Japanese speakers frequently have difficulty differentiating between the English letters “L” and “R”. This was particularly evident in 1950 when supporters of General Douglas MacArthur (then serving as military governor of Japan during the post-war occupation) tried to encourage him to run in the next US Presidential election.
The banner stretched across a busy Tokyo street, proclaimed, “We pray for MacArthur’s Erection.”
When the Chief Justice Got the Presidential Oath Wrong, a 13-Year-Old Girl Called Him Out
In 1929, Chief Justice William Howard Taft botched Herbert Hoover’s presidential oath. A 13-year-old girl caught the mistake and wrote to correct him. Taft insisted she was wrong about how he’d gotten it wrong. Unfortunately for Taft, someone had recorded the whole thing.
America’s First Airmail Flight Was a Spectacular Failure—30 Miles in the Wrong Direction and a Train Ride to Finish
On August 17, 1859, balloonist John Wise set out from Lafayette, Indiana, on a mission to revolutionize mail delivery. His destination was New York City, his transportation was a balloon named Jupiter, and his navigation system consisted largely of hoping the wind wanted to go in the same direction. It didn’t. What followed was five…
Famous Typos in History: The Greatest Proofreading Disasters Ever Printed
Discover famous typos and proofreading disasters that changed Bibles, dictionaries, laws, headlines, and publishing history.
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