Buzz
In April, Hillary Clinton’s campaign issued a statement to reassure supporters, clarifying that their candidate had 'advocated for children and their families throughout her career.' The error was quickly identified and rectified, dispelling any notion that the former senator and secretary of state intended to engage in conflicts with families on the White House grounds. However, typographical mistakes have historically resulted in far more severe and expensive consequences than temporary political embarrassment.
10. The Million-Dollar Comma in US History
A single comma once cost the US government over $2 million in lost revenue. The US Tariff Act of 1872 was designed to eliminate tariffs on 'fruit-plants, tropical and semi-tropical for the purpose of propagation or cultivation.' However, a misplaced comma altered the text to 'fruit, plants tropical and semi-tropical for the purpose of propagation or cultivation,' inadvertently exempting all fruit imports from tariffs instead of just fruit-bearing plants.
Fruit importers swiftly capitalized on the grammatical error, refusing to pay taxes on their shipments. The US Treasury, unimpressed, initially insisted on collecting the taxes. This led to a series of lawsuits, forcing the Treasury to backtrack and refund approximately $2 million (equivalent to $40 million today). Congress eventually intervened, passing a new law in 1874 to resolve the confusion. A thorough investigation later revealed that the error was made by a clerk responsible for transcribing the document.
9. The Misplaced ‘S’ That Led to a Company’s Downfall
In the UK, all limited companies must register with Companies House, a government agency that maintains financial records and corporate details. In 2009, the agency mistakenly declared that Taylor & Sons Ltd., a 124-year-old engineering firm, had ceased operations. This was a shock to the management and employees of Taylor & Sons, as the company was still fully operational and actively conducting business.
The false announcement immediately threw Taylor & Sons into chaos. Customers canceled orders, contracts were nullified, and suppliers withdrew credit lines. Compounding the issue, the managing director was on vacation, leading clients and creditors to assume he had fled amid the company’s supposed collapse. With operations grinding to a halt, Taylor & Sons was forced to shut down permanently, leaving all 250 employees without jobs.
It was later revealed that the company fell victim to a typographical mistake. Companies House had intended to document the closure of Taylor & Son, which was a completely separate entity from Taylor & Sons. Unsurprisingly, the now-defunct Taylor & Sons took legal action against Companies House and emerged victorious, with a judge holding the agency entirely accountable for the downfall of the £8.8 million business.
8. The Pasta Bible
A cookbook released by Penguin Books Australia, the Pasta Bible, sparked controversy with a recipe for tagliatelle and sardines that mistakenly recommended seasoning with “freshly ground black people.” This was, of course, a typographical error for “freshly ground black pepper,” not an unexpected detour into cannibalistic cuisine. The publishers only became aware of the mistake after a reader brought it to their attention. Consequently, Penguin had to discard over 7,000 unsold copies from their inventory, incurring a reprinting cost of approximately 20,000 Australian dollars ($18,000 US).
Penguin couldn’t retrieve the copies already sold but offered replacements to any unhappy customers. Robert Sessions, a Penguin executive, informed the Sydney Morning Herald that the company was “deeply embarrassed by this situation.” He added, “We’re unsure why anyone would take offense,” which seemed somewhat defensive, especially since there was no clear evidence of widespread offense. Sessions also stood by the book’s proofreaders, noting that the frequent use of black pepper in recipes made the oversight easy to miss.
Interestingly, even the actual, non-pasta Bible has had its share of typographical errors. One of the most notorious examples is the “Wicked Bible” from 1631, which accidentally left out the word “not,” resulting in the commandment “thou shalt commit adultery.”
7. The Massive Google Backslash Mishap
On January 31, 2009, between 6:30 and 7:25 AM (Pacific Standard Time), nearly every Google search result displayed an error message stating, “This site may harm your computer.” Users who attempted to proceed were redirected to a warning page suggesting the site might contain harmful software. They were then guided to StopBadware.org, a Google-affiliated site, for further information. The sudden surge in traffic overwhelmed StopBadware.org, causing it to crash and adding to the confusion.
The issue was later traced back to a minor typographical error. Google maintains a database of flagged malicious websites to prevent users from accessing them. In this instance, an employee mistakenly entered the backslash symbol as a malicious URL. As a result, any website containing a backslash in its address was flagged as dangerous. Since nearly all websites begin with http:// or https://, this error effectively blocked access to the majority of the internet.
