as was the case when many people had a false memory of Mandela's death.
The Mandela effect can extend to simpler things, as well, such as the spelling of branded products. Snopes recently rounded up several internet users' disbelieving reactions to the spelling of canned whipped cream brand Reddi-wip. The spelling seems counterintuitive without the H, which leads some to believe that the brand must have changed its name from Reddi-whip at some point. However, many brands intentionally spell words incorrectly, such as Froot Loops and Double Stuf Oreos. According to Postoast, companies tend to do this for a few reasons, like securing domain names and increasing memorability.
There's no H in Reddi-wip, but it's understandable why some think there is
If you always pictured the name Reddi-wip with an H, you're not alone. There's a whole Reddit thread on the Mandela effect subreddit about Reddi-wip, with some users saying they would bet their lives that it used to be spelled differently. However, no matter how steadfastly some of us may swear that it's always been spelled "Reddi-whip," the whipped cream brand's name is indeed Reddi-wip and has been since it launched in 1948, as confirmed by a Twitter post from the brand's official account.
As Snopes reports, a possible reason for this case of the Mandela effect is that so many recipes, publications, and even stores unintentionally spelled the product name wrong over the years, people started to believe the H belonged. Therefore, there's no need to feel "disturbed," as one Reddit user described their experience reckoning with the "Reddi-wip" name, if you remember the spelling differently. Just know that the brand did not pull a fast one on you by changing its name overnight.