DECEMBER 21st - A Beakon and a Potatoe




On this day in 1989, reports surfaced that the Vice President Dan Quayle’s family Christmas card contained a bit of spelling error. “Beacon” was spelled “beakon.” Not out of left field if you know about Dan (potatoe?), but before you go blaming Dan right away, you should know the misspelling was actually the fault of his wife, Marilyn, and her staff who didn’t notice the error. Spelling as a skill has diminished since the advent of computer age and spellcheck, but as this was a handwritten card the same situation could have occurred today. I really don’t understand how you spell beacon with a “k?” Looks as odd as spelling corn with a “k,” which is only fine if you are a nu metal band from Bakersfield, California. I understand that in certain names a “c” and a “k” are both correct, and I also understand the desire to believe that a “k” is actually better than a “c.” But that’s just for names. More so than that, I wonder what went through the heads of the people who got those cards. They probably felt pretty important. Not just anybody gets a Christmas Card from the Vice Presidential Family. But he/she is reading along. And there it is. Beakon. Wait. Beakon? Do the Quayles think you spell beacon like beakon? Seriously?

Sentiment is lovely. But if execution is shoddy, your massage can be loosed.

See what I did there?

This Day has been Marked.

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