By Author: Becky

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Below are the latest articles from Becky. The results are culled from all sources Workflow: Writing follows.

  • Catastrophe at the Nike Store

    Salvador spotted this apostrophe catastrophe at a Nike Store in the Philippines (Manila):As Salvador points out, the lack of apostrophe in mens is exacerbated by the fact that the sign next to it just says “women.” Those are some strange-looking women….Check out Salvador’s blog here.

  • Eternal Ridicule

    I feel slightly guilty posting today’s apostrophe catastrophe because it is a photo of someone’s gravestone. But really, if you are going to carve something in stone, you should really proofread it first.The Bette Midler quote uses “your” instead of “you’re,” and it should have a question mark at the end. Cathy, who submitted this catastrophe, came up with the “eternal ridicule” headline, and her parents, Rose and Doug, took the photo while they were on a vacation in Vermont. So, I’m just the messenger here.Thanks, Cathy, Rose, and Doug!

  • Case of the Monday’s

    Chili’s is a big, chain restaurant, but apparently no one proofreads its banners. Michelle found this apostrophe catastrophe at a Chili’s in Virginia.Sadly, it was after she had already eaten there. “We were too hungry to look up before we went in,” she writes.Thanks, Michelle!

  • Burned by an Apostrophe Catastrophe

    Natalie writes, “Desperately bored at work today I resorted to playing Burn Notice games on USA’s website. I was happily finding out what kind of spy I would be when I was completely derailed by this apostrophe catastrophe.”Feel the burn.Thanks, Natalie!

  • The Apostrophe Song

    The geniuses at Cool Rules present “The Apostrophe Song.” Prepare to have this song be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.Thank you to Cindy for bringing this video to my attention! I love it!

  • Employee Is Only

    Only one employee can climb this ladder, and she is an exclamation point.Jason spotted this apostrophe catastrophe at a Lowe’s in New Jersey.Thanks, Jason!

  • A Pig Breathes into a Saxophone

    The slogan for Fat Jack’s BBQ in Audubon, NJ, reads “Real Hickory Smoked BBQ at it is best.”Its = pronoun showing possessionIt’s = it isThe logo with the Blues Brothers-esque pig is pretty hideous, too.Thanks for Jason for sending in this apostrophe catastrophe!

  • We Are Quite Appalled

    Lauren spotted this egregious punctuation error at Harrods in London.How shockingly un-posh! What would the queen say if she saw it?Thanks, Lauren!

  • Do You Recall This Egg Catastrophe?

    This cartoon woman in the Fresh Pond (Cambridge) Trader Joe’s should cross eggs off her shopping list. Or at least remove the offending apostrophe.Maybe one symptom of salmonella is the inability to use proper punctuation. I still love you, Trader Joe’s.

  • Best Authors and Parents Ever

    Today’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. Several miles down the road, we saw that the punctuation lapse was not made by the restaurant itself but by whatever state department is in charge of road signs. However, we still consider the spelling of Becky as Beckie to be a minor catastrophe.”Here’s the road sign followed by the restaurant sign:Check out my mom’s website here and her latest children’s book here. And here are my dad’s books on Amazon.Thanks, guys!

  • Rent-a-Catastrophe

    Driving 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 have missed it. I did a Google image search for Taylor Rental trucks, but nothing came up. I resigned myself that this Taylor Rental apostrophe catastrophe would be my white whale. Miraculously, just a few days later, I received an e-mail from Lindy with the above photo attached! It made my day, and not just because she signed the e-mail “one of your many loyal readers.”Thanks, Lindy!

  • That’s a Wrap!

    Alan found this apostrophe catastrophe at the Parsley Mediterranean Grill in Grand Rapids, Michigan.When Alan went inside to alert the staff that their sign contained an egregious punctuation error, an employee said, “You came in here just to tell me that? Go [expletive] yourself!”Thanks, Alan! And I’m sorry for the verbal harassment! Check out Alan’s full account of these events here.

  • Bad Punctuation Is A-Brewin’

    Melissa E. spotted this apostrophe catastrophe in Morris, IL:She decided not to stop there because she decided that their bad punctuation was probably indicative of bad coffee.Aside from the bad punctuation, I think Brewed Awakening’s is a bad name for a coffee shop in general because it’s a pun on rude awakenings, and I don’t really want to be rudely awakened by coffee. Coffee is a beautiful thing.Thanks, Melissa! Check out Melissa’s blog here.

