Apostrophe Catastrophes

You Give Moms a Bad Name

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 14:43:00 +0000

I was scrolling through Instragram last night when I spotted this catastrophic ad in my stories. Obviously, the "Mom's" is the biggest error, but there are at least three other mistakes in the ad if you look closely.

I guess someone has the infamous Mom Brain.

Walz Apostrophe Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 13:03:00 +0000

Apparently some of Tim Walz's relatives are voting for Donald Trump, but they can't even figure out how to correctly make their last name plural on a t-shirt!

I'm not going to take a political stand here, as much as I would like to, but I think we can all agree that proper punctuation is patriotic.

Vote for proper punctuation in November!

Thanks to Hunter for submitting this catastrophe.

Ginger Apostrophe Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 18:39:00 +0000

I noticed this intriguing product at the supermarket last night called Annas Ginger Swedish Thins. I looked at the back of the box, and it just mentions one woman named Anna, so the name is definitely a catastrophe.

I believe apostrophes are used in Sweden, so I'm not sure what's going on here. Also, doesn't it seem like it should be Anna's Swedish Ginger Thins?

Cheerios Apostrophe Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 14:06:00 +0000

We’ve been eating this Cheerios Oats ‘N Honey for a few months, and I just noticed that that it has an apostrophe catastrophe on the box. With only one apostrophe, it looks like it should read “oats in honey,” but the apostrophe isn’t even an apostrophe! It’s a single opening quotation mark.

Get with the program, General Mills.

Cigar Apostrophe Catstrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 14:39:00 +0000

I made the poor decision to go shopping at Market Basket last Sunday, and it was a mob scene! On the plus side, I spotted this apostrophe catastrophe on the door of the Market Basket liquor store, and it inspired me to update this blog for the first time in almost two years!

I'm still alive, y'all! Just crazy busy!

Halloween Movie Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:15:00 +0000

Halloween movies are scary enough, but this apostrophe catastrophe is downright terrifying.

MSNBC Apostrophe Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sun, 18 Apr 2021 02:01:00 +0000

I was falling asleep on the couch watching TV, per usual, when I spotted this apostrophe catastrophe on MSNBC.

Did they fire all their proofreaders?

Jayson Tatum Tattoo Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 13:42:00 +0000

I'm a huge Boston Celtics fan, and I love Jayson Tatum, but he should have had someone proofread his new tattoo.

Assuming there is one God and he possesses will, there should be an apostrophe on Jayson's back between the "D" and the "S."

Kelly Clarkson Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 03:05:00 +0000

I have a soft spot in my heart for Kelly Clarkson, but this ad for her talk show is a catastrophe.

This ad was showing all around the Boston Garden during tonight’s Celtics game and half of the ads had the apostrophe and half didn’t. The game was a catastrophe too!

Triple Cheap Apostrophe Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 26 Nov 2018 14:09:00 +0000

I hate the mall. Especially at this time of year. The crowds, the music, the conspicuous consumption... it all just makes me depressed. But I was meeting a friend for dinner at a mall near where I work the other day, and I was early, so I got sucked in to Primark , where I found some extremely cheap clothes. After I bought the clothes, I looked up Primark on Wikipedia and discovered that, not surprisingly, the company has been accused of poor labor practices. I felt even guiltier when I saw that the sign in front of the store featured three apostrophe catastrophes.

Next time, maybe I will try a charity shop.

Lucky Apostrophe Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 13:34:00 +0000

My husband and I stopped by an Irish pub in Nashua, NH, to check out the end of the Celtics game, and we sat right next to this blatant double apostrophe catastrophe.

The photo is a little hard to see, but it says, "Seven day's, Seven hour's."

Apparently, the bar itself was lucky because the Celtics won and moved on to the next round of the playoffs.

Slainte!

Ivy League Apostrophe Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sun, 11 Mar 2018 03:09:00 +0000

Breaking news: going to Harvard does not guarantee that one uses proper punctuation. I’m at a Harvard hockey game right now, and this is the ticket.

This gets an “F” from me.

Mystery Meat Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 13 Oct 2017 21:51:00 +0000

I was trying to decide whether to drive into Boston or take the T, but I figured I'd save myself from rush hour on 93 and stopped at the Quincy station. I was excited to see this blatant apostrophe catastrophe.

