19 April 2010

Oops

Penguin Group Australia has had to reprint 7,000 copies of a book called the Pasta Bible last week after a recipe for spelt tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto suggested a rather unwelcome ingredient.

The recipe called for the dish to be seasoned with "salt and freshly ground black people" instead of black pepper.

The reprint cost A$20,000 ($18,000; £12,000), but stock in bookshops will not be recalled as it is "extremely hard" to do so, Penguin said.

I can see a proof reader getting their arse kicked over that one!

16 comments:

CherryPie said...

It does make you wonder what the person who wrote it was thinking...

Stan said...

My initial guess was that it was due to the Cupertino effect. As I commented on Language Log, cookbooks are notoriously difficult to proofread, but it's hard to believe this error made it all the way through to publication.

jams o donnell said...

I wonder Cherie

Ah Stan I had never heard of teh Cupertino effect but it explains what may have happened

Claude said...

The comment I left on Language Log is: I wonder if there would be such a hoopla if white pepper had been used in the recipe instead of black, and if the grounded people would then be Caucasian, not black.

jams o donnell said...

Oh Claudia white people would totally change the taste of the dish out of all recognition!

Claude said...

Are you implying that I wouldn't be tasty? I hope you're around when Andrew's alien friends finally come down and plan to boil me, grounded or in parts.

But seriously, the reaction to that error is a tempest in a teapot. We have to stop being so bloody self conscious about race and colours. Once, I used the word snigger (instead of snicker) on an American post. And I was told I was racist. In USA, you can't even say, "Oh! boy, it's hot today." if there's a black man near you. Utterly ridiculous....

beakerkin said...

Jams this is a spell check issue. I have had bad ones, but nothing at this level

jams o donnell said...

Agreed Claudi it is a lot of very little. I don't think anyone complained about the typo. It was a case of spotting an outrageous but inadvertant one and correcting. Personally it amuses me.

Of course it is Bekerkin.. sloppy spellchecking and sloppy proofreading

Knatolee said...

Proof-reading, SO important. I once spelled my middle name wrong on my own business card (which I designed myself, so it was all my own doing.)

jams o donnell said...

God yes Knatolee!

Claude said...

Exactly, Jams. That was my point. Grounding white people would have have been funny. I would have sent a list of names to the chef...

jams o donnell said...

Hmm even if they taste rotten they cant spoil the dish worse than sardines!

Claude said...

We'll tell the chef to serve the meal to the Vatican. I can't believe I'm that bad...

jams o donnell said...

Err It's going to take more than a few novenas to save you Claudia!

SnoopyTheGoon said...

I guess the automatic spell checker is to blame for this one. I have seen worse...

jams o donnell said...

Sloppy spellchecking is a curse. Years back and a lot more junior I once sent out a note about Territiorial Inspectors, well it should ahve been except I had changed alll to Territorial Infectors. And they were a humourless and self important bunch of arseholes so you can imagine their response!