Hooked on Phonics

[Geoff Withnell]

Young mother was teaching her five year old son how to sound out words from a picture book of animals, having the boy sound
out the written names of the animals under the pictures. The boy tuned to the next page.
"It's a frikkin elephant"
"Now Johnny, you know I don't like you using crude language. What's it say?"
"But Mom, it says it's a frikkin elephant!"
"Show me."

And there it was:
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African Elephant

[Father Bill]

The English language is no challenge...

... to those who don't try to use it!

[Southern Breeze]

I needed a good laugh!

[Old Hippie]

When my brother was a lad learning to read he made some classics. Our mum had a Hamilton-Beach mixer on the counter. It had a control that allowed the user to move the bowl back and forth under the beaters, labelled (logically enough), "Bowl Control."

He was in the sounding-out stage and read it as "Bowel Control."

The funniest part was that mum -- with a background in public health -- then felt compelled to explain bowel control to a 5-year-old.