Ironic Apostrophe Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 15:36:00 +0000

Easton spotted this apostrophe catastrophe at a book store and wrote, "I thought this apostrophe catastrophe I found was particularly ironic, given that the publisher is selling a book on grammar and punctuation for schoolchildren."

I agree!

Thanks, Easton!

Beer Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 20:57:00 +0000

Alison sent in this poorly punctuated ad from a local newspaper almost five years ago, and it somehow got buried in my email.

I need a drink after seeing this ad.

Thanks, Alison!

Another Day, Another British Apostrophe Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 17:59:00 +0000

Before getting to today's apostrophe catastrophe, submitted by Clive in East Sussex, I would like to take a moment to mourn the loss of one of my punctuation heroes, Bill Walsh. If you haven't read Lapsing Into a Comma or The Elephants of Style, definitely check them out. R.I.P., Mr. Walsh.

As for this entry's apostrophe catastrophe, it looks like Monty started out fairly well, in that he correctly punctuated his name, but everything falls apart after that.

Thanks to Clive for sending this one in!

Cuban Cigars Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 16:43:00 +0000

In honor of Fidel Castro, I thought I would choose this catastrophe for today.

Craig spotted this sign in Mexico, so perhaps we can forgive the sign makers as English is not their first language. I, however, cannot be forgiven for waiting three years to post this! I am way behind on submissions to Apostrophe Catastrophes, but I will try to be better about posting them from now on.

Thanks, Craig!

Cursed Catastrophe in Salem

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 19:47:00 +0000

I've lived in Massachusetts for most of my life, and I've been to Salem several times, but I've never been there during Halloween season! Two of my best friends live there now and are moving away in a month or two, so this weekend seemed like the right time to finally venture in to the witch madness. Salem did not disappoint! Besides this catastrophic store, we also spotted a coffin in honor of Miss Cleo, a terrifying Nosferatu, and a Vietnamese restaurant filled with drag queens.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

I Had to Buy One Anyway

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sat, 06 Aug 2016 14:09:00 +0000

I went to a minor league baseball game last night, and it turned out to be Princess Night! They had various princesses wandering around the stadium, fireworks, and even an apostrophe catastrophe on the sign advertising tiaras. I made my fiancé buy me one anyway, and then he wore it for half the night. Par for the course.

This Might Give You Nightmares

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 17 May 2016 00:16:00 +0000

Wow, I am really really really behind on posting apostrophe catastrophes, but I just found this gem that Terry sent in from a record store in Stockholm.

There is just nothing OK about this. Swedish '80s boy bands are scary.

Thanks, Terry!

The Team Lets Go

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 11:19:00 +0000

The Celtics were looking pretty pitiful last night, and their season is now over. I don't think it was because of this poorly punctuated sign, but it certainly didn't help. Better luck next year, C's!

I Wanna Be Famous!

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 13:40:00 +0000

This morning, I heard on the radio that this new movie with Mark Wahlberg about the marathon bombing needs extras, so I decided to check out the website. My dad was an extra in Love Story in the '70s and still talks about the fact that he got a free lunch out of it.

Despite the apostrophe catastrophe on the website (see the left side of the photo below) and the fact that this might give me PTSD (I lived a couple of blocks away from the bombers at the time and also worked at a high school that was a couple of blocks away from where the second bomber was captured in a boat), I think I'm going to sign up!

This could be my chance to be famous for something other than pointing out punctuation errors.

Global Warming Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 17:51:00 +0000

Well, it was 70 degrees on Christmas, but I don't think any Bostonians are buying grills on New Year's Eve. And certainly not with this apostrophe catastrophe attached.

Happy New Year, y'all!

33.33% Correct

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 00:25:00 +0000

Sitting at Charlie's Kitchen in Harvard Square with my brother, Charlie, I noticed that the menu spells Charlie's three different ways, only one of which is correct.

So close to Harvard University, yet so far away...

I Envy Their Lack of Caring About Punctuation

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 22:16:00 +0000

Sometimes, caring about punctuation can be a burden, but this shop in the UK clearly doesn't have that problem.

It appears that they noticed their mistake and tried to fix it to no avail.

Thanks to Russell for submitting this apostrophe catastrophe.