Spiriual* (for Spiritual*)

On July 10, 1925, an Indian mystic and spiritual master called Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani in 1894) took a public vow of silence, cheerfully maintaining it until his death in 1969. (The slogan "Don't Worry—Be Happy" is attributed to him.) He communicated using an alphabet board, later in the 1950s switching to a set of "unique hand gestures." Born to Zoroastrian parents and nicknamed "Electricity" by his school chums, he founded the "Cosmopolitan Club" in order to raise money for charity (sometimes by betting on horse races) and to stay informed of current events. He excelled at singing and cricket. He played several instruments and spoke several languages; he also wrote poetry, and enjoyed the writings of Hafiz, Shelley, and Shakespeare. Baba later dealt directly with lepers, the poor, and the mentally ill, founding a "Love Ashram" in 1924 that was free to anyone regardless of caste or faith. Baba's spiritual awakening occurred at age 19 when he was kissed on the forehead by "a very old Muslim woman" named Hazrat Babajan, a noble from Afghanistan who had once fled an arranged marriage on her wedding day. (Ultimately considered a saint by some, "a mad woman, witch, or sorceress" by others, Babajan's age is estimated to have been somewhere between 95 and 141!) I was unable, by availing myself of the powers of Google, to dig up any major dirt on the dashing holder of darshan. Despite a few eccentric moves, dubious claims, and unpopular stands (he strongly opposed LSD and other drug use in the 1960s), he seems relatively above-board for a guru to the stars. (Baba shone among the glitterati of Golden Age Hollywood.) And what's not to love in a charismatic leader who urges us to "face all hardships with one hundred percent cheerfulness, and give no importance to caste, creed, and religious ceremonies"? Today is known as Silence Day by Meher Baba's followers, who in honor of the "Compassionate Father" will remain speechless for the duration. Baba stated that "because man has been deaf to the principles and precepts laid down by God in the past, in this present Avataric form, I observe silence." The year before he died he proclaimed: "I want all my lovers to observe complete silence for twenty-four hours, from midnight of July 9th to midnight of July 10th, 1968." Shhhh. We found three cases of today's typo in OhioLINK, and 32 in WorldCat.

(Meher Baba in 1925, from Wikimedia Commons.)

Carol

Aghanis* (for Afghan*)

Mulberries are delicious, and extremely nutritious. They're also rather difficult to collect, except for on the bottoms of your shoes, the tops of your cars, the tires of your bikes, the poop of your birds, etc. They say the best way to harvest them is to lay a clean sheet or tarp on the ground and then shake the tree until they all come tumbling down. Unfortunately, however, mulberries don't all ripen at once, so basically that's a whole lotta shakin' goin' on. Expect a claret-red stain on everything they touch (including you). Some mulberries are white, but the commoner purple ones start out that way as well. You should also be prepared to to consume the little white stems, since unlike raspberries and the like, these fruits are not easily separated from their host. But don't look aghast: mulberries are really quite delightful, and the pride of places such as Turkey and Afghanistan. The latter country, in fact, was once known as the "Mulberry Empire." We shook five of today's typos out of OhioLINK, and 162 out of WorldCat.

(Mulberry, Morus macroura, April 2008, from Wikimedia Commons.)

Carol Reid

Deeer* (for Deer, etc.)

Once upon a time, Arkansas was known as “The Bear State.” Apparently we no longer have enough ursine inhabitants to warrant this moniker nowadays, but we could certainly make a case for “The Deer State.”  In our neighborhood alone they’re plentiful enough, and we refer to our unfenced flower beds as “deer salad bar.”

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, white-tailed deer range the Americas from the Arctic Circle in Canada to south of the equator in Peru and Bolivia, and the fact that the species predates the Ice Age makes it the oldest extant deer in the world.  No wonder we’re no match for their foraging prowess.

Deeer* is a lowest probability typo on the Ballard list.  There’s only one English-language instance of it in OhioLINK, and I’m pretty sure the uniform title for James Fenimore Cooper’s classic tale is not “Deeerslayer.”

(A couple white-tailed fawns as seen on our street)

Deb Kulczak

Poopular* (for Popular, etc.)

Oh dear, should we even mention today’s typo in polite society?  Granted, “poop” is one of the milder terms one might encounter.  But for something that’s so decidedly NOT popular, have you ever considered just how many synonyms there are for it in the English language?  

Fortunately, if OhioLINK is any indicator, the typo Poopular* is rare in library catalogs.  There are only 3 instances of it, all in reference to popular music.  So you may have nothing to clean up today!

(Jenny Lind, the famous opera singer and popular music performer, from Wikimedia Commons)

Deb Kulczak

Independec* (for Independence, etc.)

Whether the goal is “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” “Liberté, égalité, fraternité,” or “Ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ an-niẓām” (“the people want to bring down the regime”), it seems human beings everywhere will seek independence from would-be oppressors.  On this day, the birthday of the United States, we celebrate that impulse, because it is a noble one, even if the reality doesn’t always measure up.

Do your part by declaring Independec* from the tyranny of typos in your own catalog.  Right now there are 16 of these moderate probability errors in OhioLINK.  And if you’re lucky enough to have fireworks this year, enjoy them for those of us who aren’t so fortunate.  (Burn bans, you know!)

(Fireworks, by Joseph Hart, from stock.xchng)

Deb Kulczak

Demonstat* (for Demonstrate, Demonstration, etc.)

“It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!”  So went the old advertisement for Chiffon margarine.  When Mother Nature realized she had been fooled into thinking the partially hydrogenated substitute was her sweet, creamy butter, she demonstrated her displeasure with thunder and lightning.

One has to wonder if someone hasn’t seriously deceived Mother Nature to provoke the display of wrath we’ve seen in the last month or so: wildfires in Colorado, flooding and tornadoes from tropical storm Debby, and a derecho (land hurricane) that knocked out power from the Midwest to the East Coast.  Not to mention the record heat and drought in much of the country.  Sadly, there’s nothing silly about the destruction and death these events have caused.

But as for the more benign Mother Nature from the world of Chiffon, she was portrayed by actress Dena Dietrich, a Pittsburgh native born in 1928.  Her credits include roles on several soap operas, the sitcoms The Golden Girls and Murphy Brown, and various other films and television programs.

Demonstat* is another typo of high probability.  There are currently 43 English-language instances of it in the OhioLINK database.

(Mother Nature as portrayed by Dena Dietrich, from Wikiality)

Deb Kulczak

Assasi* (for Assassin, Assassination, etc.)

Care to guess how the assassin snail got its name?  Clea helena, a freshwater snail with origins in Southeast Asia, is a member of the Buccinidae, or whelk, family.  Whilst you might enjoy looking at these pretty creatures in your aquarium, their chief virtue is that they eat other snails–the undesirable kinds that can quickly overrun a tank if accidentally introduced with new plants or fish.

You can read more about assassins at the Conscientious Aquarist site.  Or if you prefer to move in for the typo kill, hunt down and eradicate instances of Assasi* in your catalog.  It’s a high probablilty error on the Ballard list with 80 English-language specimens in OhioLINK.

(Clea helena, from Wikimedia Commons)

Deb Kulczak