You’ll need to wait until they get out of trouble with the law, but we’ve got some guys your church probably needs to hire. From March to May, the two members of TEAL (Typo Eradication Advancement League) took a cross-country march to eradicate typos and misspellings. They have this to say about the trip:
“This March through May, we, sworn members of TEAL, will be taking a road trip around the country to stamp out as many typos as we can find, in public signage and other venues where innocent eyes may be befouled by vile stains on the delicate fabric of our language.”
They were going from Boston to San Diego. Unfortunately, when they corrected a hand-painted historical marker at the Grand Canyon, the government stepped in. I could never find exactly what typo they were fixing, but I hope it was worth a year of probation and a lifetime ban from national parks.
Either way, all you church folks need to hunt these guys down immediately and inquire whether they are available as church bulletin, sign and web site proofers. Like they did for so many independent businesses, the Rockefeller Center and the Grand Canyon signage, maybe they can help keep your chruch from embarassing missspellings, too.
- The Chicago Tribune has the lengthy story about them.
- NPR covers the story, with audio.
- Laughing squid covers the story, with pictures.
- Google’s cache of the (now gone) About TEAL site.
(link via Kem Meyer)
Randy Ehle
September 5, 2008
These guys need to walk through the blogosphere, as well. Let’s take a little pride in our language, folks!
Chris Huff
September 5, 2008
Were two words in your last sentence intentionally misspelled?
Joshua Cody
September 5, 2008
@Chris Huff Good eye! Yes, they were intentional. Just keeping our readers on their toes while we’re on the subject of misspellings.