Very weird theory that I found on the Internet

woodbetweenworlds.blogspot.ca...

That kind of #s with my mind.

Like, what if the people who remember the -stein way are different than those who remember it as -stain

Or this guy is crazy as #.

What do you guys think?

That's weird. I definitely remember it as Berenstein, too.

a reply to: thisguy27

Can you give us a few lines of what it is you're on about?

originally posted by: thisguy27
woodbetweenworlds.blogspot.ca...

That kind of #s with my mind.

Like, what if the people who remember the -stein way are different than those who remember it as -stain

Or this guy is crazy as #.

What do you guys think?

Dude that is really, really wierd because I clearly remember stein not with an A

I remember stein as well.

Then again I never liked these books as a child so I'm not sure how accurate my memory is.

Very bizarre.

I think it's a collective mispronunciation that is ingrained in us.

Looking on ebay I see people with titles of "Berenstein bears" for old lunchboxes only to find the lunchboxes say "Berenstain"...

originally posted by: OrphanApology
I remember stein as well.

Then again I never liked these books as a child so I'm not sure how accurate my memory is.

Very bizarre.

I think it's a collective mispronunciation that is ingrained in us.

Looking on ebay I see people with titles of "Berenstein bears" for old lunchboxes only to find the lunchboxes say "Berenstain"...

I just asked my mom lol I called her I asked mom do u remember the berenstein bears? Mom said yeah why? I asked how its spelled. She clearly said BERENSTEIN bears.

Told her to google it, she was shocked.

a reply to: Brotherman

Admittedly it's quite creepy.

None of my siblings can spell worth a damn so there's no point even asking them what they remember.

a reply to: Brotherman

I think I might actually recall Bernstein when I was really young, then Berenstein, now that I consider it - possible my very young mind omitted the extra E - but there is no doubt in my mind the end of the word was in fact stein.
That alteration of the family name would come around WWII, wouldn't you think? Lots of changed German Jewish names around then. What is Jan's family history... time to search.

a reply to: thisguy27

I had a lot of fun reading the comment section, pretty civilized and entertaining .

I must say though I am definitely from the berenstien universe, that is before merged with the berenstain universe of coarse.

Now don't get me started on Toledo that is one that still con-fuddles me.

a reply to: thisguy27

Problem is that kids are notoriously bad at spelling, particularly at a young age. When I was little, I apparently thought that "spaghetti" was "psaghetti". Just because I called it "psaghettI" doesn't mean that that was the actual name of the pasta and that we are now in an alternate reality where psaghetti is now called spaghetti.

Pretty sure that Occam's razor could be applied here. We have Berenstain's Bears books here dating from the 70's so it was definitely Berenstain and not Berenstein. However, everybody and their brother with any bear experience knows that it's pronounced "Berenstein" and not "Berenstain". So what gives?

Ellis Island and their whacky way of spelling things that make no phonetic sense probably. It is actually Berenstain but it tends to slip out as "Berenstein" even when you hear it in the show:



Cosmic multidimensional crisis averted. The guy is a nut.

a reply to: WhiteAlice

I spelled at a college graduate level by the time I was 8.
Just sayin.

Also, Occam's razor is the worst kind of razor. You can't even shave with it, much less win a fair debate. And this isn't even a debate - at this point people are chiming in with data (their memories). So, you really haven't disproved anything. We aren't even to where we could posit a valid hypothesis to disprove yet!

Every member of my immediate family, including my 15 year old daughter remembers it spelled "Berenstein". This is very, very strange.

a reply to: pirhanna

Community college or...Uni?

If some of the people I shared comm classes with are anything to go by I'm hoping yours was closer to uni.

I'm kidding.

I did want to say that I was also an excellent speller when I was younger and I remember ein.

Bizarre indeed.

originally posted by: pirhanna
a reply to: WhiteAlice

I spelled at a college graduate level by the time I was 8.
Just sayin.

And I was a spelling bee champion. Thing is, childhood memory especially for surnames is weak at best. I could spell tumultuous as a kid but people's names don't always follow the same phonetic conventions. It's like Laughlin actually being pronounced "Lochlann".

This is messing with my head! I would have bet $1000 that it was Berenstein without hesitation.

This is a great thread, thanks!

So here is a riddle. See if you can figure it out:

What does lollypop, liason, millenium, pharoah, bizzare and supercede have in common with berenstein?

Think ...

Think ...

Answer: They are all very common misspellings.

For example, I just recently learned I have spelled "liaison" WRONG my entire life. Embarrassing.

So I think we can just say this is a common mistake made by a lot of people. Or maybe there is an alternate universe where these words are all spelled correctly. Either is possible I guess.

originally posted by: WhiteAlice

originally posted by: pirhanna
a reply to: WhiteAlice

I spelled at a college graduate level by the time I was 8.
Just sayin.

And I was a spelling bee champion. Thing is, childhood memory especially for surnames is weak at best. I could spell tumultuous as a kid but people's names don't always follow the same phonetic conventions. It's like Laughlin actually being pronounced "Lochlann".

Perhaps. I am considering that possibility. I had also read the bible through 4-5 times though, every word, when I was that age, and it is filled with more names than anything. The interesting thing is that so many people remember it another way. Makes one raise an eyebrow and grow curious.

LOL at orphan - I don't know - I may have regressed a bit over the years. Too much whiskey and spell check.

news.google.com...,355226 Page 2

news.google.com...,3971495 Page 5

news.google.com...,2772248 Page 25

news.google.com...,1087536 Page 38

news.google.com...,3327273 Page 6-B

The third link has pictures of the books, but I cannot zoom in closely enough to read the titles.

The last link has a synopsis of "The Bears Vacation" by "Jan and Stan Berenstein"

I very distinctly remember it being Berenstein Bears as well. Even a few years back when I had to read to my daughter (for school) I recall looking at the book cover to get the name right. It was Berenstein.

I am literally lol. Wth? This is like when Nelson Mandella died for the 23rd time...

good find samkan!! Evidence of it being spelled Berenstein.

Perhaps it was commonly mis-spelled a long time ago? Or these old docs have somehow evaded being changed over? Still weird.