Ridiculous History Podcast Episode Summary: "The Ridiculous History of Typos"

Release Date: June 20, 2025 Hosts: Ben Bullen and Noel Brown Podcast: Ridiculous History by iHeartPodcasts

1. Introduction to Typos

In this engaging episode of Ridiculous History, hosts Ben Bullen and Noel Brown delve into the fascinating and often chaotic world of typos throughout history. Setting the stage, Ben emphasizes the universal susceptibility to typos, noting, “There is no organization, there is no authority that is immune to typos because they're very easy to mess up” (06:12).

2. The Wicked Bible: A Historic Typographical Error

The discussion takes a deep dive into one of the most notorious historical typos – the Wicked Bible. Ben and Noel explore how a simple omission led to significant repercussions:

• The Mistake: In the 1631 reprint of the King James Bible, the seventh commandment was erroneously printed as "thou shalt commit adultery" instead of "thou shalt not commit adultery” (10:07).

• Consequences: This blunder resulted in severe penalties for the printers. Ben recounts, “They lose their printing license, that all important, royal approval. They get a 300 pound fine held over their heads” (12:24). Noel adds humorously, “It's typo by omission. Is still a typo, mate” (10:39).

• Rarity and Value: Today, only about ten copies of this erroneous Bible remain, with one fetching between £10,000 and £15,000 at auction (12:24).

3. Dord: The Ghost Word in Dictionaries

Ben and Noel transition to the curious case of "dord," a famous ghost word that infiltrated the Webster's New International Dictionary:

• The Error: In the 1934 edition, "dord" was mistakenly defined as a noun meaning "density" in physics and chemistry (27:15). This was purely a misprint with no etymological basis.

• Discovery and Removal: It wasn't until five years later that an editor recognized the anomaly, leading to the removal of "dord" from subsequent editions. Noel quips, “That's right. And it’s pronounced however you want to because it's not a real word” (42:22).

• Impact on Lexicography: The incident highlights the challenges of dictionary compilation and proofreading, with Ben noting, “English is a living language and we're still learning it ourselves” (42:36).

4. The Pasta Bible Fiasco

The conversation shifts to a modern typo incident involving the Pasta Bible by Lee Blaylock:

• The Typo: A recipe intended to instruct the use of "black pepper" was mistakenly printed as "black people" (20:50). This glaring error led to significant backlash.

• Response: Penguin Australia, the publisher, had to recall and destroy the affected 7,000 copies, incurring a cost of approximately $20,000 (23:24). Ben humorously remarks, “They don't support adultery on paper. As the king, I just commit adultery” referencing the earlier Wicked Bible discussion (12:44).

• Public Reaction: The mistake caused public embarrassment and highlighted the importance of meticulous proofreading, especially in widely distributed works.

5. NASA’s Mariner 1: A Million-Dollar Typo

One of the most expensive typos in history involves NASA’s Mariner 1 spacecraft:

• The Error: In 1962, a missing hyphen in the guidance code led to the spacecraft veering off course shortly after launch (44:10).

• Consequences: NASA had to destroy Mariner 1 just minutes after liftoff, incurring a loss of around $18.5 million (46:02). Noel underscores the severity by stating, “When you're dealing with code and coordinates and things like that, every little character matters” (45:31).

• Technical Specifics: The actual mistake was the omission of an overbar in the symbol for radius, transforming an essential command into a non-functional instruction (46:15).

• Cultural References: Arthur C. Clarke humorously referred to this as “the most expensive hyphen in history” (46:38).

6. Conclusion and Future Topics

As the episode wraps up, Ben and Noel tease future discussions, including more high-stakes typos like those affecting the Lincoln Memorial and hints at upcoming episodes exploring the broader implications of typographical errors. Ben muses, “We can't wait for you to power through some ridiculous history with us in the future” (48:05).

They also acknowledge the role of their research associate, Jeff Factor, in uncovering these historical typos, and express excitement about sharing more absurd and impactful typo stories in upcoming episodes.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Ben Bullen: “There is no organization, there is no authority that is immune to typos because they're very easy to mess up” (06:12).

• Noel Brown: “It's typo by omission. Is still a typo, mate” (10:39).

• Ben Bullen: “They lose their printing license, that all important, royal approval. They get a 300 pound fine held over their heads” (12:24).

• Noel Brown: “That's right. And it’s pronounced however you want to because it's not a real word” (42:22).

• Noel Brown: “When you're dealing with code and coordinates and things like that, every little character matters” (45:31).

• Noel Brown: “We can't wait for you to power through some ridiculous history with us in the future” (48:05).

Final Thoughts

Ridiculous History's exploration of typos serves as both an entertaining and enlightening examination of how seemingly minor errors can have profound and lasting impacts. Through historical anecdotes like the Wicked Bible and scientific setbacks like the Mariner 1 incident, Ben and Noel illustrate the delicate balance between precision and error in human endeavors. This episode underscores the importance of attention to detail and the often-overlooked significance of typography in shaping societal narratives.

For more intriguing stories from the annals of human history, tune into Ridiculous History on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or your preferred podcast platform.