As a proofreader, editor, and writer, I am all too familiar
with my own mistakes and slipups. In
some strange (possibly vindictive) way, it’s gratifying to come across somebody
else’s oopsies.
In
this 1989 article about teaching a “Science Fiction as Literature” course,
Dartmouth’s Professor Noel Perrin is embarrassed by a whopper of a headline.
Hint: Even in sci-fi, that's not how you spell "worlds"!
My friend Marc Cushman, author of many books on Baby
Boomer media, is particularly burdened by my scrutiny. Before his stuff gets printed, he lets me
rake it over. And he’s kind enough to
let me share a couple of his mis-typings.
In our
recent book about the Irwin Allen series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, we
had a reference to the “Berlin Intentional Film Festival.” Of course, “Intentional” should be “International.” Elsewhere, a studio staffer was described as
having an “all encumbering role,” when “all-encompassing” was meant.
And we
mustn’t forget the time when one of Sid Caesar’s costars on Your
Show of Shows was named “Imagine” Coca.
That’s Imogene Coca, of course.
Closer to
home, here’s an example from a calendar produced by the Oklahoma Department of
Transportation, aka ODOT.
Read the
month’s name again. Hee-hee!
It turns
out that even the Great and Powerful Stephen King isn’t above a little slip now
and then. I came across a silly little
thing when reading Nightmares and Damnations.
It’s in the story “Sneakers,” set in a building which has a recording
studio as a tenant. This is pages 266-67
of the Signet paperback (mine’s the first printing of this mass-market
paperback).
See the reference to Krrang?
This
misspelling isn’t just in the paperback.
In an online PDF which I quickly glanced at, it’s the same:
So, my
question is ... Did Mr King get the name wrong on purpose, as a joke? Or,
was the name messed up somewhere along the line from his fingers to
publication? Perhaps a proofreader or
fact-checker noted the mistake—but was afraid to correct The Master?
Only the
capricious gods of proofing know, and they ain’t takling talking!
See you next Monday for more silliness.
