Very weird theory that I found on the Internet

a reply to: Serdgiam

*sigh*

Dang Serdg...I KNOW you're smart...but that was clear as mud to me!

I get the feeling that you don't want to be too specific, and that's fine. However, I remain confused.

I have to go out for a bit, and really hope there are lots of replies to read here when I get back.

jacygirl

originally posted by: Diderot
If you happen to have an absolute memory of “-stein”, then I would ask if you can recall a moment when you actually made a mental note (memory) of the spelling.

I shared such a tidbit in one of my first posts. I'll share again.

I recall being in my elementary school library talking with a teacher about books. We started discussing the Berenst_in Bears. I kept pronouncing it as "stein," you know like a beer stein. She (the teacher) kept correcting my pronunciation. I was very confused, because I was actually holding the book in my hands and looking down at the word "Berenstein!"

I just thought I didn't know how to pronounce Berenstein correctly. However, she kept saying Berenstain, while I insisted on -stein.

I'm sure you'll just find this as evidence of it being Berenstain, but I recall very well holding the book in my hand, and actually looking at the word while discussing it. I remember it because I was trying to make sense of her pronunciation vs. the spelling. It annoyed me! It was -stein!

I just accepted that she knew more about pronouncing exotic sounds than I did.

This thread has been very interesting to read. I've found that I can't actually recall how the title was written.

However, I wonder why one's first thought upon noticing this alleged discrepancy is "Egads! Someone must have changed something!!!" Of all things to rewrite in our reality, why modify those books? Do they contain some hidden message about how we should all be polite and such?

Do enlighten me because, right now, this all seems like badly-written Doctor Who fan-fiction.

originally posted by: Ubikuitous


However, I wonder why one's first thought upon noticing this alleged discrepancy is "Egads! Someone must have changed something!!!"

Not my first thought at all. In fact I usually (as far as I can remember never) never venture into this territory. Like I said, it has rattled my foundation to the core....

I don't understand why I am so dumbstruck over the spelling of a children's book. I can't figure out why I am so determined to figure this out. It just feels like I really need to.

Did they run a group of books misprinted and I received a batch? Do I really just remember incorrectly? Did I continue to mispronounce it for so very long? Did I come from another timeline?

All of those thoughts are under consideration. Do you know how badly I DON'T want to consider the timeline theory? I then have to question all I know. Are my children the same ones I gave birth to, is my husband the same man, am I a millionaire in another realm, and where the heck do I go from here?

I just can't shake it though. I feel like I need answers and there are none to be found.

It was "Stein" for the love of all things good and wholesome... I clearly remember "Stein"!

I... I feel this great pressure... its bearing down on me, squeezing like a vise... I have been following this thread since its inception... keeping quiet... just reading along, following the links. I don't know what to think anymore.

Stain

Stein



I just don't know!!! Is it the greatest troll in history? Did we really have a collective "time slip"? My mind is like oatmeal at this point... mulling it over... again... again!

Stein...

...or...

Stain...

I remember Stein! Dammit, I remember Stein... it was both... both are correct, right? It has to be both! A mistake or something... along the way... stain or Stein stain or Stein...

Excuse me while I go lie in a cold shower rocking to and fro in the fetal position muttering "Stain or Stein?"

a reply to: jacygirl

Ill try to explain better, though you would be correct in saying that some of these things are vague for a reason!

Lets take you, for example. You have your own "timeline." Basically, the summation of everything that has happened in your life up until this point. Every "system" has this. Meaning, that every blade of grass, every human, every planet, etc. all have their own little history, present, and future. These are NOT isolated though, and that means that depending on how they interact, it will change what happens in that time line.

If you had never chosen to come to this message board, me and you would have never talked. Most likely, never at all. So, our two lives intertwined and changed history, in the most literal of ways. I see it almost like a living, breathing book. This interaction goes far, far beyond just an exchange between people though.

