2012-05-31
Original: 2012-05-31 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Title banner: "Teach the Controversy"
Panel 1
Man: A lot of people believe in evolution. Others believe we couldn't just come from random chance. Rather than pick a side, I'm going to "teach the controversy."
Panel 2
Woman: That's not how "controversy" is spelled.
Panel 3
Man: Yes it is.
Panel 4
Man: It's spelled C-O-N-N-T-R-U-H-V-E-R-S-E-Y.
Panel 5
Woman: The dictionary says otherwise.
Panel 6
Man: Why would an "O" make an "UH" sound? If dictionary people are so smart, how come they haven't noticed?
Panel 7
Woman: I don't-
Man: Plus, me and some others got together and decided it's properly spelled C-O-N-N-T-R-U-H-V-E-R-S-E-Y, so there's a consensus right there.
Panel 8
Woman: Fine. Everyone, the people who write the dictionary spell it C-O-N-T-R-O-V-E-R-S-Y and Bobby and his "consensus" spell it C-O-N-N-T-R-U-H-V-E-R-S-E-Y.
Panel 9
Man (Bobby): Anyway, now I'm going to "teach the"-
Woman: It's pronounced "tee-ach."
Panel 10 (LATER)
Woman: How'd it go?
Man: The hicker me out of class. Here's your three dollars.
Votey:
Handwritten text reading: "TEACH THE CONNTRUHVERSEY ABOUT HOW TO SPELL CONNTRUHVERSEY"
Panel 1
Man: A lot of people believe in evolution. Others believe we couldn't just come from random chance. Rather than pick a side, I'm going to "teach the controversy."
Panel 2
Woman: That's not how "controversy" is spelled.
Panel 3
Man: Yes it is.
Panel 4
Man: It's spelled C-O-N-N-T-R-U-H-V-E-R-S-E-Y.
Panel 5
Woman: The dictionary says otherwise.
Panel 6
Man: Why would an "O" make an "UH" sound? If dictionary people are so smart, how come they haven't noticed?
Panel 7
Woman: I don't-
Man: Plus, me and some others got together and decided it's properly spelled C-O-N-N-T-R-U-H-V-E-R-S-E-Y, so there's a consensus right there.
Panel 8
Woman: Fine. Everyone, the people who write the dictionary spell it C-O-N-T-R-O-V-E-R-S-Y and Bobby and his "consensus" spell it C-O-N-N-T-R-U-H-V-E-R-S-E-Y.
Panel 9
Man (Bobby): Anyway, now I'm going to "teach the"-
Woman: It's pronounced "tee-ach."
Panel 10 (LATER)
Woman: How'd it go?
Man: The hicker me out of class. Here's your three dollars.
Votey:
Handwritten text reading: "TEACH THE CONNTRUHVERSEY ABOUT HOW TO SPELL CONNTRUHVERSEY"
Alt text
A black-background SMBC comic titled "Teach the Controversy." A man explains that rather than pick a side on evolution versus creationism, he is going to "teach the controversy." A woman points out that's not how "controversy" is spelled. He insists it is, spelling it C-O-N-N-T-R-U-H-V-E-R-S-E-Y. She says the dictionary disagrees. He retorts that if dictionary people are so smart, why would an "O" make an "UH" sound, and that he and some friends reached a "consensus" on his spelling, so the controversy is real. Exasperated, the woman lays out both spellings as if presenting two equal sides. As he starts to say he'll "teach the," she snipes that it's pronounced "tee-ach." In the final panel, labeled LATER, she asks how it went; he says they kicked him out of class and hands back three dollars. The joke parodies "teach the controversy" rhetoric by applying it to objectively settled spelling. Votey: a hand-lettered sign reading "TEACH THE CONNTRUHVERSEY ABOUT HOW TO SPELL CONNTRUHVERSEY."
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.