They're everywhere — in the newspaper, online, on signs like this one, which I spotted the other day in Warren:
In newspapers, once an error is in print, it's there forever — and having written for a daily newspaper, I can say that I am embarrassed when I see errors like these recent ones: "peddling" instead of pedaling a bicycle; "boarder" instead of border collie; "mantle" instead of fireplace mantel; "bailed" instead of baled hay; "Dougway" instead of Dugway Bridge — even Narragansett Bay where what is being described is the Atlantic Ocean! You can't get much bigger than that in terms of getting it wrong. You can't fix a printed page, but you can fix online mistakes — and that's just, ahem, one more advantage of the new media age.
With a little effort, you can also fix errors on public signs — shine a little light on the errors of our ways, so to speak. In my Posts of May 22 and March 30, I lauded the transcontinental efforts of Somerville's Jeff Deck and his TEAL initiative to fix sign typos across America. At the end of his trip, he invited readers of his typo blog to go forth and multiply, fixing typos where we find them.
So I did!
Yesterday, I fixed my very first sign typo. Or, more accurately, I got it fixed. I called the church attached to the sign above, and pointed out the error. And they fixed it, although not without some defensiveness. Hey, I understand: I write for a newspaper! Typos happen: The important thing is to learn from them. And then fix them!
I've already submitted my fix to Deck's contest, hoping to win a TEAL T shirt, winner to be decided June 15. I'll keep you Posted.
