Ambiguous Germs

More than one error lingers in this display of public error; however, I feel that focusing on just one would be most beneficial for this post. In this hand-washing reminder I found in a bathroom, we have a case of ambiguous word usage, and the culprit lies with the phrase 'are annoying travelers.' If we…

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Roll Over, Reed and Kellogg

Hello to you! I hope this blog entry finds you well. As it turns out, I did not, in fact, fall off the face of the planet. I know I have been shirking my blogging duties lately, and for that I apologize. However, in my defense, the events in my life got excitingly erratic. Since…

Can You Fanta? A Lesson on Less vs. Fewer

Yay! I have the opportunity to discuss count vs. non-count nouns and the rules that accompany them. Consider today your lucky day. This mistake was on one of those new fancy pop machines in Noodles & Company. Pay special attention to the white bubble on the far right that advertises "15 calories or less." It…

A Selfish Farmer

This elevator can be found in the bustling metropolis of Roggen, right along Interstate 76. At first, a passerby might not even notice the teeny, tiny apostrophe placed ever-so gently between the r and the s in farmers. But I assure you; it is there. And it is wrong. I happen to know that Roggen…

Walking Parallel through the Park

Ahh. Here we have a lovely, healthful box of Nature Valley Trail Mix granola bars. Even thinking about eating them brings me joy -- until I turn the box and find this: There's a bit of glare here, but you can still make it out. The first sentence reads, "Maybe it's when you're walking through…

Capital Punishment

I found the same error on two posters. The first mistake was the final mistake I found while waiting for my doctor. (Note -- I waited for about 15 minutes and found three errors in plain view. That's quite sad.) The second mistake was on a Colorado Education Association poster -- also not a good…

Sugar and Splice

IHOP, IHOP, IHOP. I expected more from you since you're a huge chain and all; I really did. This is a problem -- a big problem. Here we have . . . (drumroll) . . . a comma splice (gasp!). It makes me sad when people try to give the job of a period (or…

Apostrophes Not Fit for Plurals

I know "CD GOODIE BOX" AND "$9.99!!" are the most important messages on this sign, but that's no reason to include errors in the small print. Again, I was at Tradesmart, and again, I found an error in its advertising strategies. This particular error happens frequently: using an apostrophe to form a plural. In this…

My Female Doctor in “His” Room

This is the second of three errors I found while waiting for my doctor, who, as I mentioned in my earlier post (click here for a reminder), was female. So you can see why I couldn't help snapping a picture of this sexist note. "Please ask your doctor while he is in the room." I…

Apostrophe Slip-Up

I found this while on tour at the Coors factory. What is particularly interesting about this problem is that the sign contains something that isn't even a word. Mens does not exist in the English language. Men is the plural for man, so if one is trying to make men plural by adding an s,…