  • It Takes One to Know One

    This is one of the best catastrophes we’ve had in a while:Scott, who uploaded this photo to the Apostrophe Catastrophes Facebook group tells us he had to stare at this guy’s t-shirt for 40 minutes while waiting in line for baked potatoes at the Big E in West Springfield, Mass. Oh, the level of stupidity in this world never ceases to amaze me.Thanks, Scott!

  • Someone Needs to Be Pun-ished

    Sara sent me this apostrophe catastrophe that her four-year-old son brought home with him from summer camp.The watermelon art project is cute, and the cheesy pun doesn’t bother me, but you’re/your confusion is unacceptable.Thanks for the juicy catastrophe, Sara!

  • Funs Are Out There

    Carrie spotted this apostrophe catastrophe at the Granby, Colorado, 4th of July Parade:Not sure about funs’, but bad punctuation is certainly out there.Thanks, Carrie!

  • Punctuation Hospital

    I don’t believe anything that the Tray Valet claims. It says it would be perfect for a home or a school, but the only place where it belongs is a hospital. And speaking of hospitals, someone needs to fix the punctuation on the third bullet point down. Stat!Chair’s and sofa’s? This thing is hemorrhaging bad punctuation.Thanks to Katie for sending in this catastrophe from a CVS in Tyler, TX.

  • Automatic Urinal Catastrophe

    In a classic e-mail to Apostrophe Catastrophes, Scott writes, “I found this on an automatic urinal in Jerusalem.”So, the machine doesn’t work on the sabbath, which makes it kosher, I suppose, but does that mean you can’t pee into it on Saturdays? This blog entry is dedicated to my brother who loves automatic urinals and is going to Israel soon himself. Thanks, Scott!

  • All Age Is Dance Club

    This dance club in Seattle was apparently shut down by the apostrophe police. Too bad! It looks like it was quite the classy joint!Thanks to Becky for sending this one in.

  • Kentucky American Is…

    Mark, who sent in this apostrophe catastrophe, thinks maybe there is only one Kentuckian with a disability.Well, if the inability to use proper punctuation counts as a disability, that one Kentuckian designed this logo. And doesn’t the whole concept of Kentucky American’s [sic] seem redundant?Thanks, Mark! Check out Mark’s blog here.

  • These Pretzel’s Are Making Me [Sic]

    Free coffee and Auntie Anne’s pretzels? I’m there! Please hold the apostrophe catastrophe, though.Thanks to Jerome for sending this in!

  • This Catastrophe Is So Money

    Ken Wilson gave me permission to repost this double apostrophe catastrophe he found in the back of a taxi.Thanks, Ken!

  • No Picnic Is Thank You

    John spotted this apostrophe catastrophe at Twycross Zoo in England. At least 50 tables in the restaurant had these signs on them, he reports. Thanks, John!

  • Beach Beverage Catastrophes

    Brian found this catastrophe-filled sign while rollerblading on Manhattan Beach:Kevaccino’s appears to believe that it is necessary to include a catastrophe when pluralizing a word that ends with a vowel. They also don’t know how to spell “bagel” or “cappuccino.”Thanks, Brian!

  • LeBron James: Witness to Bad Punctuation (Again)

    My friend/former co-worker Amy, who is originally from Cleveland, sent me this photo from Cleveland.com.I understand that fans are devastated by The King’s betrayal, but that does not excuse their poor punctuation.Thanks, Amy! And sorry about LeBron…

  • Nice “Decision,” LeBron

    Bitterness apparently leads to unnecessary quotation marks, as evidenced by this bizarre letter written by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. That semicolon at the beginning should be a colon, and let’s not even talk about the comic sans. Or the passive-aggressiveness. Or the odd reference to death and heaven. Thanks to my friend Dave for encouraging me to read this letter.

  • What is Really In This Box?

    This product, which may or may not be couscous, was sitting on the counter at my parents’ house when I went there on Monday.Whatever it is, my mom used it to make an awesome “couscous” salad dish.If you like this kind of catastrophe, check out the Blog of Unnecessary Quotation Marks.

  • False Advertising

    The rabbit on this t-shirt catastrophe, spotted by Romy in South Dakota, isn’t even cute!Nor is the backwards apostrophe or the entirely absent apostrophe in let’s.Thanks, Romy!

  • This Sh— Is Bananas

    Today’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 that said ‘We have coffe’ after I ordered a coffee and asked for two e’s in mine.”Hilarious. Thanks, Nanci!

  • A Princely Catastrophe

    Well, the good thing about this apostrophe catastrophe, spotted at Babies R Us, is that one-year-olds tend to rip hats off their heads rather quickly. It could be put to better use as a spit rag.This type of apostrophe catastrophe is certainly a 1’st [sic]. Thanks to Melinda for sending it in!


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