A copywriter’s dream road trip
I just read a story about the Typo Eradication Advancement League. Two guys, Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson, are driving across the country, Wite-Out in hand, to fix typos and right wrongs across the country.
Typo-correction kit in hand, they’ve targeted signs at shopping malls, banks, parks, and roadside cafes, among other venues. Errors of logic (”NO REFUND or NO EXCHANGE on any SEASONAL or SALE ITEM”), agreement (”Referred to as the ‘Golden Apple,’ lemons flavor and preserve foods . . .”), spelling (”Cakes for All Occassions”), and punctuation (”Cars will be towed at owners expense”) have been identified and, in dozens of cases, corrected to proper English.
Now that’s a fantastic idea. When I completed my Peace Corps assignment and my sister graduated from college, she and I embarked on a six-month tour of the US, working our way around the country as gardeners, housekeepers, dog walkers, painters and airplane washers. Sarah almost left me a couple of times when I started ranting about a typo on a billboard or street sign. But I never thought to take the time to correct them.
These guys are my heroes. Follow their adventures here.

Posts

Sarah on 09 Apr 2008 at 8:45 am #
Wow - I cant beleive thier are others who obses about this to!
I never will forget the busses vs buses debate on our trip.
(Hi schol is getting to me!)
Beth on 09 Apr 2008 at 8:58 am #
SARAH! Fix your typos! This is killing me!
Heh. Sisters. What can you do?
Sarah on 09 Apr 2008 at 5:45 pm #
weird - i met jeff deck at a party in boston last summer. at least, i think it must be him since this was in the boston globe and since he was a writer. good for him! and humanity!
D.J. on 10 Apr 2008 at 8:31 am #
My favorite
“Kids with gas eat free”
D.J.
Angie on 10 Apr 2008 at 9:03 am #
This is really funny, because I notice signage everywhere that is either misspelled, or gramatically incorrect. I know that I am not always correct in my grammar and spelling, but it’s kind of funny to see something in a public place that is spelled wrong or has a grammar error.
John on 11 Apr 2008 at 8:50 am #
My pet peeve is people who use abbreviations and then add one of the words the abbreviation refers to at the end i.e. ABS Brakes (ABS meaning Antilock Braking System for those who don’t know)