Jump to content

Menu

Pair of grammar enthusiasts banned from national parks.


Recommended Posts

Good for them!

 

Two years ago I was at the Ohanapecosh River on Mt. Rainier, and was shocked not only by the errors on the signs but also by the general state of disrepair in the Visitor's Center. It was embarrassing.

 

If I were a rich woman, I'd fund an underground grammar vigilante movement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Authorities said a diary written by Deck reported that while visiting the watchtower, he and Herson "discovered a hand-rendered sign inside that, I regret to report, contained a few errors."

The fiberboard sign has yellow lettering with a black background. Deck wrote that they used a marker to cover an erroneous apostrophe, put the apostrophe in its proper place with white-out and added a comma.

The misspelled word "emense" was not fixed, Deck wrote, because "I was reluctant to disfigure the sign any further. . . . Still, I think I shall be haunted by that perversity, emense, in my train-whistle-blighted dreams tonight."

 

Here is a link to the article quoted above with pictures of the sign and the tower:

 

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/crime/94613.php

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree. I think a sticky note would have been sufficient.

 

Okay, okay! That was a no-no. But didn't they spend the whole summer correcting errors? I would like to imagine their smaller fixes were like sprinkling grammatical fairy dust around.

 

But I'm carrying sticky notes with me from now on, and you're not stopping me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, okay! That was a no-no. But didn't they spend the whole summer correcting errors? I would like to imagine their smaller fixes were like sprinkling grammatical fairy dust around.

 

But I'm carrying sticky notes with me from now on, and you're not stopping me.

 

If you buy the book Eats Shoots and Leaves it comes with stickers that say "the panda says no!" (to put over superfluous commas and apostrophes) and various sizes of comma/apostrophe stickers to add in as needed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

....ummmm...the sign was a National Historic Landmark.

 

I'm glad the men were punished. I think what they did was nasty and mean-spirited.

 

 

And THIS part is probably the worst for them! (I bolded part for emphasis!)

 

"They were sentenced to a year's probation, during which they cannot enter any national park or modify any public signs. They were also ordered to pay $3,035 to repair the watchtower sign."

 

And the real irony is in the last sentence:

 

"The TEAL Web site now has only this message - "Statement on the signage of our National Parks and public lands to come" - without a period."

 

So...did they do that on purpose or by accident?!

 

Merry :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vandalism should be punished regardless of whether the property in question is unique and handpainted or run-of-the-mill commercially produced. Why can't these idiots vent in a productive legal manner by teaching a free grammar and usage class or maybe publishing a picture book of grammatically incorrect signage? But that would not offer them the notoriety these shenanigans have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vandalism should be punished regardless of whether the property in question is unique and handpainted or run-of-the-mill commercially produced. Why can't these idiots vent in a productive legal manner by teaching a free grammar and usage class or maybe publishing a picture book of grammatically incorrect signage? But that would not offer them the notoriety these shenanigans have.

 

There are a couple of really funny websites devoted to this:

 

http://www.engrish.com/recent.php

 

http://www.boingboing.net/2005/06/16/bad-grammar-and-spel.html

 

http://www.flickr.com/groups/apostrophes/pool/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you buy the book Eats Shoots and Leaves it comes with stickers that say "the panda says no!" (to put over superfluous commas and apostrophes) and various sizes of comma/apostrophe stickers to add in as needed.

 

Stickies!

 

:willy_nilly:

 

Oh, Mrs. Mungo! I know you're going to think I'm some crazy stalker woman, but I cannot tell you how many times you've shared some little delightful tidbit that has just made my day! I really wish we were neighbors.

 

I have an old, used copy of Eats Shoots and there were no stickies. I want the stickies. The thought of those stickies makes me all fluttery and excited. Thank you. Again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stickies!

 

:willy_nilly:

 

Oh, Mrs. Mungo! I know you're going to think I'm some crazy stalker woman, but I cannot tell you how many times you've shared some little delightful tidbit that has just made my day! I really wish we were neighbors.

 

I have an old, used copy of Eats Shoots and there were no stickies. I want the stickies. The thought of those stickies makes me all fluttery and excited. Thank you. Again.

 

I do not think you are some crazy stalker, lol! I'm glad someone finds my tidbits amusing. I'm usually thinking I'm the only one who finds me amusing. :D

 

And Oak Knoll Mom, wow, that sign really DOES have it all!! :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you buy the book Eats Shoots and Leaves it comes with stickers that say "the panda says no!" (to put over superfluous commas and apostrophes) and various sizes of comma/apostrophe stickers to add in as needed.

 

Hey! MY copy didn't come with stickers! No fair!

 

I was thinking that these buys clearly read that book and formed their own guerrilla apostrophe correction organization. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey! MY copy didn't come with stickers! No fair!

 

I was thinking that these buys clearly read that book and formed their own guerrilla apostrophe correction organization. :D

 

 

The one sign I will NEVER forget was for a car repair place. Wrong words and a missing comma had it as:

 

Body repair done by Rod in rear. :lol: I SWEAR that's what it said. How about, Body repair done by Rod. Entrance in the back. Or even Rod, in rear.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...