If, on a daily basis, you find yourself haunted by the fact that the “Berenstein” Bears never existed, or that “Looney Toons” was actually “Looney Tunes” the whole time—this may be just the video for you.
TikToker Tierney Arsenault (@tierntoks) claims she found proof that the Fruit of the Loom logo used to have a cornucopia. In her viral video, posted Sunday, she revealed a board game card from 1991 as evidence. As of publication, her video has over 270,000 views.
A cornucopia of evidence
The video opens on Arsenault, with text overhead reading, “Fruit of the Loom DID have a cornucopia!!”
She explains that she and her husband decided to play a board game while at a vineyard.
“We found this really old game,” Arsenault says, holding a board game box up to the camera. The box is divided into four colored squares: teal, yellow, purple, and red. Each square has a symbol on it, with the most visible two being an eye and lips. The name of the game, reflected backwards across the screen, reads “Adverteasing.”
“Turns out, if you look at the back of the box, it’s from 1991,” she clarifies, then goes on to explain the game. “The very first card that we look at is called ‘clues,’ that’s the theme. So the idea is that you give your partner the clues and they have to guess the brand.”
Arsenault holds up the aforementioned card, explaining that the clues on said card were “underwear,” “cornucopia,” and “apples and grapes.”
“Can you guess what the brand is?” she asks viewers. “Can you guess?” After a second, Arsenault holds up the card. The reflected answer on the back of the card reads, “Fruit of the Loom.”
“This is from 1991,” Arsenault repeats, putting the card down. “That proves that there was always a cornucopia in the fruit of the loom logo, as far back as 1991.”
“There was always a cornucopia,” she concludes. She holds the card up again and waves it in front of the camera for emphasis. “We ARE remembering it correctly!” she reiterates in her caption.
Discussion in the comments
“It’s not that they changed the logo, it’s the fact that they consistently LIE about it!” one of the top commenters said. “For what purpose?!”
“I don’t understand why so many companies insist on gaslighting like this now,” said another person. “I vaguely remember someone found a scan of the original patent and the logo absolutely had a cornucopia.”
“When I was a little girl, that’s how I learned what a cornucopia even was,” someone recalled. “Was from that logo and I asked my mom what it was!”
Commenters begin to theorize
Commenters posited theories that both sided with and against Arsenault.
“They had a big chemical spill in the 90s and the headline was like ‘cornucopia of disaster,” stated a viewer. “That’s why.”
“The cornucopia was removed when Warren Buffett, purchased Fruit of the Loom in 2002,” someone else agreed. “When the company was on bankruptcy because of lawsuit of chemical waste pollution.”
On the other hand, some suggested the card game only proved the existence of the Mandela Effect—a phenomenon wherein groups of people collectively remember something incorrectly as fact.
“So whoever wrote the card was also wrong and didn’t fact check themselves,” a commenter said. “You proved that it’s a common misconception.”
“LISTEN,” someone added. “I’m team cornucopia but this is not actually evidence. The creators of that game are not experts and could be mistaken.
A time beyond memory
Of course, some commenters had different concerns.
“Okay first of all you don’t have to say ‘as far back as 1991’ like that…” complained one person.
“Why did you say 1991 like it was some ancient time that people can only theorize about,” another commenter asked.
@tierntoks we ARE remembering it correctly! #mandelaeffect #fruitoftheloom #conspiracytiktok
♬ original sound – tierntoks
Do the theories bear fruit?
In 2024, Alex Kasprak of Snopes looked into the Fruit of the Loom logo debate. Kasprak and team searched Fruit of the Loom news advertisements dating back to the 1910s and came to the conclusion that no, the logo never included a cornucopia.
He did find that this particular Mandela effect had, however, been around for decades.
“The cover art for a 1973 jazz/funk album by Frank Wess, Flute of the Loom, includes a cornucopia-shaped flute, for example,” Kasprak wrote.
Kasprak also addressed the patent claim in his piece.
“This misconception stems from the fact that at least one trademark registration document apparently filed by Fruit of the Loom used what is known as design search code 05.09.14 to describe the trademark — indicating an image with “Baskets of fruit; Containers of fruit; [or] Cornucopia (horn of plenty),” he wrote. He explained that these codes were used to identify the larger, general graphic elements of a logo, but were not necessarily indicative of the specific logo itself.
What does Fruit of the Loom think about all this?
Fruit of the Loom themselves have addressed the logo topic numerous times. In a statement on their website, they provide a breakdown similar to that of Kasprak’s. They even link to Kasprak’s article.
“While the presence of the cornucopia has long been part of the Fruit of the Loom® branding lore, and frequently mentioned as an example of the Mandela Effect, a false memory phenomenon whereby different people incorrectly remember the same thing or event, the cornucopia has never been a part of the Fruit of the Loom® logo,” the company stated.
What about the chemical spill?
In the same piece, they also address the viral chemical spill rumors.
“Velsicol Chemical Company was the corporation responsible for the incident in Michigan. Fruit of the Loom was not associated with the chemical company at that time and had no connection to the incident,” they wrote. “In fact, The Detroit Free Press published an article on Jan. 3, 2024, refuting the false allegations made against Fruit of the Loom.”
The article states that Fruit of the Loom bought the Velsicol Chemical Corporation in 1986, 13 years after the controversy. However, a 2019 article from Michigan Public claims that Fruit of the Loom’s bankruptcy protected Velsicol from cleanup duty.
“Taxpayers likely will spend more than $500 million cleaning up contamination from the former Michigan Chemical plant in St. Louis,” Michigan Public wrote. “The bankruptcy of Fruit of the Loom, the parent company to the plant’s owner Velsicol, shielded it from long-term liability for the cleanup.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Arsenault via TikTok and Instagram direct message, and to Fruit of the Loom via email.
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