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Even more off topic: If you are amused by the above, you'll love: http://www.spellingsociety.org/news/media/poems.php

The only reason at all of english's popularity, is because USA is the only super-potency nowadays. Spanish was also THE language to learn in previous times. English and Chinese are awful languages to learn, by the way. Too many inconsistencies, too much time lost learning it, and even at advance age you still find texts that you are not sure if you are reading it right. 11 vowel sounds represented with 5 letters? Ugly.

If a "common language" had to be chosen by wisdom (instead of politics) we all would be talking in spanish or italiano. Learning english takes 7 years, and italiano a few months, take a read at this paper http://www.spellingsociety.org/aboutsss/leaflets/whyenglish.pdf from the english spelling society.

English is in a desperate need of a spelling reform, as other languages have done. Now, I concur that it would be better to have less languages, for example getting rid of all those ones created by politics at my country with the sole purpose of making easier the scission when the proper time arrives.

You're both right. However, Information Technology Year was also 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2006.

Why isn't 'drought' spelled just like 'route',
or 'doubt' or 'pout' or 'sauerkraut'?

This is a recent adaptation of the 1946 article "Meihem in ce Klasrum" by Dolton Edwards published in Astounding Science Fiction (and, on the internet, usually incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain, like a great many other humorous things whose origin most people are uncertain of).

See http://www.spellingsociety.org/news/media/spoofs.p hp#meihem for some historical versions.

• A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling by "Mark Twain"
  
  For example, in Year 1 that useless letter "c" would be dropped to be replased either by "k" or "s," and likewise "x" would no longer be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which "c" would be retained would be the "ch" formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 might reform "w" spelling, so that "which" and "one" would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish "y" replasing it with "i" and Iear 4 might fiks the "g / j" anomali wonse and for all.
  
  Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants. Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez "c," "y," and "x" - bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez - tu riplais "ch," "sh," and "th" rispektivli.
  
  Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld.
  

Cut Spelng Society

Cut Spelling could be used:

colr, neibr, glamr, actr, doctr, flavor, savor, savior, centr, sombr.

Unluckily it's flavor and not flavr.