Typos With Huge Unexpected Consequences

A $125 million satellite launched to Mars in 1999 aimed to study the planet's weather, giving NASA data on its surface atmosphere and environment.

The Mars Climate Orbiter crashed before finishing its mission. A code error caused this failure.The team typed incorrect values into the calculations, causing the satellite to fall dangerously low into the atmosphere.They failed to change the imperial measurements to metric. This caused friction that tore the satellite apart. How did they get the numbers wrong?

The typo cost the agency a large sum of money. It also forced NASA to completely change how it built future projects.

In 2005, Mizuho Securities tried to sell one J-Com share on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for ¥610,000 (about $6,730). A typing mistake listed 610,000 shares for only ¥1 each. That is nearly less than a penny per share.

Brokers could not cancel the order due to how the TSE handled requests. The mistake cost the company an estimated ¥40 billion (about $343 million). Several executives resigned because of the bad trade.

This typo had a big impact. When compiling the 1934 New International Dictionary, the chemistry editor sent a note: "D or d, cont./density." This told writers the letter's case could show density.

However, an error meant that the...spaces were removed.The spaces between the two letters were removed, making it read like “Dord” to the editor. The editor then added Dord and its definition to the dictionary. Dord stayed in place from 1934 until it was found in 1947.

In September 1997, Larry Page and other Google founders discussed a name for their new search engine. Sean Anderson suggested “googolplex.” A googolplex is a huge number, fitting the massive data the search engine needed.

Page liked the idea but chose “googol” instead, finding it punchier and easier to read. When Anderson searched for the term to check the domain, he...misspelled the word as google.He registered it after Page liked the spelling change. This means the name of a major world company became a typo.

Kuwait faced political turmoil in 1991. The Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, dissolved parliament to stop MPs from voting against him.

This move followed free, state-made copies of the Koran having typos.The Koran had misprints.Omitting passages from the holy book caused outrage among many Muslims in Kuwait. They believed the Sheikh sought to change the faith. This action led him to dissolve the elected body.

All parties must check contracts carefully before signing. These agreements cement business relationships; they become legally binding once they take effect. Companies should not just agree to a contract like you do to Apple software updates.

Two Canadian companies foundthe harda waygetting grammarexactlyCorrectness in contracts is vital. A typo with an extra comma let Rogers Communications cancel their agreement after one year instead of the planned five years. This cost Bell Aliant over $1 million.

Chile announced it would issue hundreds of thousands of new coins in 2008. No one guessed these coins would become a national embarrassment and cost several mint executives their jobs.

All the coins had an obvious typo that changed thecountry'sname. The coinsactually had “Chiie”stamped on them. Because many coins were already in circulation, they could not be recalled. Mint boss Gregorio Iniguez and other staff lost their jobs because of this mistake.

Recent history shows governments and politicians globally banning or taxing tobacco products, like cigarettes, as smoking harm became clearer.

In 2006, Hawaii tried a new tax. It would allow 1.5 cents for cancer research per cigarette sold. A typo in the legislation, missed until after it passed, meant the tax onlyapplied to one cigaretteinstead of every one sold. This costs researchers an estimated $8 million in lost funds.

A 2010 Australian cookbook caused outrage. A recipe substituted the word pepper for people in the instructions. The typo made the phrase readnow read“salt and freshly ground black people,” causing many to complain about the error inThe Pasta Bible.

Some saw it as an innocent mistake. Others accused the publisher of racism, leading them to destroy all copies in their warehouse—though they did not recall books already sold.

The "Wicked" Bible was a 1631 religious text. A misprint in a famous section caused major uproar in the 17th century. It omitted the word “not” fromone of the ten commandments, so it now reads, “thou shalt commit adultery.”thou shalt commit adultery.

A year after the error surfaced, King Charles I ordered destruction of all Bible copies. He fined the printers and banned them from publishing books. Now, Wicked Bibles are collector's items.

A misplaced character in computer code causes problems. Usually, they cause only small issues and crashes on personal computers. In 1991, however,millions of people lost phone line access.This happened after a typo.

Almost all Baltimore region telecommunications stopped for two months. A '6' was typed where a 'D' belonged. This seems intentional. Those two characters are nowhere near each other on a keyboard.Near each other on a keyboard.They each other on a keyboard.

Mariner 1Mariner 1 was the first NASA spacecraft in a new Venus exploration program. It cost almost $17 million. Officials lost control minutes after launch because guidance systems failed.

An investigation showed a missing hyphen caused the failure. Arthur C. Clarke made the incident famous when he referred to theMarine 1It was wrecked by the most expensive hyphen in history.