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Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix
David recently posted a sign showing misused quotation marks, which reminded me of one of my favorite sites: The Gallery Of “Misused” Quotation Marks! They feature “Current” Exhibits and a Permanent “Collection”, each of which is filled with awesomely “misused” quotation marks. Some samples:
Sign outside a restaurant in Fort Myers, Florida:
The “Fish” Monger
A brochure for an Estee Lauder self tanning product claims that:
in about an hour, your skin will turn a natural, healthy looking “tan.”
Sign in restaurant in Jacksboro, TN lists the vegetables of the day:
Corn, fried potatoes, “peas” and green beans.
(They also list cottage cheese and macaroni and cheese as vegetables.)
I got this “auto”-reply e-mail from Bizrate.com:
Just responding to let you know that a “human” reads each and every comment to BizRate.com!
Great! I feel much “better” knowing that.
Do you have a favorite story of “misused” quotation marks?
Comments (23)
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At my work, staff have recently posted “Please” turn off the coffee machine after use. haha :)
posted by Pegah on 6-1-2007 at 12:09 pm
When, oh when, will someone pay homage to the awful “Open Sunday’s” that dot our landscape? (Of course, there are numerous variants, all with the misused apostrophe.)
Likewise, the often misused question mark, as in, “I have a question?” Well, do you or don’t you? Common in Forums and Comment sections, such as this one. (Again, we all have seen variants.)
One “wonders” where have we gone wrong in the education of our “children”?
[Yes, they were on purpose!]
posted by WizardBoy on 6-1-2007 at 12:23 pm
Yeah, these error always bugs me, too. Unfortunately, it’s pretty endemic — just another manifestation of crappy government schools. Your tax dollars at work…
Now for the story. In the building where I used to work, we would frequently get building-wide emails alerting us to “sign up with (Kate) in the lobby for XYZ”. They would put her name in parenthesis every time! Is that even stupider and weirder? Dopes.
posted by Sid Morrison on 6-1-2007 at 12:30 pm
Sid — Let’s not blame “government schools”. I was public-school educated until college, in three different states. It’s not always the fault of “government”.
posted by WizardBoy on 6-1-2007 at 12:40 pm
i agree w/ wizardboy! don’t blame the gov’t schools. im a air force brat & i’ve been to public school my whole life. it’s not the gov. it’s the teachers who sometimes stink, but you get that in any school – private or public
posted by trouble on 6-1-2007 at 12:46 pm
Fort Myers is the way to spell it. They shouldn’t make fun of bad punctuation when they can’t spell the name korektley. Only serves to make them look just as dumb.
posted by Sam on 6-1-2007 at 12:57 pm
Let’s face it: for some reason, the American people have come to believe that quotations give emphasis. The “please” that Pegah offered and the “human” from the Bizrate email are examples of this. Why people choose quotes over all caps, bold, or italics, I have no idea.
posted by Flying Saucer on 6-1-2007 at 3:01 pm
Actually, I believe that the Estee Lauder brochure may be using the punctuation correctly. I don’t know what to call the dolor those sprays turn one’s skin, but it definitely isn’t TAN!
(And could we all please quit disparaging one type of school or another? NO one type of school is perfect – just as no particular school is perfect for every child. …putting away the soapbox now…)
posted by Larriann on 6-1-2007 at 3:04 pm
I’d like to correct a word from my previous post. Please remove “dolor” and insert “color”. Too much dependence on spellcheck, NOT an inadequate education.
posted by Larriann on 6-1-2007 at 3:08 pm
As a retired public school teacher, I must protest. Why is no mention ever made of pupils who do not study or learn?
posted by Barbara on 6-1-2007 at 9:00 pm
Maybe not the most “misused,” but certainly unsettling.
On every LAPD vehicle:
“To Protect and Serve.”
posted by John on 6-1-2007 at 9:26 pm
As a grad student on an assistantship, I am a teacher’s assistant for a class. One student failed to turn in her assignment on time claiming medical reasons. She was told to bring proof along with her essay, but she just clipped her paper to my door along with a hand written note that reminded me she was the one with the “medical” emergency. The fact that she put medical in quotes made me wonder. Was she incriminating herself or just confused about quotation marks?
posted by Liz on 6-2-2007 at 11:25 am
“Town Name Public Safety”
It’s on all of our police cars. Or something like it, at least.
(And the name of my town is where I wrote “Town Name”, obviously.)
posted by Pointy-Hatted Geek on 6-3-2007 at 1:26 pm
Just this morning I looked in my mother’s fridge and commented on a container of fresh mozzarella in “water”. Ew.
posted by Sara on 6-3-2007 at 4:44 pm
I was at a sushi bar that was aptly titled the “sushi” bar o_O
posted by the brian on 6-4-2007 at 8:37 am
Is it a southern thing?
posted by Ben on 6-4-2007 at 8:45 am
I was recently in a chain restaurant and in the bathroom was a sign that read:
All employees must “wash” their hands.
Soooo…do they need to wash them, or just pretend to?
posted by Stephanie on 6-4-2007 at 9:03 am
There is an awesome Flickr group dedicated to photos of quotation marks abuse. Very fun to browse through.
It won’t let me post a link in this comment, but if you go to Flickr and search groups for “quotation marks” it’s the first group that comes up. The group name is “Quotation Mark” Abuse.
[Ed note: here's the Flickr group]
posted by Emily on 6-4-2007 at 10:16 am
My favorite was a booth selling “cheese” at a swap meet. I wouldn’t have considered buying the stuff there in the first place (who sells dairy among classic auto parts?), but their sign made me even more wary of what they were actually shilling.
posted by Rose on 6-4-2007 at 1:11 pm
Okay Sid, Wizardboy, and Trouble- I’m a public school teacher. I take offense to the fact that it’s our fault. If you only knew what it’s like to teach kids that either don’t give a rat’s ass or who can’t speak the English language, let alone use correct grammar. I don’t know which is “stupider” or “weirder”- those who know and purposely misuse or those who don’t give a rat’s ass. Just exactly how many generations of our nation’s “finest” have grown up perusing the Giant Toys-R-Us catalog with the R printed backwards? What’s up with that? Most of what is misprinted is media, not school. How’s that for a “teacher lecture”?
posted by Lisa on 6-5-2007 at 10:59 pm
“People” should exercise control over the rather “excessive” use of “quotation” marks!
posted by quotationed on 9-6-2007 at 4:10 pm
My college has signs at the entrance of every dorm: “Welcome” to [building name].
posted by Jodi on 5-19-2008 at 10:50 pm
Commercial property ad copy:
“Location “is the key to this “Wonderfully-Maintained”9,000 sq.ft,2 level building offering “Endless possibilities in the growing-Professional area of Downtown W.S! Attractive storefront Opportunity w/ 6 Upper Lvl.Apts. New”Torch”Roof,Updated plumbing, electrical, kitchens & baths all within the last 4 years. Beautiful Mt.Hood&River Views! A Must See Investment!Terms Available!
I’m a big fan of the fact the quote begining at ‘endless’ has no end.
posted by Karen on 2-4-2009 at 6:07 pm