A friend just emailed me the following. Is this true? I read it without hesitation the first time.
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh 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 is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.
I think the position of the tall letters (b,d,f,h,k,l,t) is also of importance, although not vitally so, because they contribute to the shape of the word more significantly than the other lower-case letters (ahtough descenders might also have an impact).