Costly and Fatal Commas of Blasphemy

The first three items are excerpted and amended from the original at canongate. The fourth item is from my own blog.

1. THE FATAL COMMA
   Czarina Maria Fyodorovna once saved the life of a man by transposing a single comma in a warrant signed by her husband, Alexander III. On the bottom of the warrant the czar had written: `Pardon impossible, to be sent to Siberia.' The czarina changed the punctuation so that her husband's instructions read: `Pardon, impossible to be sent to Siberia.' The man was set free.
2. THE BLASPHEMOUS COMMA
   In several editions of the King James Bible, Luke 23:32 is changed entirely by the absence of a comma. In the passage that describes the other men crucified with Christ, the erroneous editions read: `And there were also two other malefactors.' That clearly includes Christ as a malefactor. Instead of counting Christ as a malefactor, the passage should read: `And there were also two other, malefactors.'
   
3. THE MILLION-DOLLAR COMMA (USA)
   The US government lost over a million dollars through the slip of a comma. In the tariff act of June 1872, a list of duty-free items included: `Fruit plants, tropical and semitropical'. A government clerk accidentally altered the line to read: `Fruit, plants tropical and semitropical'. Importers successfully contended that the passage, as written, exempted all tropical and semitropical plants from duty fees. This cost the US a fortune until May 1874, when the passage was amended.
4. THE TWO MILLION-DOLLAR COMMA (CANADA)
   In August 2006, Rogers Communications was to lose C$2,130,000 because of a misplaced comma in a contract. Yes, the world's most expensive comma and you should all read the column in my previous blog post. The whole thing comes down to this: Page 7 of the contract states the agreement: “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.” Look at the comma in red -- I've highlighted the previous word to make it easy to find. Without the comma it's a five year contract which renews for successive 5 year terms. With the comma, it says the contract can be terminated with one year notice regardless of the terms. This is standard contract verbiage. The judge has ruled that the contract is quite clear and is allowing it to be terminated.

A comma is important. Really. And even if you don't like these anecdotes, you must realize it's important to express yourself clearly and accurately. The comma will help.

Misplaced Comma costs $2.13 million dollars

Life is good. Yes, grammar has struck a blow for itself. Rogers Communications is expected to lose $2,130,000 because of a misplaced comma in a contract. Yes, the world's most expensive comma.

I always espouse good grammar and ridicule people who screw it up (normal typos excused). However this is what we call 'priceless' -- and you should all read the column in the Toronto Globe and Mail.

The whole thing comes down to this: Page 7 of the contract states the agreement: “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.”

Well, let's look at the comma in red, though I've highlighted the previous word to make it easy to find. Without the comma it's a five year contract which renews for successive 5 year terms. With the comma, it says the contract can be terminated with one year notice regardless of the terms. This is standard contract verbiage. The judge has ruled that the contract is quite clear and is allowing it to be terminated. And I, for one, am pleased.

Apostro'phes

So, I was at Eric "Ptomaine" Hedlund's blog earlier today. I go there now and again, despite the fact he posts in spurts and then doesn't post for over a year. If he posted regularly, you can be sure he'd be in the blog link section on your right. You may remember Eric from several other mentions (#1 and #2) in this blog. I only mention Eric because he had this fantastic link in his blog and I feel the need to thank him for reminding me about it. As everyone knows, I despise people who don't know the difference between it's and its, especially when they should know better. It's a regular peeve of mine, and I rant about it endlessly on my website and in posts around the 'net. I am not above writing to an editor of a publication to complain. It's quite frustrating to see the increasing flocks of ignorant people.

So what did Eric post that excited me so much? A link, a long forgotten one. In specific, it's a link to The Apostrophe Protection Society. Yes, it's a real link! The site is not pretty to look at, but it's rather well organized and very informative. I encourage you to go there. If you're a lover of the book Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, you will love this site. Grammar and punctuation are highly underrated.


PS: Don't forget the newsgroup: alt.possessive.its.has.no.apostrophe