Oops!

How did the Seventh Commandment cost these printers $30,000?

Image: Florian Klauer

Blunders are part of life. As human beings, we can all make mistakes, especially when writing or typing. A simple slip of the fingers on the keyboard might be nothing more than a joke among friends, but throughout history, there have been some typos that meant much more than that, from millions of dollars lost to huge controversies and scandals. If you want to know which mistakes could have led to such consequences, here are 10 of the most notorious typos in history!

Image: Yifu Wu

The title of this entry is not a new or unknown word but a typo in the inscriptions of one of the most important monuments of our country.

We're talking about none other than the Lincoln Memorial, the landmark honoring our 16th president in Washington, D.C. Built between 1914 and 1922, the memorial has part of President Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address -delivered on March 4, 1865- inscribed on its north interior wall. But a mistake occurred during the engraving: the word "future" was carved as "euture."

The extra line that turned that F into an E was filled in and fixed. However, if you get close enough, you can still see traces of that original E on the monument wall.

Image: Shutter Speed

Have you ever read the word "dord"? Do you know what it means? Probably not, and it's not because your vocabulary is lacking but because no one knows!

"Dord" is a fake or ghost word that appeared in the 1934 international edition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. One of the editors mistakenly interpreted a note that said "D or d." The note indicated that "D" or "d" should be used as abbreviations in certain parts of the dictionary, but the editor read that note as a whole word: Dord.

The term appeared in the dictionary for several years until another editor noticed the error and removed it.

Image: Brett Jordan

Probably the most famous website in the world, Google got its iconic name due to a typo.

When Larry Page and Sergey Brin were creating the company, they chose the word "googol" as the name for their search engine. But what does it mean? "Googol" is the mathematical term for the number 10 raised to the power of 100.

However, when they first typed it in to register the domain, they accidentally entered "Google." Luckily, they loved the typo and decided to keep it; the rest is history!

Image: Aaron Burden

What if we told you that there's a Bible that reads, "You shall commit adultery." Believe it or not, in 1631, a Bible was published in London that incorrectly listed that phrase as the Seventh Commandment. Of course, that wasn't an actual religious principle but an accidental omission of the word "not."

That Bible caused a scandal in Europe, receiving nicknames such as "the wicked Bible," "the adulterers' Bible," and "the sinners' Bible." Because it was so controversial, the British government ordered all copies to be destroyed, which is why only a few exist today. In addition, the printers were fined 300 pounds, about 30,000 dollars in today's money.

Image: David Torres

If it hadn't been for an error in a spacecraft's guidance system, perhaps we would know more about Venus, the hottest planet in our Solar System.

The mistake we're talking about was a missed hyphen in the spacecraft's software code. Although this may not seem like a big deal, the consequence of that typo was huge: The 1962 Mariner 1 mission, which was launched with the intention of orbiting Venus, lost contact with Earth shortly after launch!

Surprisingly, a simple missed hyphen caused an entire mission to fail.

Image: Quino Al

NASA may have lost thousands of dollars due to their mistake, but there had been others who got exactly the opposite.

In the 1980s, a woman earned 10,000 dollars due to a typo! It was the owner of a travel agency who chose to promote her business in the Yellow Pages, but something went wrong. The ad came out with a misspelled word: instead of promoting the agency's "exotic trips," it advertised "erotic trips."

The woman decided to sue the Yellow Pages publisher for the damages her company received, and she won!

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Remember Popeye the Sailor? He had a secret to super strength: spinach! Today, we know that spinach is much like other green leafy vegetables, but for years, it was believed to have extraordinary qualities. And it was all because of a typo!

In the 19th century, a German chemist was nutritionally analyzing spinach. But when it came time to write down the results, he made a mistake. He meant to write that spinach contains 3.5 milligrams of iron per 100 grams. Instead, he accidentally wrote that it contains 35 milligrams! Later, the myth gained even more strength thanks to Popeye's amusing adventures.

Image: Maurice DT

As we've seen in this article, prestigious institutions can also make mistakes sometimes. That was the case with the National Hockey League in 1972.

