Personal Change: Thou shalt commit adultery and other printing errors

From time to time when my daughter was in middle school she had to complete a variety of writing assignments including research papers, debates, book reports, and stories. Whenever she completed a writing assignment, she asked me to proofread it for her. However, when I asked, "Did you read through this yourself?" the answer was always "no."

Writing without proofreading is not limited to middle schoolers. Although I don't have statistics or studies to cite, my feeling - simply from reading thousands of e-mails over the years - is that many people write e-mails and send them without reviewing them for grammar, content, and tone. Some e-mail programs include a recall feature, but once an e-mail has been sent, the bell has been rung.

With any type of writing - e-mail, letter, blog post, book, etc. - it is very easy to mistype a word or use mismatched grammar. These small errors, are easily spotted by others, and can create a negative impression, especially if your content is new to your readers. It is critical to proofread any writing, but especially handouts distributed as part of your presentation.

PROOFREADING LEGENDS

No Price Too High. A woman touring Europe cabled her husband the following message: "Have found wonderful bracelet. Price seventy-five thousand dollars. May I buy it?" Her husband immediately responded with the message: "No, price too high." However, the telegraph operator missed one small detail in his transmission — the signal for a comma after the word "No." The wife in Europe received the reply: "No price too high." Elated by the good news, she bought the bracelet. When she returned to the United States and showed the new bracelet to her shocked husband, he filed a lawsuit against the telegraph company — and won!

Pardon Impossible. Alexander III personally wrote the death sentence of a prisoner with the following words: "Pardon impossible, to be sent to Siberia." His wife Dagmar (daughter of Christian IX, king of Denmark) believed the man innocent. She saved his life by transposing the comma. The sentence then read: "Pardon, impossible to be sent to Siberia."

PROOFREADING THROUGH OUT HISTORY OF THE BIBLE

The Holy Bible is the most printed books of all time. For centuries the Bible was copied by hand. Once printing was invented, the process to print any document was time consuming, as individual letters had to be assembled to create words, sentences, and pages. Then, as now, it was possible for errors and omissions.

In 1631, printers omitted a key word from Exodus 20:14 so that the text read, "Thou shalt commit adultery." Known since as the "Wicked Bible" or "Adulterous Bible," most copies were immediately recalled. The printer was fined and subsequently shut down. Until the 1800s, "f" was also used for "s."

In 1716, printers released a version of the Bible which included a variation of John 8:11 that reads "Go and sin on more" rather than "Go and sin no more."

OTHER PRINTING ERRORS

While in college, I worked part-time at a bookstore. Occasionally we would come across books with missing pages or misprints. One of my favorites was a book with the cover upside-down. The customer wanted a discount, but we convinced her that the "rare edition" was more valuable!

Take time to review and then review again all sections of your handout.

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A woman touring Europe cabled her husband the following message: "Have found wonderful bracelet. Price seventy-five thousand dollars. May I buy it?"

Her husband immediately responded with the message: "No, price too high." However, the telegraph operator missed one small detail in his transmission — the signal for a comma after the word "No."

The wife in Europe received the reply: "No price too high." Elated by the good news, she bought the bracelet. When she returned to the United States and showed the new bracelet to her shocked husband, he filed a lawsuit against the telegraph company — and won!
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/language/mistakes/noprice.asp#whBZRk9jwCdrvbmV.99