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.

Club Yesterday Is Dance Club

This dance club in a strip mall (classy!) either features an apostrophe catastrophe or its name gets the redundancy award for redundancy.


It looks like it could be awesomely bad, though. I kind of want to pouf up my hair and go there. My iPod was playing Wham! this morning while I was getting ready for work, which could explain a lot.

Thanks to Hanuman from Michigan for submitting this.

The First Cut's the Deepest

This sign from Reading, England, is a double apostrophe catastrophe:


There should be one apostrophe in the sign, but it's in the wrong place. Shouldn't it be gents' hair cuts?

Thanks to Kate for sending this one in!

Perfect for a Friday Afternoon

George writes, "I can't blame them too much, since it's a Mexican restaurant, but... wow."



We've got apostrophe catastrophes inside unnecessary quotation marks! Margarita madness!

OK, I'm thirsty....

Thanks, George!

Being Irresponsible with Punctuation

When I first received this submission from David, I thought the ad was being sarcastic.


But Google research shows that it's the slogan of an actual political organization in England. Being conservative is one thing, but one should never conserve apostrophes when they are so desperately needed.

Thanks, David!

Yankee Is Suck

It's small, but it appears that some NYC baker put an errant apostrophe on this Yankees cookie.


I wonder if the Mets cookie, which I presume is underneath, has the same problem. Thanks to my friend Spencer for sending me this catastrophe!

Blackhawk Down

Craig was very disappointed to discover that one of his favorite bars in Chicago, Halsted's, committed an apostrophe catastrophe on this poster:


I feel your pain, Craig. You might have to find another bar to watch Saturday's game.

Caffeinated Catastrophe

Robert photographed this catastrophic sign in Everett, WA.


No coffee?!? I wouldn't last 10 minutes at that football field. And why does coffee get called out separately anyway? They could have just written "No food or drinks" to avoid redundancy.

Thanks, Robert !

Birthday Card Catastrophe

This catastrophic birthday card, which Brian found at a car wash of all places, shows that you're always better off with a homemade card.


Thanks, Brian!

And speaking of birthday's [sic], my mom turns 60 today! Happy Birthday, Mom!

Hehe, You Said "Bunghole"

My parents found this apostrophe catastrophe at Borderlands State Park in Easton, MA.


This one is a bit subtle -- it's should be its. My dad writes, "Maybe if I do a lot of weightlifting, I too will be able to drink from the bunghole of a barrel."

They also got to see sheep at the state park, which made me jealous.

Thanks to my parents, who are totally awesome!

Apostrophe Catastrophe, Hear Me Roar!

Lynne says she was "gobsmacked" to find this badly punctuated flyer in one of her shopping bags from Food Lion in North Carolina:


The spacing and lack of hyphens also made me wonder what "complete the tell" means.

Thanks, Lynne!

Catastrophe at Six Flags

Kami, a colleague from my old company, writes, "Here's something I picked up at Six Flags this week while I was suffering through a visit with my kids."


Whoever wrote that sign is the opposite of a superhero.

Thanks, Kami!

Health Insurance Catastrophe

I hope there is something in the PPACA to prevent insurance companies from sending out horrific ads like this:


Whoever wrote this ad suffers from a pre-existing condition -- stupidity.

Thanks to Brian for forwarding this e-mail from benefitsstore.com.

The Childrens Are Our Future

Natalie notes the irony of seeing this ad on her Google Reader while reading Apostrophe Catastrophes.


To recap, children, like women or men, is already plural.

Thanks, Natalie!