Code Blue for this 'Hosprital' Sign

Amusing articles in the Sun and the Daily Mail report that St. Luke's Hospital in England made two critical mistakes on its new sign.

Here's the image from the Daily Mail:


"Hospital" is misspelled the second time, and the name of the facility needs an apostrophe. I'm not sure why "No" is capitalized in the last sentence and why there is no period at the end either.

I know the NHS is perpetually hurting for money, but they could have at least sprung for a proofreader. This sign is in need of emergency care.

Let Me Stand Next to Your Catastrophe

Shelby spotted a blatant apostrophe catastrophe (you're/your confusion) on Fender's website when she was trying to enter a contest.


The sentence also needs a period at the end. Jimi Hendrix would be horrified. Fender Stratocaster needs to tune up its punctuation skills.

Thanks, Shelby!

I Disagree with the New York Times

Today's New York Times has an interesting article about Medicaid in Florida. This article shows that punctuation rules are not always set in stone.


The headline appears to be an apostrophe catastrophe, but copy editors at the Times would disagree. The Times makes a conscious decision to include periods and apostrophes in plural initialisms. I think it looks awkward and would prefer HMOs. What do you think?

Running Out of Patients

The psych major in me thinks that perhaps the person who posted this sign in a coffee shop in DC secretly wants to be a doctor.



If so, he or she would have to append modifier CR to this sign. Yes, I just made a medical coding joke. I may have hit a new low.

Thanks to Amy for sending in this catastrophe!

The Unwan'ted Apostrophe

Sometimes 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 white should have a period at the end. Some style guides would say that DVD's is an apostrophe catastrophe as well, but that varies based on the style guide.

Thanks to Kim for sending in this gem from a magazine about horses. She also came up with this headline! Very clever!

You We Are

My friend Kurt sent me this sign that he found in a restaurant in Knoxville.


We've got missing commas, periods instead of commas, and an apostrophe catastrophe in were. This sign is a mess. And the tone is so angry that I might not necessarily trust their food...

Thanks, Kurt!

At Least the Food Was Good

This sign that I found in the bathroom at Gargoyles restaurant in Davis Square features just about every type of punctuation problem known to man.


We've got comma splices, unnecessary quotation marks, missing periods, random capitalization, and, of course, apostrophe catastrophes. My favorite part is where they put two apostrophes in Boston's'. What the hell?

But the food was awesome, and I got to have duck for the second time in one week. Life is good.

Reusable Bag Catastrophe

The 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 capitalization?

Thanks to Cathy for sending this one in.

Childcare Catastrophe

Conor found this badly punctuated sign in his company's lounge while he was eating lunch.


I hope the apostrophe catastrophe didn't completely ruin his meal.

Thanks, Conor!

Spot the Inconsistencies

In my opinion, inconsistent punctuation is even worse than flat-out mistakes. Brenig sent in a photo with an inset (!) demonstrating some signage inconsistencies in Shrewsbury, England. See if you can spot all the differences.


Just make up your mind one way or the other!

Thanks, Brenig!

Green Catastrophe

My friend Andrew's office in London is trying to encourage its employees to be more green, but the punctuation errors in this sign don't lend much credibility to the message.


See's as a verb is certainly wrong, and most style guides would leave out the apostrophe in the plural of PCs. That sentence also lacks a period at the end.

I'm a day late in posting this apostrophe catastrophe as yesterday was Andrew's birthday. Happy birthday, Andy, and cheers!

A Day Late and a Sandwich Short

Andrew, who spotted this apostrophe catastrophe near Cardiff, suspects that "the sign writer is a sandwich short."


The sign is also missing one of the periods in the ellipses and could use some punctuation at the end of the slogan, as well.

Thanks, Andrew!

Comma Calamity in the Subway

David Harris of the Cambridge Chronicle is responsible for bringing this comma calamity in Harvard Square to our attention. His blog tells us that the lack of punctuation in this subway ad is driving him crazy.


Well, David, if you've gone crazy, take the T one stop over to Central Square. You'll fit right in.

At least they got the you'res right!

Thanks, David!

America's #1 Selling Ball. Period!

My friend Rich e-mailed me this photo with the subject "This is not a sentence."


He's right. Also, what's a "selling ball"?

Thanks, Rich!

Almost as Painful as Actually Riding on a Greyhound Bus

Someone appears to have stolen the apostrophe from this Greyhound advertisement in Boston's South Station.


In addition, I wouldn't include a period in that catchphrase.

Thanks to Kami, formerly my boss's boss at my previous company, for sending this in via BlackBerry!

Susan Boyle Madness

Poor Susan Boyle. According to The Sun, the pressure of the Britain's Got Talent finale has driven the homely Scottish songbird into the hospital for "exhaustion," which we all know is celebrity code for "craziness." To add insult to injury, Ms. Boyle's neighbors welcomed her home with a catastrophe-laden sign.


That's enough to send her right back to the loony bin!

But seriously, I wish Susan Boyle nothing but the best. She seems like a sweet lady, and her voice has melted the heart of millions, even Simon Cowell's.

Thanks to Robb for sending me a link to this horrific sign.

Camera in the Men's Room

Well, it has been a few weeks since I've posted any mistakes involving the word men, so I think it might be time for another reminder: Mens is not a word. Whoever made this sign that was posted in John's office obviously hasn't been reading Apostrophe Catastrophes.


John would like you all to know that he didn't take his camera into the mens room. He took apart the sign and then reassembled it and returned it to its proper place, column F10. His office sounds really complicated! Also, there should be a period at the end of that sentence.

Thanks, John!

Unkosher Punctuation

My friend Sarah took a trip to Israel recently and found this poorly punctuated sign in a falafel shop in Jerusalem:


She admits that the falafel was pretty good, but she wouldn't say that it bought her, whatever that means.

Besides the obvious apostrophe catastrophe, this sign lacks a period at the end of the sentence, and I think that comma should be a semicolon.

Thanks, Sarah!

Drinking Beer Through a Straw?

There are many problems with this St. Patrick's Day cup that I found at Walgreens.


Much like this product, the shape does not lend itself to proper punctuation, so we're missing an apostrophe and a period. Even stranger, it appears that this cup is intended for beer, yet it has a straw. That's just wrong.

Unstoppably Bad Grammar

My friend/former co-worker Fiona sent me a link from one of the most poorly written web sites I've ever seen. Are you ready to be horrified?


Two apostrophe catastrophes (three if you count "TV's" as a catastrophe -- depends on your style guide), random capitalization, subject verb disagreement, spacing problems, a spelling mistake, no periods, missing hyphens, run-on sentences ... this web site has it all. My brain hurts.

Thanks, Fiona! Way to carpe diem! (She's a Latin teacher.)