Item #: SCP-8488
Object Class: Archon
A still from SCP-8488.
Special Containment Procedures: Due to the nature of SCP-8488, full containment has been deemed unnecessary. Individuals that show awareness of SCP-8488's effects are to be tracked down and provided amnestics in order to accelerate acceptance of consensus reality. Posts about SCP-8488's effects are only to be removed if they threaten SCP-8488's public status as non-anomalous.
Description: SCP-8488 refers to an advertisement utilizing the children’s entertainment mascot ‘Birthday Bash’. The Birthday Bash brand includes a toy line, a television series, a movie, a children’s birthday party mascot service, and other products and services themed after the character. No other products or services besides SCP-8488 featuring Birthday Bash have been deemed anomalous.
SCP-8488 depicts the titular character setting up a birthday party in a blue room with colorful presents. About five seconds before the advertisement ends, the words ‘Make any day your birthday with Birthday Bash!’ appear on the screen. After a subject has viewed SCP-8488, the chronological and legal date of their birthday will change to that of a date that appears to be more satisfactory to that individual for a variety of reasons. SCP-8488 will not change the year of a subject's birthday, only the month and day. The memories of the subject and any person who previously knew their birthday will be altered to fit the new date. External evidence such as legal documents, pictures, dates, calendars, messages, etc, will also be altered. Any attempts to reverse the effects of SCP-8488 have been proven ineffective. SCP-8488 does not change the birthday of everyone who views it. It is unknown what are the criteria for SCP-8488’s effects to take place.
A small portion of the population has been found to remember a timeline before SCP-8488's effects took place.
The anomalous effects were tied to SCP-8488 after a handful of anecdotes all mentioned the affected subjects had viewed the Birthday Bash advertisement. This was confirmed after Foundation employee Bebe Sparks gave her testimony of the anomaly. See addendum for more information.
Addendum: Testimonies
Due to the nature of SCP-8488 altering the memory and any external evidence of the subject and those around them, it has been found to be extremely difficult to track cases of SCP-8488. However, the Foundation has located enough testimonies to prove the anomalous effects of SCP-8488 written by individuals who are theorized to be cognitohazard-resistant.
The following testimonies are taken from various sources.
Source: Reddit.com forum
Person affected: Yasu Hada
Testimony by: Yasu Hada
Birthday: 06/28/2000
Testimony: The following testimony was posted to the subreddit "r/offmychest". The post was titled "I may have deluded that my birthday was different than it actually was for several years"
This is all really strange to me, and sorry if it doesn't make much sense but I just had to put this somewhere. For like,, a really really long time I thought my birthday was March 13th. This was awesome to me, because it's the same birthday as my best friend at the time. Like, lol! This was great! Teachers and friends always associated us for being the best friends with the same birthday. But good times didn’t last. As we both got older, I began to notice behaviors from them that kinda upset me. Being more demanding or less accepting of mistakes, criticizing me for harmless opinions I had. I started to feel inferior. If I didn’t align to their exact interests, opinions, didn’t start hanging out with their new friends, then I didn’t matter. I felt like the person I was began to slip away. We began to drift apart over time, and I was really sad?
We had been friends since early high school. I’d known them for so long. But the time away from them, the time I spent with new friends, it all made me realize I was much happier. I didn’t feel the need to conform. They were happy with me for who I am! Just every time my birthday came around, it became hard for me to really be happy about it. It was just a reminder of the friendship that had slowly deteriorated and became bad for me. This all really culminated again when I saw this advertisement for Birthday Bash, the children’s birthday party mascot. It was stupid but it made me think about my birthday and I just cried. I had my birthday just a few months earlier and it was fine, but it just hit me that my birthday would always be this sore spot…
But that’s when things started getting weird? The 28th of June came, and everyone started wishing me happy birthday, my friends and family. I was super confused? Like, I thought maybe one of my friends told my family about this elaborate joke or whatever. Since June 28th is the birthday of one of my favorite fictional characters, like maybe they wanted to help me feel better or something. But I checked calendars and my driver's license and stuff, this has always been my birthday. None of my friends or family recalled my birthday being on March 13th either. I’m gonna talk with my therapist about this. My mom said it’s possible that it was a mental health crisis. I’m really confused by also just, really happy? The ex friend I’m talking about did post recently about feeling better off now that they’ve left toxic baggage behind, which really stung, seeing them refer to ME as the toxic one. Maybe that’s what made this all come to fruition. Since my friends all helped me feel much better when I vented to them about it. This is strange and yeah, but I’m happy I actually share a birthday with a character I really like, and not this toxic ex friend. Regardless of what happened, I feel free.
