Yanny or Laurel again: Did Sesame Street use the F word?

Grover from Sesame Street is known for a lot of things, but he and the children's television show are certainly not known for using expletives.

That could change - together with your cherished childhood memories - depending on what your ears decide to hear in a clip circulating online.

In a tweet recently, one Richard Clarke gave birth to his own Yanny-or-Laurel debate, sharing a video of Grover discussing using a mobile phone's camera.

[embed]https://twitter.com/clarkiephoto/status/1068763071428972544[/embed]

Did you hear "Yes, yes, that's a f***ing excellent idea"?

Shocked? Amused?

Now, what if we told you the blue muppet said "Yes, yes, that sounds like an excellent idea"?

Listen again.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dQAlywMvCQ[/embed]

Many people have commented that they were able to hear both versions, but with the view that one hears first the version which one is more familiar with. In other words, foul-mouthed folks get the F-bomb.

Some pointed out that the phenomenon is a mere coincidence of phrases that sound like each other and is not similar in nature to the Yanny-or-Laurel auditory illusion that went viral.

In May, a recording got the world listening and arguing over whether one hears the name Yanny or Laurel. Later verified by experts to contain both words, it made practically everyone hear only either word, not both.

[embed]https://twitter.com/CloeCouture/status/996218489831473152[/embed]

We must admit we are not totally surprised it is Grover who is caught in this controversy.

What do you think? What did you hear?

tanthiampeng@asiaone.com