Perplexing. Truly perplexing.
I've never understood why people pronounce this word "asterIKS" or "asterIK." But what I find absolutely mysterious is the 1.36% of the participants who chose "Other" as their answer in this survey.
Dialect Survey Results
If you like words, the rest of the site will probably make you laugh and cry more than an Amy Tan novel. (via the delightful languagehat.com)