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The Berenstein Bears: We Are Living in Our Own Parallel Universe
- Thread starter Euron
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akachan ningen
Member
I was surprised too when I saw that it was spelled with an A. But I was TEN by that point(which would have made it 1992, the same year that the author mentions in that stupid article). Once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it. I remember thinking how odd it was, since by then I had read so many names in books that ended with "stein" and none that ended with "stain."
The easy explanation is this: Kids rarely pay attention to small details.
The easy explanation is this: Kids rarely pay attention to small details.
Fucking this, what the hell? Lol I know it's stupid but this is really fucking with my mind right now. I'm going to the back to ask my wife to spell it. Dollars to dognads she's going to go with EIN.
disappeared
Banned
Times like this I think the internet is finally running out of things to discuss.
CarpeDeezNutz
Member
I asked mine too and she spelled it with EIN.
bistromathics
facing a bright new dawn
#teamstein
Team Alucard
Banned
well somebody knock me out with a smoke grenade and hold me hostage in a replica titanic, this is some bullshit!
ShadowsFell
Member
Bareinstain Bears.
Cymbal Head
Banned
People are more willing to believe in alternate timeline shenanigans than admit that they remember something wrong and/or misperceived something as a kid.
Sounds about right.
Sounds about right.
Oppo
Member
yeah I remember Berenstein too.
my theory is this: when you are a kid you stert to learn the ethnic and cultural hooks that attach things like common family name suffixes, such as stein. I was super confused for a while when I was young about how people could just 'identify' Jewish names by stein or berg or what have you.
Like a lot of common city or place names are purposefully pronounced differently from what might be an original intent – cajun formulations come to mind – I think that it was very easy to ascribe 'stein' to the Berenstein Bears because as a kid, 'stein' names were one of the things you were only peripherally becoming aware of, along with Mcs and Sons and all the rest, and because we grab words as all one piece we tend to miss idiosyncratic spellings in the middle, therefore as you (and I) always said it Berenstein as a kid, you remember the pronunciation, which then retcons in your brain as seeing the animated spelling of the name as clear as day in your memory, when in fact it is probably bullshit, and incidentally the reason eyewitness testimony is totally unreliable, even malice aside but I digress, I think it's a regional mispronunciation mixed with confirmation bias and the holographic impressionistic nature of human memory, which makes my theory about a hundred times less outlandish than a parallel universe, even though I quite enjoyed the read, and thank you OP for that.
very tempted to just flip my avatar and see if anyone noticed
my theory is this: when you are a kid you stert to learn the ethnic and cultural hooks that attach things like common family name suffixes, such as stein. I was super confused for a while when I was young about how people could just 'identify' Jewish names by stein or berg or what have you.
Like a lot of common city or place names are purposefully pronounced differently from what might be an original intent – cajun formulations come to mind – I think that it was very easy to ascribe 'stein' to the Berenstein Bears because as a kid, 'stein' names were one of the things you were only peripherally becoming aware of, along with Mcs and Sons and all the rest, and because we grab words as all one piece we tend to miss idiosyncratic spellings in the middle, therefore as you (and I) always said it Berenstein as a kid, you remember the pronunciation, which then retcons in your brain as seeing the animated spelling of the name as clear as day in your memory, when in fact it is probably bullshit, and incidentally the reason eyewitness testimony is totally unreliable, even malice aside but I digress, I think it's a regional mispronunciation mixed with confirmation bias and the holographic impressionistic nature of human memory, which makes my theory about a hundred times less outlandish than a parallel universe, even though I quite enjoyed the read, and thank you OP for that.
very tempted to just flip my avatar and see if anyone noticed
Lmao, my wife is freaking out. She's on the phone with her mom asking her to look for the old book. Fuck this. FUCK. THIS. EIN is the only way, this is madness.
EightBitNate
Member
Welcome to the A Timeline
I don't get it...?
TheGreatDirector
Banned
What the fuck?
old manatee
Banned
It's Berenstein. Stop fucking around.
Jawmuncher
Member
Shit who fucked with the timeline.
Days like these...
Have a Blessed Day
Its berenstein. Do i need to go look for my old book reports!? #teamparalleluniverse
I applaud your sound logic and well thought out theory.
However, this post from the conspiracy thread may complicate things:
And I doubt kids were able to write for newspapers back in 1992...
My god...the timelines have intersected in this thread...
This must be from the NaoGEF timeline...
-Pyromaniac-
Member
I read about this a while ago and tripped balls when I saw the real spelling because I was 10000% sure it was STEIN not STAIN.
D
Deleted member 13876
Unconfirmed Member
What about the urkelverse
We really need an Urkelverse thread.
Matt Attack
Member
This is kind of freaking me out.
Okay I'm searching our bookshelves and looking on eBay for any proof that it was a friggin' E. I know it was. I just asked both of my parents how it was spelled and they both spelled it out with an e. Brother said the same thing.
Where did all of our books go. I'm going to be thinking about talking bears while I sleep tonight and how their entire name was probably wrong in my family members' minds for a dozen years.
Where did all of our books go. I'm going to be thinking about talking bears while I sleep tonight and how their entire name was probably wrong in my family members' minds for a dozen years.
Rabbi_Vole
Banned
I just had a wicked bout of déjà vu.. The memory felt like it was from a few years ago, but I just relived it in the present.
Either time is an illusion or the parallel universes are collapsing in on themselves.
Either time is an illusion or the parallel universes are collapsing in on themselves.
GutsOfThor
Member
Well fuck me, I always thought it was Bernstein lol.
theDeeDubs
Member
Wonder what theories Albert Ainstain came up with in the other dimension.
My wife and I actually had a discussion about the spelling a few years ago. I suddenly noticed from my daughter's book that my wife was reading to her one night that I had been living a lie all this time.
My wife and I actually had a discussion about the spelling a few years ago. I suddenly noticed from my daughter's book that my wife was reading to her one night that I had been living a lie all this time.
I prefer the new ones
So did Encyclopedia Brown and Sally ever get to first base?
A=MC^2
old manatee
Banned
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Baron Aloha
A Shining Example
Same here.
https://youtu.be/tVjYLiP2hhw
I didn't fact check this (because come on) but here is help for our sanity.
I didn't fact check this (because come on) but here is help for our sanity.
The Albatross
Member
My nephew has a shit load of Berenstein Bears books. I always said "Berenstain," but thought that the spelling was Berenstein... Just assumed the authors were Jewish and I know more -Steins than -Stains.
But, seriously, my newphew has like all of our Berenstein/stain books from when we were kids, including "Too Many Birthdays" that I read to him this past weekend, so I'm going to go check it out.
I dislike the "Criticism" section on Wikipedia on this... basically just ripping the books to shreds for being simple or stern lessons. I happen to like these lessons! I still fondly remember "In the dark dark woods" or the fight issue from when I was a kid, and how at the end of the book "they don't even remember what they were fighting about," but I was like "they were fighting because sister bear hung her feet over the bed." I remembered.
But, seriously, my newphew has like all of our Berenstein/stain books from when we were kids, including "Too Many Birthdays" that I read to him this past weekend, so I'm going to go check it out.
I dislike the "Criticism" section on Wikipedia on this... basically just ripping the books to shreds for being simple or stern lessons. I happen to like these lessons! I still fondly remember "In the dark dark woods" or the fight issue from when I was a kid, and how at the end of the book "they don't even remember what they were fighting about," but I was like "they were fighting because sister bear hung her feet over the bed." I remembered.
You're in the wrong dimension. Not really wanted here, frankly.
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