Typo Rode Trypp

04/30/08  Print This Post Print This Post    4 Comments      Written by Julie Schwietert
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Are you a stickler for good grammar and spotless spelling?

So are Jeff Deck and his fellow members of the self-appointed Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL).

TEAL launched a three month road trip in March, and its members have been making their way around the U.S. in search of the country’s worst typos. Their mission? “To stamp out as many typos as we can find, in public signage and other venues where innocent eyes may be befouled by vile stains on the delicate fabric of our language.”

They’ve made it from the East Coast to the West Coast and will be heading back to New England later this month. Keep up with their adventures by reading their blog.

And on your next trip, think about throwing a red pen in your bag.

Photo by Tom Bevan.


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About the Author

Matador ID: collazo

Julie Schwietert is the managing editor of Matador Network. She contributed a chapter to the recently published book, The Voluntary Traveler, and is currently working on five features for Fodor's Puerto Rico, 6th Edition.

4 Comments... join the discussion!

  • Tim Patterson replied on April 30, 2008

    Typos can be pretty funny – I once collected photos of 'Engrish' in Japan – totally inane, but at least the Japanese don't mangle their own language.

    http://www.engrish.com

    (Report comment)

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  • Julie replied on April 30, 2008

    Another favorite of mine: lost in translation gems. I started a file of these because they're so great. These two are from a kitchen colander, made (the colander and the translation, apparently) in China:

    "The series product are ingenious and artistic daily necessities benefit the warmhearted mood."

    and

    "It's made by antibacterial technology, and it's used for washing rice, and in advantage for the filtering of the rice brain [?!?!] and granulated substance seed in the meanwhile, it's hygenical to be used for filtering the moisture of the vegetables, fish, and shell, to avoid the scald by the hot oil in cooking, strewing, the elegant and exquisite while it's used for the conference room, living room, etc."

    Made in China.

    (*original punctuation preserved. The colander, by the way, cost $4.99.)

    (Report comment)

    ↵ Reply
  • Tim Patterson replied on April 30, 2008

    Typos can be pretty funny – I once collected photos of ‘Engrish’ in Japan – totally inane, but at least the Japanese don’t mangle their own language.

    http://www.engrish.com

    (Report comment)

    ↵ Reply
  • Julie replied on May 1, 2008

    Another favorite of mine: lost in translation gems. I started a file of these because they’re so great. These two are from a kitchen colander, made (the colander and the translation, apparently) in China:

    “The series product are ingenious and artistic daily necessities benefit the warmhearted mood.”

    and

    “It’s made by antibacterial technology, and it’s used for washing rice, and in advantage for the filtering of the rice brain [?!?!] and granulated substance seed in the meanwhile, it’s hygenical to be used for filtering the moisture of the vegetables, fish, and shell, to avoid the scald by the hot oil in cooking, strewing, the elegant and exquisite while it’s used for the conference room, living room, etc.”

    Made in China.

    (*original punctuation preserved. The colander, by the way, cost $4.99.)

    (Report comment)

    ↵ Reply

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