Berenstain or Berenstein Bears?

[Jean-Paul Sartre]

Many people, including me, remember a series of books meant for young children which detail a family of bears living in a tree, in a small village that also includes other bears. Growing up, I remember watching both the television series and reading the book series by the name “Berenstein Bears”. As a kid, I rarely (if ever) misspelled words, and as this series was among my favorites, I had no doubt that the name of the book series (and thus, the authors) was spelled that way.

Come to find out, Wikipedia says I’m wrong. It’s “Berenstain”. I would ignore this, but a lot of people online seem to think this is a Mandela Effect deal (that is, many of us have swapped universes, so that the one we’re in is very similar to, but not the same as, the one we came from). I’m willing to chalk this up to my error, but I’ve got to ask: do you remember the Berenstain Bears? Or Berenstein? Can this discrepancy be explained by mass misremembering, something else, or is there something to the Mandela Effect?

[ECKU]

I thought it was Bearstein

[Magocratic Aidonaia]

When I had a fever I’d also put a wash closh on my head.

[New Zanga]

Berenstain Bears

[Necroghastia]

When I was in kindergarten, every so often we'd be taken to the library and the librarian would read to the class. I remember on one such occasion she actually made a point about how it was -stain, not -stein.

So yeah, people have been mixing them up for a very long time.

[Pacomia]

Many people, including me, remember a series of books meant for young children which detail a family of bears living in a tree, in a small village that also includes other bears. Growing up, I remember watching both the television series and reading the book series by the name “Berenstein Bears”. As a kid, I rarely (if ever) misspelled words, and as this series was among my favorites, I had no doubt that the name of the book series (and thus, the authors) was spelled that way.

Come to find out, Wikipedia says I’m wrong. It’s “Berenstain”. I would ignore this, but a lot of people online seem to think this is a Mandela Effect deal (that is, many of us have swapped universes, so that the one we’re in is very similar to, but not the same as, the one we came from). I’m willing to chalk this up to my error, but I’ve got to ask: do you remember the Berenstain Bears? Or Berenstein? Can this discrepancy be explained by mass misremembering, something else, or is there something to the Mandela Effect?

I get the Mandela Effect, but the parallel universe thing is bullshit. It’s just that people will remember one thing and the reality will be different, because our brains are imperfect. J. J. McCullough did a good video on this. One of his main points is that people don’t pay good attention to detail, and so when someone says something like “Is Goofy’s hat red or blue”, you won’t know. Also, one false memory shared by one person can be understood by other people.

[Jean-Paul Sartre]

When I was in kindergarten, every so often we'd be taken to the library and the librarian would read to the class. I remember on one such occasion she actually made a point about how it was -stain, not -stein.

So yeah, people have been mixing them up for a very long time.

I wish I could ask my Kindergarten teacher if she still had that book series, because dammit, I want to be right.

[Scomagia]

Nah. I remembered them as The Berenstain Bears. I'm just an outlier, though, because everyone I've asked about it remembers it as Berenstein.

[Pacomia]

Nah. I remembered them as The Berenstain Bears. I'm just an outlier, though, because everyone I've asked about it remembers it as Berenstein.

It’s the “Lithuanian Bongo Tennis Best-Drunk Bears”, and nobody can convince me otherwise.

[An Alan Smithee Nation]

Well after my time. I remember the Hair Bear Bunch though.

... rides off an invisible motorcycle.

[Dumb Ideologies]

theyre really running out of good ideas for isekai series lately

[Saint Kanye]

Berenstæin

[Le Slavador]

Berenstain Bears.

I also thought it was Berenstein, since it seems to be the much more common spelling of the surname.

[Jean-Paul Sartre]

Berenstain Bears.

I also thought it was Berenstein, since it seems to be the much more common spelling of the surname.

Yeah. After looking it up, it seems there were some misspellings, but these were rare and far between. Most likely, it’s due to “stein” being a common part of Jewish last names (e.g. Frankenstein).

[Geneviev]

It should be Berenstäin. It's a compromise.

[Scomagia]

Berenstæin

A worthy compromise.

[Jean-Paul Sartre]

Berenstæin

A worthy compromise.

That’s basically Solomon cutting the baby in half.

[Berhakonia]

Bearakonia obviously

[Scomagia]

A worthy compromise.

That’s basically Solomon cutting the baby in half.

Obviously. Solomon was right.

[Lanoraie II]

Many people, including me, remember a series of books meant for young children which detail a family of bears living in a tree, in a small village that also includes other bears. Growing up, I remember watching both the television series and reading the book series by the name “Berenstein Bears”. As a kid, I rarely (if ever) misspelled words, and as this series was among my favorites, I had no doubt that the name of the book series (and thus, the authors) was spelled that way.

Come to find out, Wikipedia says I’m wrong. It’s “Berenstain”. I would ignore this, but a lot of people online seem to think this is a Mandela Effect deal (that is, many of us have swapped universes, so that the one we’re in is very similar to, but not the same as, the one we came from). I’m willing to chalk this up to my error, but I’ve got to ask: do you remember the Berenstain Bears? Or Berenstein? Can this discrepancy be explained by mass misremembering, something else, or is there something to the Mandela Effect?

I get the Mandela Effect, but the parallel universe thing is bullshit. It’s just that people will remember one thing and the reality will be different, because our brains are imperfect. J. J. McCullough did a good video on this. One of his main points is that people don’t pay good attention to detail, and so when someone says something like “Is Goofy’s hat red or blue”, you won’t know. Also, one false memory shared by one person can be understood by other people.

His hat is green.

[Kowani]

That’s basically Solomon cutting the baby in half.

Obviously. Solomon was right.

Bible re-enactments never were popular with the police...

[Page]

The evidence shows it's Berenstain and always has been, as weird as the whole Mandela Effect thing is, we must rationally accept it as being the result of human memory being flawed. But yes, I initially remembered it was Berenstein just like everyone else.

Berenstein sounds like a name. Berenstain sounds like what's left on Charmin toilet paper after the bear is done with it. Get it?

[Munkcestrian Republic]

The Mandela Effect is dumb as fuck.

Imagine thinking that, because your only knowledge of Madagascar is from a children's movie and therefore you think it's an uninhabited nature reserve, the existence of the Malagasy people means you've crossed over from an alternate timeline.

see also: no South Africans thinking Nelson Mandela died in prison.

[-Ocelot-]

It's a false memory americans have because their minds make the association with real names that end with -stein. The human brain is efficient like that.

I know this because I live in a non-English speaking country and I remember seeing a comic somewhere with the name "BERENSTAIN BEARS".

Here's a better Mandela effect example: Does pikachu have a yellow tail or a yellow/black tail?

[Bluelight-R006]

I’ve always remembered it as the Berenstain Bears.

People remembering Berenstein Bears is likely due to their minds feeling like they’re more suited with Berenstein than Berenstain, but doing this itself so the conscious mind doesn’t know.

I prefer to think the Mandela Effect is pure bull. I’d like to think that people were thinking of another person that died in 1991, not Nelson Mandela. And that Tank Man getting crushed is an imagination people thought too much that people started to believe it, whilst forgetting what really happened. It often happens to me, but I don’t attribute it to the Mandela Effect.