google.com, pub-0038581670763948, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 My Typo Humour: 01/09/2011 - 01/10/2011

Friday 30 September 2011

Geogrpahy Teacher

Just in case you miss the first ad, there are two more, exactly the same, to treble the fail.

And the spelling error is not on its own.


'Would you like to work in an Birmingham based Secondary school that is on the up and is looking to constantly improve its performance?'

Incorrect use of the indefinite article 'an' which should be used only before words which begin with a vowel sound.

Not to mention the split infinitive.

Oh. I just did.

Constantly? Are you sure?

Wednesday 28 September 2011

Bengal City offers rude discount

I came across this on twitter while I was setting up the MyTypoHumour account which you're more than welcome to follow.


Perhaps the less I say about this the better.

Printer: Unknown. And probably wishes to remain so.

Monday 26 September 2011

Australian white wine label

Thanks to Tom L and Ben M for this one, spotted on a wine label.


It states that the wine is 'An easy-drinking, crisp, dry white with tropical fruit flavours.'

But, further down the label, it has become Crips and Refreshing.

A misprint? Or a message for these people?

Saturday 24 September 2011

Welsh email reply ends up on road sign

Here's a classic from the archives. It was featured on the BBC News website in October 2008.

Swansea council got lost in translation when it was looking to prevent lorries using a road near a supermarket in the Morriston area of the city.

All official road signs in Wales are bilingual, so the local authority emailed its in-house translation service requesting the Welsh version of: "No entry for heavy goods vehicles. Residential site only".


They thought the reply they received was what they needed so officials set the wheels in motion to create the large sign in both languages.

The notice went up and all seemed well - until Welsh speakers began pointing out the embarrassing error.

Unfortunately, the email response had said in Welsh:

"I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated".

Friday 23 September 2011

BBC Dragons' Den

Thanks very much to Jon C who submitted this which is taken from the BBC Dragons’ Den programme, broadcast the other night in the UK.


The pitch, presented by Richard Williams, a salesman from Worcestershire, and Gil Ostrander, a Canadian real-estate expert, aimed to raise £50K for a stake in their business.

They used some mock up sale boards as a backdrop to their pitch. They were trying to be clever by naming one of their fake Estate Agents after Peter Jones, one of the Dragons.


My initial thought was that the first typo might have been deliberate. They’d used the suffix .coo.uk rather than .co.uk in the web address. Maybe they were just trying (er, failing) to be funny.

But, once the other typos were revealed, I thought again. They just hadn’t been careful enough.




A missing apostrophe, a spelling mistake, and an incorrect URL.

Disastrous in any presentation, never mind one on whose outcome your future may depend.

Despite the content on the sale boards coming under some discussion, no one mentioned the typos. Rather surprising for the Dragons. They don't usually hold back if they spot a chink in a pitcher's armour.

The guys didn’t get the money they wanted. Whether that had anything to do with their errors, we don't know.

Probably more to do with the fact that they annoyed each and every Dragon with their attitude.

If you see any typos that you’d like to share, please send them to me at

peter (at) mytypohumour (dotcom)

Thursday 22 September 2011

Sittingbourne Carnaval. Expexted delays.

One of our regular contributors has just sent this in, taken from the BBC News Kent website.


The text of the BBC News article reads as follows.

Several signs warning people to expect traffic delays during a local carnival are to be changed because they contain spelling mistakes.

The signs which have been placed around Sittingbourne refer to the town's "Carnaval" and warn motorists of "Expexted Delays".

Sittingbourne Carnival Association said it had to announce road closures a week before the event despite the mistakes.

Pam Griggs, from the association, said the signs would be replaced or changed.

She added: "People will either think we are stupid and we can't spell or they will have a good laugh.

"At least people are reading them."

The signs were manufactured by a printing firm from outside the area.

Sittingbourne carnival takes place on Saturday.

Thanks very much for sending it in, Jon.

If you come across any gaffes like this that you'd like to share with us, please send them to me at

peter (at) mytypohumour (dotcom)

Proofreader required: preferably not the end user

From time to time I deliver presentations about printing to Printers and Print Buyers. The events are usually good fun. They provide a chance for the attendees to hear about solutions that other people in similar positions are using to overcome the issues which can occur in a typical printing environment.

One issue that seems resolute in its refusal to be overcome, however, is that of spotting typos. Or, at least, spotting typos in time.

