Editing 2241: Brussels Sprouts Mandela Effect

{{comic
| number    = 2241
| date      = December 13, 2019
| title     = Brussels Sprouts Mandela Effect
| image     = brussels_sprouts_mandela_effect.png
| titletext = I love Brussels Sprouts Mandela Effect; I saw them open for Correct Horse Battery Staple.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Brussels sprouts}} are a leafy vegetable from the cabbage family which were cultivated in {{w|Brussels}}, in what is now Belgium, in the 13th century, giving them their name.  Many adults and children [https://www.camdenliving.com/blog/why-do-we-hate-brussel-sprout dislike Brussels sprouts], perhaps because of their bitterness.

[[Cueball]] was one of these people who thought he had a dislike for Brussels sprouts, but after trying them recently he had a change of heart and likes them now.  He feels "misled" by the public dislike for Brussels sprouts.  [[Megan]] chimes in and  notes that it is not just him. Farmers started to develop a newer {{w|cultivar}} of Brussels sprouts in the 1990s (as opposed to the 15 years ago referenced in the comic), which taste less bitter than the "original" cultivar of Brussels sprouts that Cueball grew up eating. (A [https://npr.org/773457637 source] is provided in the comic as a foot note to Megan's statement. This would be the first of two comics in a row with this type of reference given, the second coming in [[2242: Ground vs Air]].)

A {{w|False_memory#Mandela_Effect|Mandela Effect}} is a pseudoscience explanation for a false memory held in common by a substantial number of people. {{w|false memory|False memories}} may arise via suggestibility, activation of associated information, the incorporation of misinformation, and source misattribution, and {{w|False_memory#Commonly_held_false_memories|they can be shared}}, sometimes widely, when one of these triggers happens to many people in a population. But a fringe theory holds that such memories are actually real, in some way related to either reality warping or alternate universes, leaving many people in a reality that contradicts their memory in minor but specific ways. The name comes from multiple people reporting vivid memories of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s, despite Mandela famously becoming President of South Africa and living until 2013. 

The characters realizing that brussels sprouts taste good, despite having all of them having distinct memories of the vegetable being unpleasant, is seen as similar to having a widespread false memory

In the last panel, [[Ponytail]] then tricks Cueball into thinking that {{w|licorice}}, [https://www.nbcnews.com/healthmain/why-do-so-many-us-hate-black-licorice-few-theories-963738 another widely disliked food], is good tasting. At this point Megan realizes that this must be a trap. Unlike Brussels sprouts, the taste of licorice has not changed noticeably, so people who hated the taste before are likely to still find it unpleasant.  

That Ponytail is up to no good is shown to be true when she additionally claims that {{w|Silica_gel|silica gel}} packets are actually edible and taste delicious. This is very false! {{w|Silica_gel#Desiccant|Silica gel packets}} are typically used as a desiccant, to keep electronics and other moisture sensitive items dry.  They are typically marked "[https://www.123rf.com/photo_72752039_single-silica-gel-packet-isolated-on-white-background-.html Do Not Eat]" to warn people that they are not edible. Although not toxic, and even {{w|Silica_gel#Food_additive|allowed in some form in food}}, silica gel has a sand-like texture and no flavor or nutritional value, can {{w|Silica_gel#Hazards|cause irritation}} if digested in the raw form, and the packets may contain {{w|Silica_gel#Humidity_indicator_(blue/orange_silica_gel)|potentially toxic additives}}.

Cueball, having been prepped by both his own experience and Megan's facts are totally ready to believe Ponytail, even to the extent that he seems to feel cheated by the makers of silica gel packets, who he must now think has written ''Do Not Eat'' just to keep that delicious gel for themselves. Hopefully Megan can convince him not to find and eat them. Ponytail is often not nice to Cueball, although in other comics it is more like she talks him down, see [[:Category:Code Quality|Code Quality]], not directly trying to harm him.

The title text suggests that "Brussels Sprouts Mandela Effect" is a music band, who once were the {{w|opening act}} for the presumably better known band "Correct Horse Battery Staple". This latter group is a reference to [[936: Password Strength]]. It hints at the "{{tvtropes|AGoodNameForARockBand|good name for a musical band}}" trope, which Randall before tried to replace by a dot tumblr dot com trope in [[1025: Tumblr]]. Indirectly, he also suggests that ''Brussels Sprouts Mandela Effect'' would be a great long password that is now easy to remember (as long as you remember [https://www.reddit.com/r/MandelaEffect/comments/6meq1a/brussel_sprouts_right/ there is an S] at the end of {{w|Brussels}} (at least in English, but not in Dutch, which is one of the official languages of Brussels/Belgium)).

For a comic about awkwardly named bands, see [[119: Worst Band Name Ever]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing between Ponytail and Megan talking to them.]
:Cueball: I always thought of Brussels sprouts as terrible, but they're actually really good! I can't believe I let everyone mislead me!

:[In a frame-less panel Megan replies. Below her is a footnote with a citation to back up her statement.]
:Megan: It's not just you! Farmers developed a less-bitter cultivar like 15 years ago.<sup>*</sup>
:<small><sup>*</sup>npr.org/773457637</small>

:[Back to all three as Megan continues to explain while holding her arms away from her.]
:Megan: Now the whole world is having this revelation, one person at a time. It's like a real Mandela effect. We secretly switched to the parallel universe where Brussels sprouts taste good.
:Cueball: ''Cool.''

:[Ponytail lifts a finger as Cueball and Megan turns to look at her.]
:Ponytail: Also, licorice is good now.
:Cueball: Whoa, really?
:Megan: This is a trap.
:Ponytail: And those silica gel packets that say "Do not eat"? '''''Delicious.'''''
:Cueball: ''I knew it.''

==Trivia==
* The URL given was  [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/5/5d/20191216154116%21brussels_sprouts_mandela_effect.png originally] given [https://npr.org/773457633 npr.org/77345763'''3'''] but this was an error!
**The actual URL is number 77345763'''7''' which was later corrected by an updated comic.
**Here is the [https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=773457637 plain HTML version] and here the [https://npr.org/773457637 full site]. 
*As always when Randall offers his opinion on some sort of food, it may lead to [[388:_Fuck_Grapefruit#Controversy|controversy]] and lot's of discussion in the [[Talk:2241:_Brussels_Sprouts_Mandela_Effect|talk page]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category: Food]]
[[Category:Footnotes]] <!-- non-diagetic -->