Official Explanation
Before concluding a reality switch occurred or that the Berenstain family decided to switch out their last name to screw with everyone I researched the history of their name and a possible explanation from the family themselves.
According the The Berenstain Bears WordPress site:
People are often curious about the spelling of “Berenstain,” a phenomenon that’s much older than the Bears themselves. As Stan Berenstain recalled in Down a Sunny Dirty Road, the 2002 autobiography he co-wrote with wife Jan, even his fourth grade teacher had questions:
“On the very first morning, when [Miss McKinney] called the roll, she took exception to my name. She said there was no such
name as Berenstain. The name, as everyone knew, was Bernstein—and that was what my name would be, at least in her room. When I raised my hand and protested that Berenstain had always been my name, she silenced me with an icy stare and said she didn’t approve of people who changed their names” (26).
So is it as simple as an unusual last name tricking thousands of people in believing something that isn't true? Some agree this is the case although many others feel very strongly that their memories of Berenstein are correct.
According the The Berenstain Bears WordPress site:
People are often curious about the spelling of “Berenstain,” a phenomenon that’s much older than the Bears themselves. As Stan Berenstain recalled in Down a Sunny Dirty Road, the 2002 autobiography he co-wrote with wife Jan, even his fourth grade teacher had questions:
“On the very first morning, when [Miss McKinney] called the roll, she took exception to my name. She said there was no such
name as Berenstain. The name, as everyone knew, was Bernstein—and that was what my name would be, at least in her room. When I raised my hand and protested that Berenstain had always been my name, she silenced me with an icy stare and said she didn’t approve of people who changed their names” (26).
So is it as simple as an unusual last name tricking thousands of people in believing something that isn't true? Some agree this is the case although many others feel very strongly that their memories of Berenstein are correct.
