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  The Unwan’ted Apostrophe

  1364 readersSometimes readers send me punctuation errors that seem familiar. But this one -- my first from Tasmania! -- manages to find a unique to screw up apostrophe placement:I think the headline should have a question mark at the end of it, and the text in whi...

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  Best Authors and Parents Ever

  833 readersToday's apostrophe catastrophe comes to us from my parents, who are both authors and who are both awesome, so I'm taking an opportunity to shamelessly promote them.My mom writes, "We, Becky’s parents, were horrified (and delighted at the same time) to encounter an apostrophe catastrophe on this road sign on a rural road in Oregon.

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  This Sh— Is Bananas

  958 readersToday's apostrophe catastrophe/spelling disaster comes from the the Harrisburg, Penn., Artfest. The person who made this sign clearly doesn't listen to Gwen Stefani because he or she doesn't know how to spell bananas.Nanci, who submitted this apostrophe catastrophe, is clearly awesome. She writes that the ice cream stand "had just taken down a handmade sign

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  How to Prepare for the Rapture

  4595 readersWith the end of the world happening tomorrow, this may be the last apostrophe catastrophe I will ever post. It's a Friday and there's really nothing we can do about the impending apocalypse, so today's catastrophe will involve alcohol. Obviously.Besides the obvious apostrophe catastrophe in margarita's, every day should be two words. This restaurant's website

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  Rent-a-Catastrophe

  1241 readersDriving to work one morning, I spotted an apostrophe catastrophe much like the one in this photo:I was on the phone with my mother at the time, and I gasped. I would have hung up on her to snap a photo of the catastrophe (sorry, Mom!), but the truck turned, and I was devastated to

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  No Apostrophes in My Beer!

  1348 readersToday's apostrophe catastrophe comes to us from Glasgow.One could argue that combo's and promo's are not true catastrophes because they could be shortened versions of combinations and promotions, but pizza's gives it away. I don't think this sign maker had a clue.Thanks to Marie for posting this to the Apostrophe Catastrophes facebook group.

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  Reusable Bag Catastrophe

  1867 readersThe QFC grocery store in Port Hadlock, Washington, is trying to encourage green living, but this sign is polluting the environment with an apostrophe catastrophe.Besides the errant apostrophe in its, this sign should also have a period at the end of the sentence. And reusable bag is not a proper noun, so what's with the

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  Their Punctuation Really Sucks

  549 readersMy coworker Paul sent me this apostrophe catastrophe from Waltham, where he says finding punctuation errors "is like shooting fish in a barrel."So was coming up with the headline for this posting.Thanks, Paul!

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  Swedes Speaking English in Singapore

  693 readersNic, who submitted this photo from Singapore, wonders if the apostrophe catastrophe/improper pluralization is forgivable since it was committed by a non-native English speaker.Childrens is not a word in any language, so I'm not giving them a pass on this one.Thanks, Nic!

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  Christmas Public Service Announcement

  5059 readersIt's probably a little bit late for this, but I thought I would extend a public-service announcement related to holiday cards. If you are signing your family's name on the card, do not use an apostrophe. Even if your last name ends in "y." I'm probably preaching to the choir, but this seemed relevent for