There are also methods to foresee these events, and manipulate them. And just like any tool, this can be used for "good" or "bad." Or, perhaps more accurately "stagnation" or "growth."

Those who have used it to stagnate humanity are not the only ones in town. They also do not truly understand the processes in play. To be clear, we are talking about what most would consider the "occult."

Perhaps there are some answers in looking at what "type" of people subscribe to -stein and -stain. Perhaps the timeline of humanities stagnation has been overtaken by growth. Though, in this specific case, I am thinking that there is the chance that they changed the name, or perhaps publishers mis-spelled it in certain printings.

I will share my experience to the best of my recollection. When I first read this thread I too had vivid memory of seeing Berenstein Bears as the title of these books. My first encounter with these books would have been about 32 years ago. I never was a fan or avid reader of these books.

After a few days thinking about it I recalled a faint memory from my childhood. One which had completely escaped my memory up until now. One of my close friends in the 4th grade was reading one of these books. I distinctly recall getting into a small argument with him about the title. I asked him, "what are you reading" and he replied, "The BerenSTEIN bears". Then I remember pointing out that it said BerenSTAIN and he kinda just shrugged it off and said, "well it's pronounced BerenSTEIN". I now recall this incident as the point in time where I created a negative association with these books. I chose never to read any of these books. I felt a sense of repression by having to pronounce the name differently than what I thought it should be.

I now can see that my initial gut feeling and memory, when first reading this topic, was wrong. My visual memory was not as vivid as the memory I have about the argument with my 4th grade friend. I have no doubt that false memories are responsible for this whole stein/stain issue. Even after knowing it's STAIN I still want to call it STEIN right now. Those deep rooted habits are hard to change and I think the mistake has just been passed down generation after generation.

No one really willing to speak out that it's STAIN and just going along with the way other people pronounce it. We then create the spelling association in our minds based on pronunciation and not from the actual visual. When hearing a word people sometimes create an image of the spelling in their head. I think it is this image we are all recalling.

I want to ask all the people in the STEIN camp whether their first recall of this was in normal letters or was it in the actual font that the books used. Because when I had my visual memory of the word I didn't have the correct cursive font. I pictured it in regular letters. Seeing the actual book covers again helped me to remember it's always been STAIN.

originally posted by: Ubikuitous
Of all things to rewrite in our reality, why modify those books? Do they contain some hidden message about how we should all be polite and such?

I think the unusual amount of interest in this topic is because, although some of us have these "memory glitches" from time-to-time, this seems to be one of the easier ones to examine.

We'd have a much more difficult time with the NZ thing or Nelson Mandela's death. But this Berenstein thing is much more reduced because it involves the swap of a single letter. If we're ever going to prove anything about time warps and matrix glitches, this is probably one of the best chances we'll ever have. It's not to say that it's the only 'glitch' around, just one that's been easier for so many people to spot.

As exciting as time warps and ascensions and whatnot are, I'm starting to rest with the likelihood that some of the publishers/ printers made a mistake. Some of us got hold of the -stein books, some of us got hold of the -stain books.

It'd be nice if we could find some documentation from one of the printing groups that said something like, "Captain's log, today we made a printing error on the Berenstain books. We'll just ship them out because it'd be silly to recall this lot of books because of a single letter typo." I doubt such evidence exists though

-stein forever! NB

a reply to: Serdgiam

So was I correct when I assumed that whoever/whatever changed things made a mistake which caused this glitch?

originally posted by: Rainbowresidue
a reply to: Serdgiam

So was I correct when I assumed that whoever/whatever changed things made a mistake which caused this glitch?

Well, maybe.

I think in this specific instance, there might be simpler explanations. Maybe not though, Im certainly not omniscient!