In the presentations, I use the gaffe below as an example of how a very obvious error can somehow sneak through the system despite all the proofreading checks and double checks that are carried out during its production. Often it’s not until thousands of copies have been distributed and delivered that someone eventually notices the mistake.

It has to be said that the important phrase here is spotting typos 'in time'. We're talking about newspapers and time is the main constraint in their production. The paper either hits the streets dead on time or it's dead in the water.


Spotted it yet?

Of course, you’ll be able to see straight away that there should be an R in VIRGIL.

OK. Only joking. Yes, it should read BEDSIDE rather than BESIDE. It’s one of those typos that won’t be highlighted by a spell checker since 'beside' is a real word.

The fact is that printers make mistakes. We always have and we always will. We’re human and it’s just a simple truth that it happens.

Most good printers would ask that you judge them not on the errors themselves, although printers that consistently make mistakes are to be avoided. But on the way in which they strive to rectify the situation as and when those errors are discovered.

One obvious solution is for printers to employ a good, old fashioned, trustworthy proofreader.

Sadly these days, a dying breed.

Wednesday 21 September 2011

Warning: serious, not humorous. 54 million dollar misprint

Elida Betancourt from California thought she had won 54 million dollars after seeing her winning lottery number printed in The Fresno Bee newspaper.


She'd lost her husband only 6 weeks before and you have to feel for her.

Especially since all she planned to do with the money was to pay for her husband's tombstone and fix her roof.

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Words really do count

If I knew where this came from, I'd acknowledge the source. As it is, I just remember hearing it way back when.

A fishing competition took place in St Andrews, Scotland. The local competitor, while landing a whopper, lost a molar in the struggle. Meanwhile, his German opponent became very ill after devouring ¾ of the dozen fish he’d caught.

The headlines the following day read: One tooth free for Fife. Sick Stefan ate nine tench.

Monday 19 September 2011

What prompted My Typo Humour?

My Facebook friend Daisy commented on this picture which had been posted by a friend of hers.


I laughed out loud and I still smile when I see it. I'm not sure where it came from originally but this comes up first on a Google search. I admit it's a little bit geeky and has limited appeal, but printers in particular will appreciate it.

I couldn't comment on the picture at the time because I wasn't a friend of Daisy's friend. But I liked it so much that I copied it and posted it on my Wall with the comment 'My typo' humour'. Quite a few of my Facebook friends are in printing and publishing and I thought they might appreciate it as well. In fact, a couple of my friends did like it and one of them commented 'Mine too'.

Thinking it would be a good idea to post more stuff like this, I trawled the Internet looking for a source and found...well, nothing really. Google came up with some definitions of typos and misprints and I found one or two good examples on a few blogs. But there didn't appear to be a single site where someone had gathered lots of them together in one place. So I registered the domain name based on my original comment, kick started my dormant Blogger account and the next day went live.

If you like what you're seeing here, you have my friend Daisy to thank.

Sunday 18 September 2011

Spell checker required

Well, no sooner had I started the blog when I came across this.


I don't know who created the Page, but presumably he or she attended the school which closed down in May 1991.

I see that 9 people 'like this'. I wonder whether they like the Page or just the irony.

Do you think it reveals any clues as to why the school closed?

Saturday 17 September 2011

Apostrophes, grammar and spelling. Do they matter?

Well, yes, I believe they do.

But then again, I'm a Printer. Have been for many years. As such, I help people communicate effectively. Whether they're writing a text book, presenting a business card or having marketing material printed.

I do like the fact that the Internet empowers virtually all of us. Just about everyone can be a publisher these days. Which means that we can all have a say. But, as Peter Parker would have us remember, with this power comes responsibility.

And I believe we should maintain a responsibility to those with whom we're communicating. The responsibility to be clear, accurate, professional and unambiguous. We run the risk of being none of these if we fail to spell correctly or use the wrong word; if we misplace punctuation, or we don't punctuate at all.

For example, a mistake could result in a lost sale. A confusing message. A missed opportunity. A disgruntled customer. Even litigation.


As I say at the top of the page, I'm not perfect. And I'm not a Grammar Nazi. I don't go round correcting everyone and everything. I simply believe that we should strive to spell and use words properly in order to communicate effectively.

And I really want to help people understand the correct placement of apostrophe's.

Sorry. Couldn't resist that.

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