The Stanley Cup is one of the oldest trophies in the NHL, characterized by something special: it's engraved with the names of the players, coaches, and owners of all the winning teams. However, the trophy is also known for having several typos.

When the Boston Bruins won the Cup in 1972, they didn't expect what would happen next. Their team name was misspelled on the silver cup, which curiously read "BQSTQN BRUINS"!

Image: Esther Ní Dhonnacha

We all have a deep appreciation for our Constitution, the document that defined the ideas and principles that formed our nation. But even in a paper as important as this one, you can find some peculiar details.

In the original US Constitution, you can read the word "Pensylvania." As you can see, the state's name is missing an N. According to the National Archives official website, the author of this detail was none other than Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. From the 18th century on, the most commonly accepted spelling was and still is "Pennsylvania," making the word in the document a grammatical error according to today's standards.

However, when the Constitution was drafted, it wasn't a typo, as "Pensylvania" was actually an accepted spelling back then.

Image: Dan Mall

The US Constitution is not the only site where Pennsylvania's name is spelled differently: the iconic Liberty Bell bears a similar "typo."

The great bell of more than 2,000 pounds is inscribed with a Bible verse and the words, "By Order of the Assembly of the Province of Pensylvania for the State House in Philada." The word "Pensylvania" is typed just like in the Constitution. As you know, the name of the state wasn't standardized at that time, so there were also other accepted ways, including the less frequent "Pennsilvania."

If you visit the Liberty Bell at the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, you can still read the word as it was written then.

10 weird historical events that no one has been able to explain (yet)

Image: Walters Art Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Who doesn't like a good mystery? And if the mystery isn’t a work of fiction but the result of a true story, even better! The great unsolved enigmas of history are absolutely fascinating. Some have been solved over time, but there are still many old secrets for which neither scientists nor historians have found an explanation—yet. Time-travel with us as we uncover 10 of the biggest historical mysteries that will probably never be cracked!

Image: Tanner, Henry S., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Bermeja Island is mentioned in navigation texts written by European travelers and appears in cartography from the 16th to 19th centuries. Old maps place it off the north coast of the Yucatán Peninsula; however, multiple searches over the years have yielded no concrete evidence of its existence.

So, what happened to Isla Bermeja? Was it a cartographic error? Did it sink due to a tidal wave? Because of its geopolitical significance, some have even suggested that it was blown up by the CIA! A 2009 study by the Autonomous University of Mexico concluded that Isla Bermeja does not exist today, nor were any traces found at its supposed coordinates. Yet, it will forever remain a mystery that will surely keep many entertained.

Image: Credit: Big Ear Radio Observatory and North American AstroPhysical Observatory (NAAPO)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1977, Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope, used in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, detected a signal now known as the Wow! signal. While reviewing the data, astronomer Jerry R. Ehman noticed a sequence represented as "6EQUJ5." Baffled by the anomaly, he circled it and wrote "Wow!" in the margins.

The signal lasted 72 seconds and, unfortunately, has never been repeated. To this day, no one can fully explain the phenomenon, although some suggest it may have come from a man-made source. Still, the Wow! signal remains one of the strongest candidates for potential extraterrestrial contact ever detected.

Image: Edward S. Curtis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

How is it possible for an entire village to vanish without a trace? Believe it or not, this is said to have happened nearly a century ago. According to lore, a small Inuit village in Canada was well known among fur trappers who visited regularly to trade. But in 1930, something very strange supposedly occurred.

A hunter named Joe Labelle claimed he visited the village one day and couldn’t find a single person. Reports said there were guns and food left behind, and even claims that the graves in the cemetery were empty. A thorough investigation, however, found no conclusive evidence of what happened to the villagers. Some witnesses from nearby towns even reported seeing a huge green light. Theories ranged from mass migration to extraterrestrial abductions. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has since dismissed the case as an urban legend. Some still believe the story to be true.

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We know thousands of shipwreck stories, but this one is quite unique. The MV Joyita, designed to be nearly unsinkable, was found adrift in the South Pacific, practically unharmed, but the crew had disappeared completely.

