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Tag Archives: Mistakes

Why we need editors, part three: bad government

27 Friday Jan 2017

Posted by davidleeseidman in California, Comedy, Editing, English, Fun, Government, Los Angeles, Taxes

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Editing, Errors, Funny, Government, Mistakes

As I mentioned in part one and part two of this series, I love errors. As an editor, it’s my job to find them, and I’ve had a merry time so far picking on my colleagues in journalism and advertising.

Now, let’s aim the lens at our friends in public service.

(From http://www.adrants.com/2006/02/adrants-isnt-the-only-place-to-find.php)

As the top line says, it’s your tax dallors at work. Los Angeles County must be very frugal with its citizens’ money; it won’t even pony up enough for a dictionary.

The next one comes from a university town: Berkeley, California – or as a Berkeley street sign puts it:

1024x1024

(From http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Berkeley-Bad-typo-in-a-street-sign-3293805.php)

The next one is so blatant that you’d swear it’s fake – but it’s absolutely real.

(From http://carhumor.net/sotp/#)

The people who made the mistake should have studied harder in that place where people go to learn spelling. You know the place . . .

shcool6

(From https://scottdwelch-mainstreetone.com/tag/shcool/)

SOTP and SHCOOL are only paint, so they’re easy to fix. But some errors get embedded in more permanent media. San Francisco presses its street names into concrete.

Unfortunately, the city doesn’t always get its own streets right.

4308316284_214dc9b2b1_m.jpg 4430097949_7a8f605c02_m.jpg

(From http://www.flickr.com/photos/throgers/)

Not all errors get enshrined on the streets. Down in Chile, the officials of the national mint created a new coin – but never noticed that the coin misspelled the country’s name.

chile

(From http://lunaticg.blogspot.com/2010/02/looking-for-chiie-mint-not-chile-mint.html)

 

Top officials at Chile’s (or Chiie’s) mint lost their jobs over that one.

And that, boys and girls, is why we all need editors.

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Why we need editors, part two: badvertising

27 Friday Jan 2017

Posted by davidleeseidman in Advertising, Comedy, Design, Editing, English, Fun, Pop culture, Publishing, writing

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Advertising, Editing, Errors, Funny, Mistakes

Continuing our series on the mistakes that require an act of God or a sharp-eyed editors to prevent: Advertising and marketing have their own trips, falls and spills.

The fleece garments in the ad below are so pleasing to touch and feel that one of the ad’s models needs more than two hands.

targetadmistake

(From http://target-addict.blogspot.com/2012_04_01_archive.html)

For some reason, ads run into a lot of misspellings. Oklahoma State University “offers the highest excellence” in . . . well, take a look.

osu-ad

(From http://www.thelostogle.com/2008/10/19/osu-is-smairt/)

Of all the words for a school to mess up . . .

Some ad companies screw up even when advertising themselves. The Grey Group, a movie-marketing firm, flew this banner over the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where thousands of its current and potential clients saw:

greycannes

(From http://copyranter.blogspot.com/2011/06/ad-agency-flies-misspelled-beach-banner.html)

Grey’s slogan is “Famously effective.” This mistake was so blatant that some observers wondered if Grey made it on purpose just to get attention.

Then there’s this little number from a prominent department store.

dillards

(From http://www.proofreadinglondon.com/blog/seven-christmas-proofreading-blunders)

By now, you’ve sharpened your eyes to spot these goodies – so let’s play Find the Typo! Take a look and see if you can find the wild one in this box cover.

stratford-hall

(From http://www.proofreadinglondon.com/blog/seven-christmas-proofreading-blunders)

Ready yet?

Check out the second line from the bottom, about “always upholding the highest standards for every detal.” Man, those pesky detals . . . .

Lest you think that I’m picking on the private sector, fear not. The next and final episode of our little adventure focuses on the messes that come from the faithful public servants in government.

Why we need editors, part one: bad news

27 Friday Jan 2017

Posted by davidleeseidman in Comedy, Editing, English, Fun, Hillary Clinton, Journalism, Newspapers, Publishing, Words, writing

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Editing, Errors, Funny, Mistakes, News

I love mistakes.

As an editor, it’s my job to find mistakes and fix them. When I’m checking copy and I nail a monster so awful that letting it out in public would embarrass my company, I feel that I’ve justified my salary. Plus, seeing someone’s juicy error gives me the pleasure of knowing that I’m not the only one who screws up from time to time.

In fact, just about everyone collapses on the job.

I hate to admit it, but my fellow editors make mistakes. Take this example from the New Orleans Times-Picayune shows. It starts sensibly, but then it goes off the rails.

jets-patriots-times-picayune-typo

(From http://www.sportressofblogitude.com/2011/01/18/newspaper-jets-patriots-jumphead-goes-herey-barllskdjf-fkdasd-fg-asdf/)

Even when all words in a headline are correct, the meaning can get a little weird, as demonstrated by this headline from the Newark Star-Ledger.

2520334626_22fd87bd1d

(From http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2059/2520334626_22fd87bd1d.jpg?v=0)

Don’t cops have enough danger in their jobs without people paying for them to die? (The headline actually covers a program that offers money to anyone who turns in a cop shooter.)

Even the well-respected New York Times can screw up. Note the difference between the photo and the caption.

1638

(From http://www.gokunming.com/en/blog/item/1411/kunming_news_roundup)

Who knew that Secretary of State Clinton was an angel?

Of course, that headline at least talks about its story’s content. This next one, though…

think-of-a-headline-56-pt-bold-headline-newspaper-fail

(From http://dailypicksandflicks.com/2012/11/22/daily-picdump-647/think-of-a-headline-56-pt-bold-headline-newspaper-fail/)

Now, here’s a double winner. The headline below should be trumpeting the presentation of a championship plaque. Instead:

sturgis_journal_typo

(From http://www.giftbasketsfrommichigan.com/blog/just-ramblin/horribly-hilarious-typo-in-sturgis-journal/)

Some papers can’t even get their own names right, like this one from Lebanon, New Hampshire:

valley220_780390f

(From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2449342/Newspaper-misspells-name-on-front-page.html)

But if you think newspapers are bad, wait until you see some mistakes in advertising — which part two of this series will reveal next.

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