GRAMMAR GLITCHES

The 10 Funniest Mistakes, Typos, And Misprints In History

Image: Natalia Y.

Everyone makes mistakes, that’s a given. But sometimes, even the smallest slip-ups can lead to catastrophic outcomes, no matter how unintentional. These grammatical gaffes stand as a testament to the power of language, reminding us to always proofread before making history.

From political slip-ups to literary lapses, here are ten instances where, er… let’s call them unexpected linguistic detours, induced everything from laughter to financial ruin.

Image: Lars Blankers

In 1992, during a visit to a New Jersey elementary school, then Vice President Dan Quayle put himself in an embarrassing situation when he tried to correct what he thought was a spelling mistake. After a 12-year-old student correctly spelled the word "potato", he promptly added an e to the end of the word, creating an awkward moment as he insisted that "potatoe" was the correct spelling.

Image: Priscilla Du Preez

A 1631 edition of the Bible became infamous as it contains a number of mistakes that substantially distort the intended message of the sacred text. Known as the "Wicked Bible", among its most egregious blunders is the omission of the word "not" from one of the Ten Commandments, transforming the original sentence into the scandalous directive, "Thou shalt commit adultery." However, some argue that this was not a product of lazy proofreading, but rather sabotage from a competitor.

Image: Taha

Constable Dogberry, a character in one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies Much Ado About Nothing, became the namesake for malapropisms, as he consistently ends up uttering absurd phrases while attempting to sound intelligent. Some of the most popular "dogberryisms" include confusing suspect with respect, ex-communication with communication, comprehend with apprehend, and even redemption with damnation!

Image: SpaceX

How expensive can a typo be? Well, as NASA found out, almost 80 million dollars. In 1962, a missing mathematical symbol in Mariner I’s code led to the spacecraft blowing up in a million pieces over the Atlantic. How could this happen? Apparently, an engineer missed an overbar (a mathematical figure that indicates the mean of a set) while transcribing the calculations by hand. This caused the spacecraft to overcorrect its trajectory, eventually throwing it off course.

The takeaway from this story is simple: always proofread. After all, even the most brilliant people are not immune to making mistakes.

Image: micheile henderson

Talking about expensive typos, a misplaced comma in the 13th Tariff Act cost the United States over 40 million dollars in 1872. The Act included a list of items exempt from taxation upon entry to the country, and included in the list was an item that read "fruit, plants tropical and semi-tropical for the purpose of propagation or cultivation."

According to the government, the comma was meant to be a hyphen, meaning fruit-bearing plants, but the correct grammatical interpretation suggested that all fruit were included in the exemption. It took almost two years to fix the mistake, but it was already too late.

Image: Janko Ferlič

Don’t worry kids, Yogi Bear is totally fine. But for a moment in 2015, Associated Press declared the cherished bear dead, when someone published Yankees’ legend Yogi Berra’s obituary under a hysterical title: "Yogi Bear has died. He was 90." While this was likely the mix-up of an underslept intern, Berra was known for his amusing unintentional witticisms and malapropisms, remembered for gems like "It ain't over 'til it's over," "It's déjà vu all over again," and "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."

Image: AbsolutVision

In a peculiar incident in December 2017, a Cambridge newspaper unintentionally became viral when a placeholder reading "100PT SPLASH HEADING HERE" found its way into the headlines. Meant for internal use during layout, the cryptic text unexpectedly amused readers and sparked online speculation, with some even joking about the headline being a warning of an incoming tsunami wave. The newspaper’s editor-in-chief later apologized profusely for the amusing mishap, which was allegedly caused by a technical issue.

Image: Michał Parzuchowski

Around 2010, an article from an unknown local newspaper went viral for misspelling "Mississippi" as "Missippi." You might argue that they simplified it, but the funniest part is that the article was about the purported success of a literacy program in the state. Maybe the program needed to focus on newspapers too.

Image: Peter Lawrence

The Guardian, one of the UK's most renowned newspapers, earned an unintentional reputation for its numerous typos. In a memorable blunder, it once printed its own name as "Gaurdian," prompting satirical magazine Private Eye to nickname them "Grauniad." Overall, the newspaper took it in good stride, and the nickname is still playfully used, even among its journalists, to refer to the media outlet with a touch of humor.

