“Aoccrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the Itteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt ting is taht the frist and Isat Itteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toat mses and you can sitil raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.”
Context
The idea originates from Graham Rawlinson’s 1976 PhD thesis at Nottingham University, which explored how scrambling middle letters affects reading. It works best for short words with context, adjacent swaps, and preserved sounds, but reading slows by about 11% and fails for complex jumbles. The meme viralized around 2003.