In October 1955, the American merchant vessel left the port of Apia in Samoa with 16 crew members and 9 passengers bound for the Tokelau Islands. After days without news, a rescue mission was launched. Five weeks later, the Joyita was spotted more than 600 miles west of its intended route. The vessel was partially submerged, and there was no sign of the passengers or crew. Four tons of cargo and all three life rafts were missing. They were never seen again.

Image: Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Do you know where one of the best-preserved mummies was found? Hint: not in Egypt. Xin Zhui, the Marquise of Dai during the Western Han Dynasty in China, was discovered in her tomb at Mawangdui 2,000 years after her death, along with hundreds of valuable documents and artifacts.

What makes this mummy so extraordinary is how well-preserved her body is. Her organs and veins remain intact, and she still has hair and even eyelashes. Scientists analyzed the fluid present in the coffin and discovered it was acidic and contained salt and magnesium. They believe this mysterious liquid may have been responsible for preserving Xin Zhui so well. What they don’t know is whether it was intentionally poured into the coffin or came from the body itself.

Image: Yoichi Okamoto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The United States has its fair share of presidents who died while in office, but none of our 45 presidents have ever disappeared without a trace. Did you know that this actually happened in The Land Down Under?

Harold Edward Holt was the Prime Minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He loved the ocean and spearfishing. During a weekend trip with friends, Holt visited the remote Cheviot Beach to take a swim. Rough sea conditions that day caused him to be swept away by the waves, and he never reappeared. Despite an intensive search, his body was never found, which has given rise to numerous conspiracy theories. Ironically, Australians built the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre in Melbourne in his honor.

Image: FBI, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Many famous criminals have managed to remain unidentified for decades, but the D.B. Cooper case is something else entirely. In 1971, Cooper boarded a flight from Portland to Seattle. Shortly after takeoff, he showed a flight attendant a device he claimed was a bomb and demanded four parachutes and $200,000 in cash.

The crew landed to meet Cooper’s demands in exchange for the passengers and then took off again. As the plane flew over southwestern Washington, Cooper jumped into the cold, rainy night carrying his haul. His whereabouts and true identity were never discovered, although it is likely he didn’t survive the jump. In 1980, some of the ransom money was found near the Columbia River. Although the FBI officially closed the case in 2016, amateur sleuths continue to try to crack it.

Image: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Can you imagine an epidemic where the main symptom is uncontrollable dancing? Sounds like science fiction, doesn’t it? Yet this really happened during the Middle Ages. In 1518, a dancing plague struck Strasbourg, Alsace, in what is now France. This strange condition affected up to 400 people, making them dance frantically for weeks. It is said that some even died of heart attacks, exhaustion, or strokes.

Doctors and authorities tried all kinds of measures to stop the spread. They even banned music for a while! To this day, scientists are not certain what caused this bizarre condition: it may have been food poisoning from toxins in the ergot fungus, or perhaps a case of stress-induced mass hysteria.

Image: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Voynich manuscript is a codex written roughly 500 years ago in an unknown language and writing system by an anonymous author. Known as Voynichese, the manuscript was named after Wilfrid Voynich, a Polish bibliophile and antiquarian who purchased it in 1912.

Radiocarbon testing has shown that it dates to the early 15th century. Many cryptographers and codebreakers have attempted to decipher its roughly 240 pages without success. The manuscript contains diagrams and illustrations of unknown plants and astrological symbols. Some believe it may be a made-up language, a secret code, a work of fiction, or even a hoax. If you think you can solve this mystery, the Voynich manuscript is available for viewing at Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Image: Bernhard

Similar to the Voynich manuscript, the Phaistos Disc is a fired clay disc believed to have been created during the Bronze Age. It was discovered by an Italian archaeologist in the basement of a palace in Crete, Greece, in 1908.

What makes this disc fascinating is that it contains a mysterious message. Stamped into the clay is a set of signs, forming a text that many scientists have tried to decipher—without success. It is considered an early attempt at printing, a technological innovation that would not become widespread for several centuries. While enthusiasts still hope the enigma can be solved, this is unlikely unless other documents are discovered to provide context.