Misspellings occur all the time and can even happen to the best of us. As a writer myself, there is no mistaking when “you’re” and “your” are used—but, that doesn’t mean I haven’t accidentally used one over the other in a haphazardly sent text.
However, there is a difference between typos sent in chat to errors you wouldn’t and shouldn’t expect from experts—say, a tattoo artist or the government. From street signs and tweets to welcome banners, here are the most hilarious (or infuriating?) misspellings over the years.
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Chino’s roses
Photo by Lala Singian
Yesterday, a photo showing a typo on a supposedly “Chino Roces Ave” street sign made rounds on social media. Instead of “Roces” the sign spelled out “Roses” to the amusement of netizens. Some however were less than pleased and were either infuriated by the oversight or disappointed with the local education system.
Several also pointed out that the historical change of the street’s original name may have contributed to the confusion. The road was once known as “Pasong Tamo Street” until it was renamed “Chino Roces Avenue” in honor of newspaper publisher and freedom fighter Don Joaquin “Chino” Roces in 1988.
Read more: Evolution of Chino Roces
National Bureau of what?
Photo courtesy of Annie Rose Laborte
Earlier this year, a typographical error at the LRT-1 UN Avenue station caught the attention of several hawk-eyed netizens. Originally shared by Annie Rose Laborte in a Facebook post, a sign showed “National Bureau of Investagation” rather than “investigation.” The error was immediately corrected after a flurry of online jokes pointed at the Light Rail Manila Corporation.
“Von Boyage,” they said calmly
Photo from @indorock/Reddit
It’s been more than a decade now but we still remember. Back in 2013, “Von Boyage” instead of “Bon Voyage” was flashed on an LED display at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1. The airport authorities immediately rectified the error but that did not spare them from getting clowned on for butchering the famous French phrase.
Read more: ‘Von Boyage, Von Voyage…’ Happy Trip ‘na lang’
It’s more fun in the “Philppines”
Photo by Katrina Yamzon
As Filipinos, we pride ourselves on being good hosts—whether inside our homes or when welcoming guests into the country. Nothing quite puts a stain on that reputation than a grammatical error on our country’s very name. In 2017, during the 31st ASEAN Summit, a banner alongside EDSA misspelled the Philippines with “Philppines,” prompting online outrage.
The curious case of “covfefe”
Screenshot from @realDonaldTrump/X
Back in 2017, then-US President Donald Trump baffled both supporters and haters with the now-iconic tweet: “Despite the constant negative press covfefe.”
After facing hilarious backlash, he later deleted the tweet and then posted another, doubling down on the original statement: “Who can figure out the true meaning of ‘covfefe’ ??? Enjoy!”
The word is nowhere to be seen in any English dictionary and may only be translated from another language—which we doubt the 45th president of the United States would even be aware of. That said, we can’t help but wonder what he actually meant to type.
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Potato, potatoe
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
In 1992, former US Vice President Dan Quayle became renowned for correcting a student’s proper spelling of “potato” to “potatoe” at the Rivera Elementary School in Trenton, New Jersey spelling contest.
The now-77-year-old once described the mistake as a “defining moment of the worst imaginable kind.” Yet in hindsight, he should be grateful for not making the blunder in the social media age.