Apostrophe Catastrophes

Parisian Sex Shop Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sun, 20 May 2012 23:08:00 +0000

Emily, who is teaching English in Paris, found this apostrophe catastrophe in a sex shop in Paris. She writes, "My friends were more amused by the fact that sperm fancy dress outfits even exist, but as you can see I was disgusted by the punctuation."

"Even super heroes can't punctuate," Emily points out.

Practice safe punctuation, please, readers.

Thanks, Emily!

The Bear Owns the Bar

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:28:00 +0000

TT the Bear's Place will always hold a special place in my heart because it's the first bar at which I ever got a drink. So, I know its name is supposed to have an apostrophe in it. Apparently, Harpoon Brewery is not aware of this.

Thanks to my friend Alaina for taking this photo.

Wacky Worm Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:16:00 +0000

Leah sent me this apostrophe catastrophe that her brother found at a carnival in Revere, Mass.

Even without the catastrophe, what the heck is a "wacky worm photo"? The picture is weirding me out.

Thanks, Leah!

Rajon Rondo Playing for a Jewish Softball Team Apostrophe Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 11 May 2012 19:36:00 +0000

This photo has been published elsewhere, but nonetheless, it may be my favorite apostrophe catastrophe of all time. At least until someone sends me one involving Kevin Garnett.

Rondo playing for a Jewish softball team?! With an apostrophe catastrophe on his t-shirt?! This just made my week. And that's saying a lot because the Celtics won last night and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Woo!

Thanks to Bill for bringing this photo to my attention. And Go Celtics!

Double-Apostrophe Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:27:00 +0000

Jaclyn sent me this photo from a convenience store that recently changed from a White Hen Pantry.

Perhaps Jia couldn't decide which direction an apostrophe should face (as opposed to as single quote mark), so she decided to put both.

Thanks, Jaclyn!

Tiara Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Jillian sent me this picture from a store in upstate New York.

It looks like a cute idea for a business, but sadly, it's marred by the apostrophe catastrophe in the word tiaras.

Thanks, Jillian!

But I Did Not Mock the Deputy

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:20:00 +0000

Jon sent this apostrophe catastrophe from a St. Patrick's Day parade.

Perhaps this sign is more of a missing-word catastrophe. Should it be "sheriff's office"?

Thanks, Jon!

Iron-Clad Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:39:00 +0000

After a recent trip to Calgary, Chim sent me four catastrophes. Here's another it's vs. its error, and this one is permanently embossed on a plaque.

Thanks, Chim!

Double Apostrophe Catastrophe from a Library

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:32:00 +0000

My friend Natalie was horrified to find this double apostrophe catastrophe at the Medford Public Library.

Some style guides recommend using an apostrophe in abbreviations such as DVD, but since the videos has a catastrophe in it, I'm going to assume that DVD's is a mistake too.

Thanks, Natalie!

Charity Poster Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:10:00 +0000

This event seems like a great cause, but the top line of this poster (kid's cancer buzz-off) implies that the charity is for only one kid.

Sadly, we know that there are many kids with cancer, so this poster is grammatically incorrect.

Shout-out to Market Basket for sponsoring this event, though. Seriously, you guys rock!

It Is What It Is

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:41:00 +0000

My cousin sent me this apostrophe catastrophe from the parking lot of a Sheraton in Warwick, Rhode Island.

He says he would expect to see this kind of sloppy punctuation at a Super 8 but not a Sheraton.

I have been noticing a lot of confusion between its and it's lately. I think a lot of people think that they should include an apostrophe to show possession, but its is already a possessive pronoun.

Thanks, Joe!

Crazy Bad Punctuation

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:27:00 +0000

This food stand from a craft show in Vermont makes the same mistake three times.

I guess they are adamant that fry's is the plural of fry. With French fries on nearly every menu in America, I don't understand how anyone could screw up its spelling.

Thanks to Hannah for sending in this triple catastrophe!

Catastrophe on the Iditarod Trail

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:38:00 +0000

An anonymous reader sent me this catastrophic sign from the Idatarod Trail.

"It's the last great race," she writes, "but unfortunately, not the last great apostrophe catastrophe."

Thanks, Anonymous!

Code Blue for this 'Hosprital' Sign

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:26:00 +0000

Amusing articles in the Sun and the Daily Mail report that St. Luke's Hospital in England made two critical mistakes on its new sign.

