Send Me Dead Flowers by the US Mail

Somehow I missed this one during last week's rant about Valentine's Day:


I wonder what was erased from the bottom of this sign. Maybe "Love Bunch" is the name of a '70s cover band, and someone erased "badass," which would have completed the phrase. Otherwise, this is an apostrophe catastrophe.

Thanks to Smoochiefrog for submitting this catastrophe.

Apostrophe Catastrophe from CNN.com

Kris, who submitted this screenshot from CNN.com, said that the Toyota-related apostrophe catastrophe was on CNN's home page for almost an entire day last week.


Thanks, Kris!

Jenny from the Block

I'm not sure exactly where Brenig took this photo, but based on his description, I'm sure that it was somewhere in the UK.



"I saw this van whilst in a traffic queue," he writes.

I'm definitely an Anglophile, but this apostrophe catastrophe doesn't do much for England's image.

Thanks, Brenig!

The Bar Has Two Daddies

My friend Jeremy was recently in LA (and my life sucked without him!), and he brought me back this apostrophe catastrophe:


It's a little bit difficult to put apostrophes in vertical signs, but one should at least try.

Thanks, JC! You're a monster, in a good way.

Swedes Speaking English in Singapore

Nic, who submitted this photo from Singapore, wonders if the apostrophe catastrophe/improper pluralization is forgivable since it was committed by a non-native English speaker.


Childrens is not a word in any language, so I'm not giving them a pass on this one.

Thanks, Nic!

Spring Training for Apostrophes

In the northeast, it's a hazy shade of winter, but it's also time to start thinking about baseball season! Rodeo, California, where Katie spotted this badly punctuated banner, sure is.


Sign up is what?

Thanks, Katie!

Oh, Canada

This apostrophe catastrophe, submitted by Joe in Saskatoon, didn't make sense to me at first because I didn't know what Reser's meant. Apparently, Reser's is a brand of burritos, so that first apostrophe is OK, but not the one in the word burritos.


Thanks, Joe!

Snappin' Her Fingers

I've noticed the missing apostrophe (and missing space) in the branding of Shake'N Bake [sic] before, but my local supermarket is normally too crowded to get a clear shot at the shelves.*


But then on Wednesday, a miracle happened. We were supposed to get a foot of snow in Boston, so my company let everyone leave at noon. The roads were empty, the supermarket was empty, and we only got a dusting! Thank Gaga. And thank you, Market Basket, for having such low prices.

* Shoutout to Sara and Tori: "Hola!"

Holidays with Apostrophes

The next few days will provide ample opportunities for apostrophe catastrophes because of Presidents['] Day and some other holiday on Sunday, which shall not be named. Amy found this V-Day apostrophe catastrophe on the cover of Clipper Magazine.



With or without the apostrophe, Loves Me doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, even if you're Paris Hilton. Is it supposed to be a Valentine for yourself? I think that would be worse than no Valentine at all.

Thanks, Amy!

What a Loser

Not only is this lottery ticket a loser, but it contains an apostrophe catastrophe!


Players contains an errant apostrophe.

Better luck next time, Jerome, and thanks for sending in this catastrophe. Maybe the Michigan lottery will pay you to be a proofreader instead.

Time to Hit the Gym

Here's another catastrophe courtesy of Mike in Pensacola, FL:


Which reminds me, it's time to lace up my ladie's [sic] running shoes and hit the gym.

Thanks again, Mike!

MLK Banner's

An Apostrophe Catastrophes reader named Mike sent me an e-mail with five catastrophic photos (or photo's, as the case may be). One of the more bizarre ones is from a sign shop in Pensacola, Florida.


Are MLK banners even a thing? How about some George Washington banner's [sic] for later this month?

And speaking of birthdays, today is mine. So, send me presents of apostrophe catastrophes.

Tuesday Is and Thursday Is

My friend Tiff, a frequent contributor to Apostrophe Catastrophes, spotted these terrible signs in LA:


Three apostrophe catastrophes in one photo! And you may not be able to read the small print at the bottom of the Thursday's [sic] sign, but we've also got some unnecessary quotation marks. An early "bird" special?

Thanks, Tiff!

You Want to Eat Your Grandmother?

Feed Me Bubbe is making the e-mail rounds almost as swiftly as Susan Boyle did. Bubbe, which means "grandmother" in Yiddish, has become a bit of an Internet sensation with her online cooking shows. She's like Julia Child if Julia were two feet shorter and Jewish.

It's an adorable idea, but the title of the Web site makes me cringe.



Would it kill you to put a comma in the title of the Web site? Oy.