Image: Daria Kraplak

Unbeknownst to most, James Joyce’s famous novel Finnegans Wake hides an easter egg of sorts. When it comes to an author famous for his experimental and gibberish-like writing, what can possibly be considered a mistake or a typo? Well, it seems the author used to dictate parts of his work to his friend Samuel Beckett, and during one of these sessions, someone knocked at the door, with Joyce immediately saying "Come in." Without thinking twice, Beckett wrote that along with the rest of Joyce’s dictation. It is likely that Joyce noticed the gaffe, but decided to leave it there just to mess with the readers.

Deep roots

11 everyday words with indigenous roots

English is a very welcoming language in the sense that it incorporates terms from many other languages from all over the world. And, as it couldn’t be otherwise, Native American languages have lent many of their words and terms to English speakers. Some traveled through Spanish or French before settling into English, and others arrived directly through early contact and trade, helping shape the way we speak today. Did you know about these 11 terms?

The word "canoe" comes from the Taino term canoa, which was first used by Caribbean islanders long before Europeans arrived. Early explorers adopted it to describe the slim, sturdy boats they saw.

Over time, "canoe" became the standard English word for a small paddled craft. Today it still carries that sense of simplicity and closeness to nature.

The word "barbecue" comes from barbacoa, another Taino term for a wooden frame used for cooking meat over fire. Europeans adopted it and applied it to both the method and the gathering itself.

Today, "barbecue" means everything from a backyard cookout to a regional cooking style. Its origins highlight the deep culinary influence of Native Americans in the nation's current culture.

"Skunk" comes from the Algonquian word squnk, which means "urinating fox" (quite a fitting term, indeed). This was an obvious reference to the animal’s strong defensive spray. Early settlers adopted the term directly.

Since English had no better name for the creature, the Native word stuck. Today, the word skunks is also used as playful slang.

The word "moose" originates from Eastern Abenaki, a part of the Algonquian family, where it meant "he strips off bark." Yes, it described the animal’s habit of tearing bark from trees.

The name entered English quickly because settlers relied on Native knowledge of local fauna. The word remains unchanged because of its accuracy and usefulness.

"Raccoon" comes from the Powhatan word arakun, meaning "he scratches with his hands." It described the animal’s clever, humanlike front paws.

Settlers adopted the term because it captured the creature’s behavior beautifully. Today, the raccoon is used as a household symbol of curiosity, not unlike the animal itself.

The term "chipmunk" most probably comes from the Ojibwe word ajidamoo, which means "one who descends trees headfirst." Early English settlers adapted the sound into today’s form.

Though the spelling changed over time, the lively image of a chipmunk racing down a tree face-first stayed.

The word "caribou" comes from the Mi’kmaq term qalipu, which means "snow shoveler," referring to the animal’s habit of digging through snow for food.

French settlers brought the word into English, keeping its descriptive nature. The name still connects the modern animal to the winter landscapes it belongs to.

"Totem" comes from the Ojibwe word ototeman, which means "kinship group." It described symbols representing clans and shared roots.

English adopted it to describe carved poles and symbolic elements. Though broader in modern usage, it still hints at the original sense of community, identity, and heritage.

"Coyote" comes from the Nahuatl word coyōtl, which was used by Indigenous tribes of central Mexico. Spanish speakers adopted it, and English borrowed later.

The word kept its meaning, and it remains one of the most direct links between the English language and Nahuatl.

The tasty avocado’s name traces to the Nahuatl word ahacatl, which refers to the fruit and to a body part as well. Spanish speakers transformed it into aguacate.

Later on, English speakers adapted it to avocado. While the name sounds contemporary and culinary, it has ancient Native roots.

The last Nahuatl word and also the last word on the list comes from the term xocolātl, which describes a bitter cacao drink that was consumed long before Europeans arrived in America. The name traveled from Spanish to English.

Though the product changed dramatically, the word survived. Today, chocolate is a universal symbol of sweetness, with rich and deeply indigenous roots.