# The Berenstein Bears Controversy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 28, 2015, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165 "2015-08-28T12:39:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/41 "2015-08-28T21:45:55Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I would have bet money that it was Berenstein, I recall myself remarking about the spelling and wondering how to pronounce it. I would not have wondered about that if it was Berenstain. We are living in an alternate universe people! Very much the same here. I have a specific memory of asking my mom how to pronounce the “ein” in Berenstein. Oddly, her answer was “ain,” but I wouldn’t have asked if it was “ain.” Weird! ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/42 "2015-08-28T22:45:29Z")
It was Berenstein. Me too, I remember wondering whether that was ‘steen’ or ‘stine’. Then a few years back, when I was having my second kid, I got a copy of ‘The Berenstein Bears’ New Baby’ for my first kid - because I had it when my mother was pregnant with my brother - and wondered why they’d changed the name to Berenstain. I’ve seen people blame this on the pronunciation in the TV show back when we were kids, but I never saw the show. We didn’t have a TV. The only time I ever came across those bears was in that one book. Which was about the BerenSTEIN bears. I’m suspicious of people who remember it being Berenstain. They grew up in the other universe and I’m not sure they should be trusted. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/43 "2015-08-28T22:53:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > There is a similar situation discussed regarding Nelson Mandela. There are people who _swear_ he died in prison. He did not. Not in _this_ time stream/reality. I read about that, too. To me, that memory seems a lot less likely than remembering Stein instead of Stain. I have never thought Nelson Mandela died in prison and doubt I know anyone with that false memory. If anything, there are many people in the world who probably only know post-prison Mandela and don’t remember the time when he was not universally loved. On the other hand, I bet if I asked people Stain or Stein, 9/10 would probably guess Stein. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/44 "2015-08-28T23:07:57Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > If that condition lasts more than 4 hours, consult your doctor. I thought thread erections only happened in the Pit? ETA: Neither set of bears for me. I was neglected in both universes. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/45 "2015-08-28T23:13:24Z")
I know I pronounced it, from a young age, like English “stain,” not “steen” nor “stein.” That points toward it being “stain” all along, and the apparent correctness of the “stein” spelling being a product of miscopying information from old brain cells to new ones. That said, I have felt this sort of thing before with another name. And I took it as a point of divergence between parallel timelines. But I was a weird kid, prone to magical thinking, and already trying to get into a different timeline. :shrug: ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/46 "2015-08-28T23:17:59Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > I read about that, too. To me, that memory seems a lot less likely than remembering Stein instead of Stain. > > I have never thought Nelson Mandela died in prison and doubt I know anyone with that false memory. If anything, there are many people in the world who probably only know post-prison Mandela and don’t remember the time when he was not universally loved. > > On the other hand, I bet if I asked people Stain or Stein, 9/10 would probably guess Stein. Obviously, that’s a different universe, one that very few people crossed over from. So far we have: 1. Our universe 2. The Berenstein Universe 3. The Nelson Mandela died in jail universe 4. The alternate ending to Big universe. Anything else? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/47 "2015-08-28T23:20:04Z")
Wait, how did I pronounce it before the animated cartoon? Hurm. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/48 "2015-08-28T23:52:31Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Obviously, that’s a different universe, one that very few people crossed over from. > > So far we have: > > 1. Our universe > 2. The Berenstein Universe > 3. The Nelson Mandela died in jail universe > 4. The alternate ending to Big universe. > > Anything else? Yes. There are people, and I am one, who are convinced we were taught to spell the word dilemna that way. As in, mn, not “dilemma”. I am pretty sure at some point, the spelling was changed. Or there is some grade school spelling book out there that 1) had a typo, and 2) was widely used. Anyone with me? Do you also have a dile **mn** a? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/49 "2015-08-29T00:22:39Z")
I used to think it was “Absestos” and “Labrinyth” But i could never have taken berenstain for berenstein. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/50 "2015-08-29T00:27:06Z")
It should have been the Berrystained Bears. But I only glance at the cover so I wouldn’t have known. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/51 "2015-08-29T00:50:28Z")
It’s still not Frankenstain, though, right? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/52 "2015-08-29T01:19:27Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I used to think it was “Absestos” > and “Labrinyth” > But i could never have taken berenstain for berenstein. Taht’s sujt gadren-vatiery deslixya. Deos’tn cnout. **TBG:** It’s Frahnkenstien! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/53 "2015-08-29T01:26:45Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > If that condition lasts more than 4 hours, consult your doctor. My doctor is on my call list, but pretty far down. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/54 "2015-08-29T02:40:57Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > Yes. > > There are people, and I am one, who are convinced we were taught to spell the word dilemna that way. As in, mn, not “dilemma”. > > I am pretty sure at some point, the spelling was changed. Or there is some grade school spelling book out there that 1) had a typo, and 2) was widely used. > > Anyone with me? Do you also have a dile **mn** a? Yup!! Okay, here’s one. I distinctly remember the character of Fonzie on _Happy Days_ dying in the show–_because Henry Winkler had died in real life_. Now, I wasn’t alive during the first run of the show, but I remember this from re-runs, and I remember asking my dad something about how the show could possibly continue after that. And to my recollection, continue it did, sans Fonz. I remember all this and _at the very same time_ I clearly remember knowing all about Henry Winkler and his still-alive face appearing in film and TV plenty of times during my own lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/55 "2015-08-29T04:02:44Z")
It’s always been Berenstain. The first books Stan and Jan wrote with bears didn’t have the family (anyone remember Bears on Wheels?). The more preachy books with Mama, Papa, Brother, and Sister came later. Trust me on this; I read them and I’m a librarian. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/56 "2015-08-29T07:01:51Z")
All I think about is that “they’re kind of furry around the torso. They’re a lot like people, only more so.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/57 "2015-08-29T09:07:02Z")
> [@WF\_Tomba](#): > > I remember being a child, annoyed at other kids who pronounced it “Beren-STINE”. Couldn’t they see it wasn’t spelled that way? Both names can be pronounced that way, though, just like both can be pronounced Bear-N-stain. The one that throws me is Bear-N-steen, which makes absolutely no sense. (I’ve always said Beren-STINE. I only say Bear-N-stain now as a mnemonic. “There’s a stain in Berenstain.” I’d love to know how the real people pronounce it. Maybe it really is pronounced Bear-N-steen, and that was used in the show?) ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/58 "2015-08-29T09:56:54Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Obviously, that’s a different universe, one that very few people crossed over from. > > So far we have: > > 1. Our universe > 2. The Berenstein Universe > 3. The Nelson Mandela died in jail universe > 4. The alternate ending to Big universe. > > Anything else? In the movie “The Yellow Ribbon” they tell you that army wives wore yellow ribbons when there husbands were out on patrol. Quite a few people recalled this actually happening. Guess what? It was made up for the movie…or was it?😉 ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/59 "2015-08-30T15:44:44Z")
What’s disturbing is that there are a bunch of people off in the Berenstein Universe who swear it’s always been spelled Berenstain. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165/60 "2015-08-31T15:02:39Z")
My practice is to ab **stain** on anything having to do with the Berenstain Bears. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-berenstein-bears-controversy/729165.md?page=4)