Mistakes were made
A running list of mistakes, errors, corrections, and the like.
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As Understandably has grown by leaps and bounds over the last year, it’s time to include a clear policy for standards and ethics. We’ll be publishing those soon in greater detail, but the short version includes these points:
First, where Understandably covers anything that might create the appearance of a conflict of interest, we’ll disclose it in the article. This comes up very rarely so far, but it’s a good policy in place proactively.
Second, we only publish content that which we have the legal right to publish, meaning either that we own the copyright, or that contributors writing for us own the copyright, and they’ve licensed it to us.
Third, where we make mistakes we’ll own up to them.
On that last point, check this out: We’re doing something I don’t think any other media brand does. We won’t just run corrections; we’ll keep a running list of all the things we’ve ever had to correct.
We call this Mistakes Were Made, sort of an homage to the late William Safire, who did a heavyweight deconstruction of that phrase.
If you’re a longtime reader who remembers another mistake that we haven’t listed below, or if you find one in the future, send it to the founding editor of Understandably, Bill Murphy Jr., at bill@understandably.com.
Here’s the list so far:
April 14, 2021: Learned that contrary to what I wrote, water fountains are not only called “bubblers” in my home state of Rhode Island, but also in other parts of New England, and Wisconsin.
April 12, 2021: Typo: The ship that got caught in the Suez Canal is the Ever Given, not the Ever Giving.
April 5, 2021: A small, common mistake, but worth noting: “shoo-in,” not “shoe-in.”
April 1, 2021: We wrote incorrectly that if you collected unemployment in 2020 and you’ve already filed your taxes, you’ll need to file an amended return to take advantage of a new tax break. Turns out, the IRS says that’s not necessary, and that it will automatically recalculate returns. We were one of many outlets that got this wrong, based on some old guidance, but the final result was that we shared a mistake. Thanks to the dozen or so readers who pointed this out. (WSJ)
March 29, 2021: Repeated story about Geraldine Hoff Doyle being the inspiration for “Rosie the Riveter;” reader pointed out later research suggesting another worker, Naomi Parker-Fraley, was the true model.
March 9, 2021: Referred to Angela Lee Duckworth as “Amy Duckworth.” Maybe I was thinking of Senator Tammy Duckworth? Corrected.
February 10, 2021: Talked about “suburban dads” buying snowblowers. This wasn’t technically incorrect, but a reader politely pointed out that “suburban moms” do this too. Worth fixing.
January 18, 2021: Meant “public.” Because of embarrassing typo that autocorrect won’t catch, wrote “pubic.”
January 9, 2021: The Washington Monument is 555 feet 5 inches tall, not 554 feet as I wrote Saturday. Supposedly it’s just because the building is 10 times taller than its base is wide… but as a reader who pointed out the error mentioned, you have to wonder if there’s some other numerological or superstitious reasoning.
November 12, 2020: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted a search for a stem cell donor to help save a baby’s life, not the baby’s “wife,” which was a typo but obviously made no sense. Thanks to the 30 or so readers who emailed to let us know!
January 28, 2020: John Altobelli, who perished with his wife and daughter, Keri and Alyssa, in the helicopter crash that took the lives of Kobe Bryant and five other people, had been the head baseball coach at Orange Coast College. I wrote incorrectly that he coached basketball.
January 24, 2020: Reported that “The CEO of Goldman Sachs says his firm won’t underwrite IPOs for companies that don’t have at least one “diverse board member” (with the focus mainly being on including women.)” We forgot the word “don’t,” so it had basically the 180-degree opposite connotation.
And of course, please share Understandably! Can you think of someone who might be drinking his or her coffee right now without it? Thanks in advance!
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Reading your list of errors was like watching the blooper out-takes of a movie. Since I have been reading your blog from the beginning, I remember most of them, but it was a good read for a smile this morning! Keep up the good work. This just shows your are human and not too high and mighty to admit it! Keep writing!
Today: 'materials', not 'materiels'. Also 2 yesterday. Prizes for correctly guessing what they were. As per other posts, this shows humility and a desire to improve. It is also a 'perverse incentive' for me to read all of the content. Good job!