The English language is infinitely flexible, providing multiple synonyms for almost every word. While that is helpful in most situations, it can also contribute to some confusing and embarrassing slips of the […]
“I’m strong to the finish ‘cuz I eat my spinach.” With those words, Popeye the Sailor inspired generations of kids to suppress their gag reflex and eat all the spinach on their […]
A headline is designed to capture the reader’s attention and draw him or her into the story. Sometimes that happens in entirely unexpected ways. Take a look at some of the most […]
The entertaining (and downright weird) book Unlikely Stories, Mostly by Alasdair Gray becomes entertaining — and downright weird — before the reader gets to the first story. When it was released in […]
Have you heard of the Republic of Chiie? No, it’s not a new tea and coffee shop, nor is it a greenhouse specializing in the sale of Chia Pets. It isn’t even […]
If you accidentally purchase the wrong size of pants, it’s no big deal; as long as you have the receipt, you can exchange them for something that will fit. If only it […]
When it comes to proofreading, who’s whose responsibilty responsibility is it to check for mispellings misspellings? Whoever has that task at the Reserve Bank of Australia, it would probably be a good […]
It has been called the most expensive hyphen in history. That is a bit of a misstatement. It was actually the most expensive overbar in history, but since most of us have […]
Queen Victoria (1819-1901) reigned over Great Britain for 63 years. Her time on the throne was not only long but it was beset with a number of embarrassments for the monarch. Anyone […]
“It’s only those who do nothing that make no mistakes, I suppose.” — Joseph Conrad (1857-1924), British-Polish novelist. Read more great quotes. Read more fun facts about literature.
Proofreading your work is important at every stage of life, but never more than when you submit something that will be subject to public scrutiny. This lesson was learned the hard way […]
When submarine captains go to school to learn how to command a multi-billion-dollar vessel, surely one of the first lessons is “Make Sure All the Hatches Are Closed Before You Dive.” For […]
1992 saw the birth of a new nation: the Kingdom of Torgu. If you happened to overlook this momentous occasion, don’t feel bad. The whole reason the new country sprang into existence […]
In 2012 the editors of Centralia, Illinois’ Morning Sentinel learned the value of one little letter. Red-faced, the editors ran the following correction: “Due to a typing error, Saturday’s story on local […]
In the movie Braveheart, Sir William Wallace gives a stirring speech at the beginning of the battle of Stirling Bridge that motivates the Scots to fight to victory. Perhaps they were so […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 