xkcd.WTF!?

Explanation ➲

Brussels sprouts are a leafy vegetable from the cabbage family which were cultivated in Brussels, in what is now Belgium, in the 13th century, giving them their name. Many adults and children 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 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 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 Mandela Effect is a pseudoscience explanation for a false memory held in common by a substantial number of people. False memories may arise via suggestibility, activation of associated information, the incorporation of misinformation, and source misattribution, and 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 licorice, 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 silica gel packets are actually edible and taste delicious. This is very false!^{[citation needed]} Silica gel packets are typically used as a desiccant, to keep electronics and other moisture sensitive items dry. They are typically marked "Do Not Eat" to warn people that they are not edible. Although not toxic, and even allowed in some form in food, silica gel has a sand-like texture and no flavor or nutritional value, can cause irritation if digested in the raw form, and the packets may contain potentially toxic additives.

Cueball, having been prepped by both his own experience and Megan's facts, is 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 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 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 "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 there is an S at the end of 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.