Source: Facebook.com
Person affected: Rosie Ray Miles
Testimony by: Rosie Ray Miles
Birthday: 12/13/1998
Testimony: The following posts were posted to the website Facebook.com.
Um hey everyone! Thank you for the birthday wishes, but my birthday isn't until June! I wish it was today because I've always wanted a winter birthday because it's the season I associate with my mother. But it's not today!
Okay so apparently I'm remembering my own birthday wrong? Legally everything says today is my birthday, so I guess y'all were right! Thanks, everyone! I’m sure my mom would be making me her special hot chocolate for my birthday like she did for every holiday. My mama passing was really hard for me. I did everything with her. And she did her best to make every birthday special. My birthday being close to the holidays helps me feel closer to her than ever. I guess that ad that I saw was right 😊☕️🍫
Source: Facebook.com
Person affected: Matthew Gibbons
Testimony by: Sophia Gibbons
Birthday: 07/19/1994
Testimony: The following testimony was posted to the private Facebook group “Toxic Family Recovery”.
Hi everyone! So, as I’ve said a few times, my dad was one of those parents that showed clear favoritism. He always wanted a daughter. And that daughter was me! He however, did not want a son, and was rather disappointed when my brother Mat was revealed to be a boy. My brother was born December 23rd (or, I thought he was. Bear with me.) My dad always gave me these extravagant birthday parties and gifts, always the best cake! But, my brother didn’t get that luxury. When mom was around, she managed to get my father to budge on better parties for my brother. Buuuut that didn’t last once mom passed.
Birthday celebrations for Mat were always lumped in with family holiday parties. My dad would usually get me and Mat like, gifts that we would share, but the gifts always favored me in some way. A pack of soda for both of us? My favorite flavor. Art supplies for me that “mat could use too” despite that not being his thing. Mat never got gifts just for his birthday because “it was so close to Christmas”. I could tell this was getting to him. I never understood why dad didn’t like him. He was my little brother, a fun nerd that watched a lot of TV, seemed to enjoy just memorizing the advertisements (and still does), always played dolls with me, always tried to remain positive despite it all. I would use some of the money I was usually gifted to get Mat nicer gifts. It wasn’t much, but he really appreciated it. But, my father’s favoritism still hurt no matter what I did, obviously. Eventually me and my brother distanced ourselves from my dad.
Well, recently, my bro contacted me about hanging out for his birthday. I was super confused, his birthday wasn't till December 23rd. He laughed and told me that it was in July, not December. That he was sure that dad would've been able to hide his favoritism a little better regarding gifts if it was in December. I was dumbfounded. He "reminded" me that dad eventually had to step up with gift giving cause mom's sister didn't like how dad favored me, that my other relatives stepped up too. I just kinda went along with it despite being super confused. I kinda just figured that this was a coping mechanism? Other family members went along with it, too. I just decided it might be best to ignore it.
Source: Foundation employee testimony
Person affected: Lisa Sparks
Testimony by: Bebe Sparks
Birthday: 09/05/2013
Testimony: The following testimony was given by Foundation employee Doctor Bebe Sparks about her daughter, Lisa Sparks.
As many of you may know, my daughter Lisa was diagnosed with cancer when she was 7. It's been very hard for me as a single parent. Unfortunately, at this time, Lisa is no longer with us. The doctors told us she wouldn't even make it to 10. She would die in the next 6 months, and she had just had her 9th birthday. Which was awful, it's such a big number, you know?
She really loved Birthday Bash. She had several toys from her, watched her movie so many times it made my head start to hurt, had read all her books. One day we were watching her show on tv, and this ad I had never seen before for Birthday Bash came on. I didn't think much of it.
A few days later, my little girl is telling me what she wants for her birthday and is reminding me and making sure I got her her gifts. I gently reminded her what the doctor said. She said that she knows, but her birthday is next week. I was shocked. I distinctly remember her birthday being in July. I tell her this and she just laughs, saying I must be getting old (I'm 36).
I didn't connect it to the ad at first. Not until I saw the research that was being conducted. But I have to say. I am thankful. My little girl got to turn 10.