When remembering the word tarnation most people attribute it to Yosemite Sam but as it turns out he wasn't the one who first used the word even though it's a perfect fit with his persona. In more recent years (from 1992 on) he did use tarnation on occasion though not as remembered from his earlier cartoons. It is an example of the Mandela effect, a shared false memory. Tarnation was used on other shows in the mid 20th century like Beverly Hillbillies and Gunsmoke but not by Yosemite Sam. So what exactly does tarnation mean? It grew out of two words, darnation, a variant of damnation, and tarnal a pronunciation of eternal used as a mild curse. What else do you suppose we collectively remember incorrectly?