Here's the image from the Daily Mail:

"Hospital" is misspelled the second time, and the name of the facility needs an apostrophe. I'm not sure why "No" is capitalized in the last sentence and why there is no period at the end either.

I know the NHS is perpetually hurting for money, but they could have at least sprung for a proofreader. This sign is in need of emergency care.

Coffee Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:33:00 +0000

I am definitely a coffee addict, but I'd have to boycott this product, which Axelat0r spotted at a gas station, because it confuses its with it's in the description.

Its is a pronoun that shows ownership; it's means "it is."

Axelat0r originally posted this on Fuse, so check it out there.

Thanks, Axelat0r!

Patriotic Pizza Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:47:00 +0000

It's a holiday here in Boston, so I thought I'd post a local apostrophe catastrophe. Joel from Melrose, Mass., submitted this catastrophe a few weeks ago, but it seemed appropriate for today. He says the pizza at Dado's was good despite the apostrophe/comma catastrophe on their menu.

Happy Patriots' Day, everyone! That's a plural possessive because there were many patriots.I bet that even more pizza gets sold as people carb-load before the marathon and refuel after.

Thanks, Joel!

This is sad, but...

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:42:00 +0000

Smoochiefrog sent me this catastrophe-laden sign from an animal shelter.

I hope the cats will forgive their owner's punctuation errors and come home soon.

Thanks, SF!

Would You Trust These People with a Needle?

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Meg spotted this apostrophe catastrophe on the sign of a tattoo parlor in Torrington, Connecticut.

It's scary to think about what mistakes they might make on your body. And what is the weird symbol above the apostrophe?

Thanks, Meg!

Gardening Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:48:00 +0000

Andrew found this double apostrophe catastrophe on the front page of his local newspaper, the Selwyn Times, which covers a semi-rural area near Christchurch, New Zealand.

How does a business association not employ a proofreader?

Thanks, Andrew!

The Ol' Ball and Chain

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:23:00 +0000

Sherry sent me this badly punctuated shirt that she found at the Wireless Catalog.

Even without the apostrophe catastrophe, the message of this shirt annoys and depresses me. It's 2012! Equality and freedom, people!

Thanks, Sherry!

You Are Confused

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 20:02:00 +0000

Julie was a bit perplexed by the random apostrophe placement in this ad.

Maybe they couldn't decide whether the word should be you're or your, so they chose something halfway in between that would be wrong no matter what. And that font is downright hideous.

Thanks, Julie!

Coffee Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 20:49:00 +0000

What a shame that this badly punctuated sign is ruining a lovely English estate.

Thanks to Simon for sending this double catastrophe from across the pond.

Feminist Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:08:00 +0000

For those of you who didn't go to Wesleyan, womyn is an alternative spelling for woman that doesn't have a "man" in it. ("Hey-hey, ho-ho, this penis party's got to go!") Since women is plural, I would have to say that womyn is plural, too. Therefore, womyns is not a word, and this is an apostrophe catastrophe.

Thanks to my friend Dinny for sending me this catastrophe from Vancouver!

Still Crazy After All These Years

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 02:18:00 +0000

The person who made this wall hanging may be old, but he or she is certainly not wise.

Someone did think I was a student the other day when I was at my high school, so maybe I'm just crazy...

Thanks to Jean-Marie for posting this to the Apostrophe Catastrophes Facebook group.

Avoiding a Permanent Mistake and Other Public-Service Announcements

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:27:00 +0000

As an editor, my mission in life is to avoid mistakes in print. Therefore, I would never get a tattoo. When I'm 65, I'd rather be spending my hard-earned 401k dollars on vacations, not painful laser surgery. But if for some insane reason, I do decide to permanently mark my body, I will certainly not get it done at this store in the Arsenal Mall in Watertown.

Even looking beyond the blatant apostrophe catastrophe, does that place look like it would be sanitary? Contracting hepatitis would be an even bigger catastrophe.

On a positive note, I discovered that the Old Navy in the Arsenal Mall is now an outlet, and bargains abound. I got three shirts, two pajama bottoms, and a pair of flip-flops for $40 yesterday. Old Navy clothing is kind of like the opposite of a tattoo, and I love it. It'll probably disintegrate before it goes out of style.