6. The Legal Battle Between Rogers Communications and Bell Aliant
A costly dispute between Canadian telecom giants Rogers and Bell Aliant, amounting to $1 million Canadian (approximately $750,000 US), was triggered by a single comma in their contract. The agreement stated, “This agreement shall be effective from the date it is made and shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five-year terms, unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party.”
Bell interpreted the second comma to mean the contract could be terminated at any time with a one-year notice. Rogers, however, believed the agreement was binding for five years, after which termination required a one-year notice. When Bell attempted to end the agreement prematurely, a legal battle ensued. Initially, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission sided with Bell, citing “the rules of punctuation.” However, Rogers presented the French version of the contract, which supported their interpretation. This led the Commission to reverse its decision and rule in favor of Rogers.
5. Lockheed’s $70 Million Punctuation Error
If you needed further proof of the critical role punctuation plays, consider this instance of a comma that cost aerospace giant Lockheed Martin a staggering $70 million. In the late 1990s, the company secured a lucrative contract to manufacture C-130J military transport planes for an undisclosed foreign air force. Given the long-term nature of the agreement, the contract stipulated that the aircraft prices would adjust according to inflation.
The contract even included a specific formula to calculate the inflation-adjusted price increase. However, Lockheed Martin misplaced a comma in the formula by one decimal place, resulting in a price increase far below the actual inflation rate. The fortunate foreign air force insisted on enforcing the contract as written, leading to a significant financial loss for Lockheed. While the air force remained unnamed, only Britain, Italy, and Australia were known to have placed orders for the aircraft at that time.
4. The Chilean Currency Mishap
If there’s one thing that should be flawless, it’s a nation’s currency. At the very least, the country’s name should be spelled correctly. However, in 2008, the Chilean mint made this exact mistake, producing thousands of 50-peso coins that read “Chiie” instead of “Chile.” Astonishingly, the error wasn’t officially reported until late 2009. While the government chose not to recall the coins, they dismissed the mint’s manager and several staff members. Many citizens held onto the coins, hoping they might become valuable collectibles, effectively removing them from circulation.
This wasn’t the first blunder by the Chilean mint. On one occasion, a rare medal meant for the mint’s museum was accidentally sold to a collector. A month later, another medal featuring then-president Michelle Bachelet’s likeness was also mistakenly sold.
3. The Tragic Sydney Ambulance Incident
The only human fatality on this list, an 18-month-old Australian toddler, died after an ambulance failed to arrive on time. The child’s doctor had contacted the New South Wales Ambulance Service, requesting an ambulance to arrive within 30 minutes. Unfortunately, the operator mistakenly entered an extra digit, changing the 9:14 AM request to 19:14. After a prolonged wait, the doctor called again, and the ambulance arrived about an hour after the initial request. By then, it was too late—the child had suffered cardiac arrest and passed away at the hospital.
The New South Wales health minister personally apologized for the incident and committed to overhauling the ambulance booking system to avoid similar errors in the future. Proposed changes included automating the time-logging system for the non-emergency hotline. While the triple-0 emergency line (Australia’s version of 911) was already automated, the doctor had contacted the non-emergency 131 line, where operators manually entered times. The new system would involve a second operator verifying the call log and confirming the scheduled pickup time with the caller.
2. Google’s $497 Million Typo Windfall
In 2010, a Harvard University study revealed that typos in website addresses were earning Google approximately $497 million annually. Researchers estimated that around 0.7 percent of attempts to visit a site led users to a similarly named but incorrect site. For example, users aiming for Mytour.com might accidentally land on Listvers.com. These typosquatting sites attract up to 68.2 million daily page views, with about 57 percent hosting advertisements, many of which are served through Google.
1. Miss Universe Canada 2013
The 2013 Miss Universe Canada pageant concluded with Denise Garrido, 26, celebrating a heartfelt victory—until 24 hours later, when she was abruptly stripped of her title. The crown was instead awarded to contestant Riza Santos. It was later revealed that Denise had actually placed third, but an inexperienced staff member’s error while inputting the judges’ handwritten scores into a computer mistakenly declared her the winner. The mistake was uncovered during an independent audit the following day.
Denise, whose family and hometown had been celebrating her win, was visibly stunned by the decision but gracefully relinquished her crown. The pageant organizers also issued a formal apology. This typographical error wasn’t the first controversy to affect the event, which had previously made news when a transgender contestant fought and won the right to compete the year before.
