Chic-fil-A or Chick-fil-A? The Mandela Effect, Explained

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Plus, see every logo & name change that Chick-fil-A has ever had

Co-authored by Rebecca Tenzer, MAT, MA, LCSW, CCTP, CGCS, CCATP, CCFP and Elaine Heredia, BA

Last Updated: September 3, 2025 Fact Checked

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What is the Chic-fil-A Mandela effect?

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Why It Happened

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Real Logo Changes

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Other Mandela Effects

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Have you been swearing to your friends that the word "Chick" in the name of the popular fast food chain Chick-fil-A used to be spelled "Chic" or "Chik"? If so, you're not alone! Hundreds, if not thousands, of other people also share this false memory. Scroll down to the meat of this article as we explain the Chic-fil-A Mandela effect, theorize why it exists, and explore the real changes that the Chick-fil-A logo has undergone over the decades. We also spoke to communication therapist Rebecca Tenzer, MAT, MA, LCSW, CCTP, CGCS, CCATP, CCFP for more insight into the Mandela effect and why it happens.

The Chic-fil-A Mandela Effect: Quick Explainer

The Chick-fil-A Mandela effect is a false memory shared by a large group of people. These people believe that the word "Chick" in Chick-fil-A used to be spelled as "Chic" or "Chik." There's no evidence that the brand ever used those spellings in their logo, but they did spell "Chicken" as "Chikin" in one set of ads.

Section 1 of 4:

What is the Chic-fil-A Mandela effect?

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A false memory where people think "Chick-fil-A" was spelled "Chic-fil-A." A Mandela effect is a false memory of something that a lot of people have and insist is true. For example, many people on the internet think that the word "Chick" in the name of the Chick-fil-A fast food chain was once spelled "Chic" or even "Chik." But, there's no evidence that this was ever the case!
- Did you know? The Mandela effect is named after Nelson Mandela. The first recorded false memory by a large group of people was that Mandela died in prison in the 1980s. In reality, he was released from prison in 1990 and didn't die until 2013.^{[1]
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- According to Tenzer, “The Mandela effect occurs when groups of people confidently remember something that either never happened or they’re remembering it incorrectly. These false memories happen because memory is not a recording; it’s a reconstruction. We remember things based on what we think we saw, what we expect to see, and what society tells us we saw.”^{[2]
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  Expert Source
  
  Rebecca Tenzer, MAT, MA, LCSW, CCTP, CGCS, CCATP, CCFP
  Communication Therapist
  
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Meet the wikiHow Expert

Rebecca Tenzer, MAT, MA, LCSW, CCTP, CGCS, CCATP, CCFP is a Communication Therapist with over 18 years of clinical and educational experience in the field of mental health.

Section 2 of 4:

Why does the Chic-fil-A Mandela effect exist?

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The false memory may come from Chick-fil-A's cow-themed advertising. In 1995, Chick-fil-A posted a billboard ad featuring 2 black-and-white cows. One of the cows held a paintbrush as if it had just finished painting the words on the billboard. Those words read, "Eat mor chikin" ("Eat more chicken"). The idea behind the campaign was that cows wanted humans to eat more chicken and less beef. Misspelled words were a major component of the cow ads, and they often misspelled "chicken" as "chikin." This could be why some people think Chick-fil-A used to be spelled "Chik-fil-A."^{[3]
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- This theory doesn't quite explain why some people think "Chick" was spelled "Chic," though. As far as it can be confirmed, Chick-fil-A never used that particular misspelling in any of their cow ads.
- Tenzer says, “A powerful way to understand this is by imagining five people witnessing the same crime. Even though they all experienced the same event, at roughly the same time and place, each of them is likely to recall it differently. None of them are lying, their brains are simply doing what human brains do: filling in gaps, reshaping memories, and adjusting facts.”^{[4]
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  Expert Source
  
  Rebecca Tenzer, MAT, MA, LCSW, CCTP, CGCS, CCATP, CCFP
  Communication Therapist
  
  Expert Interview}
- Tenzer continues, “Over time, repeated exposure to incorrect information through media, conversations, or cultural references can cement that false memory until it feels absolutely real.”^{[5]
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  Expert Source
  
  Rebecca Tenzer, MAT, MA, LCSW, CCTP, CGCS, CCATP, CCFP
  Communication Therapist
  
  Expert Interview}

Section 3 of 4:

Real Chick-fil-A Logo Changes

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Then, in 1963, the company simplified the spelling to "Chick-fil-A" which is a better play on the words "chicken filet."^{[6]
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Research source} They also capitalized the "A" at the end to stand for "Grade A quality." The spelling has stayed the same ever since!^{[7]
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In the original logo, the words used to appear directly underneath the cheeky Doodles illustration and the Chick-fil-A name. When the company redesigned the logo in 1963, it eliminated this tagline. The results paid off: the logo looked much cleaner and straightforward, and even more so after they made Doodles a part of the lettering in 1964!^{[8]
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The Chick-fil-A logo used to feature Doodles the rooster on the left side. When S. Truett Cathy started Chick-fil-A in 1960, he picked a rooster named Doodles as the brand's mascot. In the original logo from 1960 and the first redesign in 1963, a picture of Doodles's head appeared to the left of the restaurant name. However, in 1964, the company changed the design to eliminate the illustration and made the "C" in "Chick" look like a stylized rooster head instead.^{[9]
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- While the logo has changed slightly in color and font over the years, the homage to Doodles has remained.
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The Chick-fil-A logo used to use a smaller, italicized typeface. The cursive typeface that Chick-fil-A uses today has stayed the same, almost without any changes, since 1964. Before then, from 1960 to 1963, the typeface (the style of the lettering) was different, the font size was smaller, and it was a little harder to read. From 1963-1964, the logo was changed so that the typeface was straighter, and the newly capitalized "A" was red instead of black. Then, in 1964, the logo was changed again to a thinner version of the font we're used to.^{[10]
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- Since 1964, the font has remained mostly the same. Only minor changes have been made to the color (from black to red) and the thickness of the lettering.

Section 4 of 4:

Other Bizarre Mandela Effects

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See if you can relate to these other Mandela effects. If the Chick-fil-a vs Chic-fil-A vs Chik-fil-a debate whetted your appetite for Mandela effects, we've got you covered! Chew on these bizarre false memories and join the crowd of people who are baffled that they aren't true.