The Blanket with Sleeves! And an Apostrophe Catastrophe

I think it's safe to assume that the Snuggie's in this sign is an apostrophe catastrophe and not a contraction for Snuggie is.


Thanks to Keegan for sending in this photo.

Do any Apostrophe Catastrophes readers actually own a Snuggie? I'm embarrassed to admit that I thought about buying one until last weekend when a friend's mother gave me the coziest throw blanket ever.

Looks Like America Made the Right Choice

From John McCain's Twitter page:


Punctuation on e-mail and Twitter can be a bit more lax than in a book or business letter, but apostrophe catastrophes are never acceptable. In this case, I think we have to blame McCain's staffers for the blunders. He once admitted that he doesn't know how to use a computer.

Catastrophe at Beer Island

Amy found a double apostrophe catastrophe at a Coney Island liquor store called Beer Island. What a cool name for a liquor store, right? Too bad about the punctuation errors.


On the left, we have it's rather than its, and on the right, today's is missing an apostrophe. "Maybe the apostrophe jumped from one sign to the other?" Amy wonders.

The sign on the right quotes the NY Times. I wonder if that mistake was in print, too. If so, we can't blame Beer Island.

Speaking of which, it's almost 5:00 on a Friday -- nearly time to take a sail over to Beer Island.

Thanks, Amy!

Waxed Tissue Is ... a Person?

Christina spotted today's apostrophe catastrophe at a supermarket in suburban Cleveland.


She also wonders when waxed tissues became a proper noun. Good question!

Thanks, Christina!

I Regresty to Inform You

Melinda sent in an apostrophe catastrophe that she found on Regretsy, which I bet is a goldmine for punctuation errors. The name of the site also makes me think of a woman from the movie theater where I worked in high school who once said, in a thick Boston accent, "I regret winter." Because she apparently created a season? I didn't know that God worked at a second-run cinema in the suburbs!

On to the catastrophe in question.


One more time, everyone, its is already possessive. It's means "it is."

Thanks, Melinda!

One More Reason to Shop Online

Well, the Christmas season has officially begun, and the media implores you to spend, spend, spend! I used to love malls when I was a teenager, but now they just depress me. However, I still own stock in Gap, Inc., which my grandfather bought me when I turned 13. But after seeing this apostrophe catastrophe from one of its stores in NYC, I might have to sell my shares.


Thanks to Robbie for sending this one in!

Happy Cyber Monday, everyone!

Thanksgiving Catastrophe

Readers, I hope you all had a wonderful, properly punctuated Thanksgiving. I am thankful for all of you! I am especially thankful for J.A. who found a Turkey Day-themed apostrophe catastrophe.


Based on the apostrophe placement in seating's, it appears that the restaurant will make you sit in your seat for five hours. Oh, and that hyphen should be an en-dash.

Thanks, J.A!

Revisionist History

I love it when readers send in a story along with their submissions. JJG reported that the employees at the gas station where he found today's apostrophe catastrophe claimed that they meant "pizza's" as "pizza is."


I'm not a mindreader, but I find that unlikely. Good try, though! And it's awesome that JJG called them out on it.

Thanks, JJG!

Living Under Communist Rule

The city where I live is sometimes referred to as "The People's Republic of Cambridge." Back in the '90s, someone went so far as to post a sign welcoming people to the PRC. The sign was taken down, but its image lives on in a bar on Mass Ave.


"Do you notice anything interesting about that sign?" I asked one of the friends I was with.

"Yeah, it's missing an apostrophe!" he answered.

I tried to explain it to the bartender and told him about Apostrophe Catastrophes, but he said he had never read a blog before. Maybe, as an employee of a communist-themed bar, he is forbidden from reading non-government supplied news.

Make Mine a Double

Merry found a double apostrophe catastrophe in Allston on voting day.


Well, I suppose apostrophe catastrophe isn't quite accurate since the sign is missing a comma and an exclamation point, but you know what I mean. Merry and I agree that the sign should say, "Speak Up, Allston! Vote!"

Thanks, Merry!

PowerPoint Catastrophe

Krys found several apostrophe catastrophes in the PowerPoint presentation during a seminar on Behavior Management in an Elementary School Setting. She writes, "I needed a reinforcer to keep me from raising my hand to point out the errors."

Here's an example of a particularly terrible PowerPoint slide:


In addition to the apostrophe catastrophe in the title, the bulleted list is completely inconsistent and doesn't make all that much sense.

Thanks, Krys!

Another Permanent Catastrophe

Rick Reilly's latest column focuses on athletes who have bad tattoos. Laser tattoo removal is painful and expensive, so if you're going to get inked, you'd better make sure the message is grammatically correct. There's not much room on Penn State tight end Andrew Quarless' arm to add the missing apostrophe, so he's got a catastrophe for life.


"Quarless may be God's gift to football, but not to punctuation," Reilly writes. "It lacks an apostrophe, to say nothing of humility."

Thanks to my friend Bayard for sending Reilly's column my way! And thanks to Rick Reilly for the entertaining read.

Pink Panther Catastrophe

Charles managed to find an apostrophe catastrophe in a classic Pink Panther episode.


"He looks aghast at the catastrophe," writes Charles.

The apostrophe in ladies seems to have migrated down.

Ugh, now I have the Pink Panther theme song stuck in my head.

Thanks, Charles!

Dumb Cleveland Browns Fan

Melinda found this photo of a grammatically incorrect sign in a Yahoo story about Cleveland Browns fans:


That guy ought to say he's sorry for making a catastrophic sign.

Thanks, Melinda!

Cutting Crew

Meghan, who spotted this apostrophe catastrophe at Hobby Lobby, deemed it "painful."


I would have to agree. Someone ought to use the cutter's to cut out the catastrophe from that sign.

Thanks, Meghan!