It's happened to all of us. You go to Starbucks, give your name, and end up with something totally absurd.
Like, what is this?
WTF?
Most assume that the employees just can't spell, or are messing with us. However, the self-described "creative weirdos" at YouTube channel Super Deluxe have a conspiracy theory that actually makes a lot of sense.
View this video on YouTube
They speculate that the whole thing is a scheme by Starbucks to get free advertising on social media.
They call it the "frothy cycle of control:"
Think about it,. Starbucks is the largest coffee chain in the world. Meaning that each year, millions of people all around the globe have their names misspelled on cups of Starbucks coffee. They take pictures of their butchered names and post them on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, wherever. And what do all these pictures have in common? Two things, a misspelled name, and that familiar green Siren, staring at you with her all-knowing gaze. That's right sheeple, you've been giving Starbucks free advertising for years.
Super Deluxe concludes the video by saying they of course don't know if the theory is true...but what if it is?
In fact, this theory has been peddled before.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan, one unnamed assistant manager told the magazine they did in fact misspell names to promote the coffee chain.
"I don't know if everyone does it, but when I asked my manager if she does, she admitted most Starbucks employees use it as a marketing tool, she said. Most people aren't going to post a photo to social media of a cup with their name spelled right. I just use it as a way to be funny, but now I get why people use it as a way to promote the business."
Of course, another theory, floated in a viral parody video a few years ago, is that Starbucks employees are just doing it to mess with their customers.
A Starbucks spokesman told BuzzFeed News that the conspiracy theory is incorrect.
"We've never asked or directed any of our partners to misspell names of our customers for any reason," he said.