It wouldnt quite be a glitch, just a remnant of the process. Cant do much about those. In this case, it would have been the merge of two oh-so-slightly different threads, wherein the final product would retain the information of both threads. It seems that most reading the topic remember it as -stein, retaining that portion of the data. It also seems that the mass majority of physical evidence retains the -stain portion.

a reply to: Doodle19815
+
a reply to: NarcolepticBuddha


I can see the appeal of the timelines but I would say it's more than likely a printing error. Maybe someone should check the publisher and the date published. Consider how the first book in the Harry Potter series is called "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in some countries and "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in others.

Or some people may have read fake books and some authentic books?

a reply to: Ubikuitous

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in some countries and "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in others.

I think that's because in some countries Sorcery and witchcraft are still punished by death.

In other countries Sorcery is a joke and something to be ridiculed.

Even in the USA having sorcery in the title will get you banned from certain religious circles.

originally posted by: MagicWand67

I think that's because in some countries Sorcery and witchcraft are still punished by death.

In other countries Sorcery is a joke and something to be ridiculed.

Even in the USA having sorcery in the title will get you banned from certain religious circles.

I actually just reported your post because you have the word "Magic" in your user name.

Also, you are from or have convinced yourself that it was always a "-stain" universe, so I am immediately suspicious of you and your motives...

I too thought that it was spelled Berenstein Bears and have been wracking my memory trying to remember and trying to visualize it in my mind. Those books were my kids' favorites and mine as well and I even remember many of the stories. I wish I hadn't donated them; I had piles of those books and gave them away before a move and my kids are older now. I really wish I could look right now and see it with my eyes. I truly remember it being spelled with an E rather than an A. It's like a bad song you get stuck in your head, it keeps sticking in my mind. That is the strangest phenomena that so many people think the same thing, craziness!

a reply to: _Del_

I have no motives other than to express my own opinion. I have an open mind to the possibility of alternate universes. I just need more proof than this.

Like I said I really was sure that I had seen STEIN. But I am far more sure about having this pronunciation argument with my friend in the 4th grade.

originally posted by: queenofsheba That is the strangest phenomena that so many people think the same thing, craziness!

That is the part that has stuck with me. Not that I remember something wrong (or do I?!), but that so many other people are equally convinced of the same thing. It definitely threw a gear in my wrenches yesterday. I would have bet solid money against the "-stain" folk.

And with that I'm off to make some money from my trusty "-stein" brethren and try to root out the evil "-stain" agents in this strange new world I find myself in...

Hey just a quick thought..

That post in the OP link has the comment from someone who claims to be the son of the Berenstain authors, and thus explains the history of the family name. Aside from the fact that there's no way to be sure who actually made that 'anonymous' post..

I'm just thinking it would have been really helpful if that poster (if it was in fact who they claimed to be) had said, "But some of the books had misprints so I can see how you all made this mistake." One little tidbit that could have dispelled all our doubts. If he was going to say something akin to "everyone gets our name wrong," it would have been a good time to bring up the misprinted books as well.

Just some more of my 2 cent pieces.

This is a mystery wrapped in bacon smothered with secret sauce!

a reply to: _Del_

Now I have myself half convinced that I'm remembering a memory of when my son was a kid he pointed out the Stain to me, but I'm not sure?? Why would that memory come up now of all things? I will ask him how The Berenstein Bears was spelled. If anyone would remember it correctly I'm thinking he would, he was reading by the time he was four years old; very smart in that area. Why this is so irritating is beyond me, but enquiring minds need to know.

a reply to: NarcolepticBuddha

If there were some missprinted books out there I would think they would be readily available on eBay, that kind of thing is usually pretty sought after in the collector markets.

Well, I made it as far as page 22 in the NZ thread, I can go no further. It is making me sick. There are people I have looked up to the whole time I have been on ATS just bashing other people. The name calling and insults are 7 foot thick in that thread. One of the lowest points in ATS history if you ask me.

I was searching for a little lead on the thread, and instead my vision of humankind just took a tumble down the stairs to the basement. If anyone with thicker skin than myself wants to give it a go, have at it.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Even if our memory is faulty, there is no reason for insults. We can clearly see that we are somehow incorrect, we just don't know why or how.