As President Andrew Jackson said, “It is a damn poor mind indeed which can’t think of at least two ways to spell any word.”
Spelling is a dying art – mostly due to spellcheckers and a lack of ability by its users to spot obvious errors. The example of the moment, “uniom” rather than union, is more likely poor typing than spelling.
Does it really matter if we think Crocodile Dundee came from Austria rather than Australia? Not really, although since there are no crocodiles there, Squirrel Dundee may have lacked some drama.
However, if it is a matter of bombing runs, Iraq spelled as Iran may cause some political tensions to rise.
Typing errors may excuse many concerns – although the differences between the recovery is slow or low are significant. Perhaps the president (or resident) in the White House needs to double check everything he sends out; this could be extended to his tweets as well.
As we peel away the layers of how this mistake occurred, it may be like the onion – a source of many tears.
Dennis Fitzgerald
Melbourne, Australia
