I hate bad spelling.

In the evolution of the English language there are words for which the spelling has changed many times over the years, and at one time writing materials were to costly and hard to come by that the rules of spelling conformed to the page rather than the other way around. So in order to make the words completely fill up a page, if the correct spelling was "Pensylvania" as we see it on the Liberty Bell, they might add an "n" to lengthen the word. The idea was that they didn't want unnecessary blank spaces, as that would be viewed as untidy and wasteful. Standardized spelling was not much of an issue until 1876 when an International Convention for the Amendment of English Orthography was cooked up in anticipation, I believe, of the turn of the century. Here is a link to opinion on the subject that has been, wrongly I believe, attributed to Mark Twain: http://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/spell.htm This piece interests me because although it may not be the first so-called Urban Legend sprung on the people, it is the earliest one of which I am presently aware. Enjoy!

I also hate bad spelling but this is not an an example of bad spelling this was just the choice in these times. On the Liberty Bell, Pennsylvania is misspelled “Pensylvania.” This spelling was one of several acceptable spellings of the name at that time. http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/liberty/01_history_04.jsp I have attached a map of those times showing that is how Pennsylvania was spelled.

nope never been to the state of Pennsylvania, and I don't like bad spelling either but Canadian spelling is still different from American, some Canadians will use American English, I am a purest and I use British English spellings as the English language originated in Britain e.g. neighbour, not neighbor

Are you serious? That is so weird that it is almost comical. Well, I am sure that someone has brought it to someone's attention before. It would really be sad if you were the first to notice.

IS IT REALLY???? I have never seen it in person. That's crazy..... how could they have mispelled it? Wasn't it a gift from another country? Maybe the other country just didn't know the correct spelling. I can't believe this is the first I have ever heard of this.

Could it be that its the way it was spelled back then? With so many things changing including one's last name with one or more letters added that maybe Pennsylvania was spelled differently. It's just a guess.

As I am Scottish pal I would never have noticed , I must admit I need to use a spell check quite often myself , I always seem to be in a hurry to get things done nowadays xx

Huh?! I had no idea that it was misspelled on the Liberty Bell. Shows you I must be blind lol...I have actually visited the Liberty Bell many years ago when I was in Junior High. (I can't believe that I would have totally missed that!) I love history, and when I visit a historical place like that and see the things from the past, I am so humbled by our forefathers and how they built this country. My one Aunt and Uncle used to take us on a weeks trip here and there, and we visited a lot of historical places, monuments and stuff. To me, that was the turning point from how I viewed history. Up until then I found history boring and uninteresting, visiting and seeing in person made all the difference, and brought history alive for me.

Oh my goodness, no, I did not realize that Pennsylvania is misspelled on the Liberty Bell. Seems if one was going to go to the trouble of making such an important piece that the spelling of all words would be researched?! I try my best to spell correctly, but sometimes on sites such as this I get a little lax. I certainly check spelling on important emails, lectures, and other business-type communication. Something I can't stand is the 'text-speak' spelling. I understand its reasoning but it annoys me greatly.

Wow, I didn't know that, and of course I have never seen it in person. I guess mistakes can be made, of course, but still.... Wow!!!!

You make the mistake of assuming that it is misspelled. The bell was cast over 200 years ago and spellings for many things and places have changed in that "tyme". There are also differences, even today, in how words are spelled in British and American English, and even greater differences in how words are used.