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12 Outlandish Typos, Misprints and Missteps from Respected Publications

In 1903, 'The New York Times' said it’ll take millions of years to develop airplanes.

12 Outlandish Typos, Misprints and Missteps from Respected Publications

April 27, 2023

Welcome to the wonderful world of ... mistakes and blunders. From the Wright Brothers proving the New York Times wrong about the feasibility of powered flight, to Vanity Fair giving Oprah and Reese Witherspoon extra limbs, this list is filled with some of the most notorious and embarrassing miscalculations ever made by prestigious magazines and publications.

From the New York Times misinterpreting Hitler’s hatred of Jews, to Time Magazine’s baffling decision to name Adolf Hitler as Person of the Year, this list is a testament to the fact that even the most respected publications can make some really dumb mistakes -- even with, well, Hitler. We’ve also included some blunders that weren’t quite as serious, like, say, Erik Sandberg-Diment’s prediction that laptop computers wouldn’t last long -- just one of many confident yet totally baseless predictions printed by major magazines.

So, let’s take a look at some of the biggest blunders ever made by prestigious magazines and publications. Enjoy.

12

Newsweek: The internet is a flash in the pan

Media blunders W http:/ 1995 Newsweek THE INTERNET IS A FLASH IN THE PAN In 1995, Newsweek ran an article saying that computers and networks can make us feel isolated from each other, and that the internet can be full of useless information, which is why it won't take off. Well... that was spectacularly right and wrong. CRACKED — atm2003/Shutterstock
Newsweek

11

Prestigious Newspaper, Dumb Mistake.

Media blunders 1903 The New York Times WE'LL GET PLANES IN 10 MILLION YEARS The New York Times made a huge miscalculation in 1903 when they said it would take 10 million years for airplanes to be developed. Just nine weeks later, the Wright Brothers proved them wrong by achieving the first successful manned flight. CRACKED — Lukas Gojda/Shutterstock
Big Think

10

Aliens from Mars?

Media blunders 1906 The New York Times THERE'S A CIVILIZATION ON MARS In 1906, The New York Times wrote an article saying that there was life on Mars. This was based on a mistake made by an Italian astronomer. Не had used the word canali, which was misinterpreted as canals instead of channels. CRACKED — Vadim Sadovski/Shutterstock
FiveThirtyEight

9

Cosmo: Wrong Again.

Media blunders 1988 COSMOPOLITAN YOU CAN'T GET AIDS FROM STRAIGHT SEX In 1988, Cosmopolitan magazine wrote an article that said you probably wouldn't get AIDS from having hetero sex. But medical experts reacted instantly and said that was wrong and it could be dangerous. CRACKED — AimPix/Shutterstock
The Seattle Times

8

Dewey Defeats Reality.

Media blunders Chicago Daily Tribune DEWEY DEFEATS TRUM G.O.P. Sweep Indicated in State; Boyle Lead DA LECTAR REPORT BY in RECORD CITY Roce VOTE BEEN IN - 10 For Attennay LATE TALLIES - VOTE I Timas VILMA 1948 Chicago Tribune DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN In 1948, the Chicago Tribune wrongly said that Thomas Dewey had won the presidential election, which resulted in the well-known headline Dewey Defeats Truman. Talk about getting ahead of yourself. CRACKED — Byron H. Rollins/Wiki Commons
History

7

Hitler’s Hatred: Real or Ruse?

Media blunders 1922 The New York Times HITLER'S NOT SERIOUS ABOUT THE JEWS! In 1922, The New York Times wrote an article wondering if Hitler's hatred of Jews was real or just a way to get people to follow him. They included quotes from people who thought it was just a clever political trick. CRACKED — Elzbieta Sekowska/Shutterstock
CBS News

6

Vanity Fair

Media blunders NUAL ARS! ONE VERY MOMENTOUS YEAR Photograph by ANNIE LEIBOVITZ 2018 VANITY FAIR REESE and one retiring editor WITHERSPOON HAS THREE LEGS The 2018 Hollywood issue of Vanity Fair had a cover photo of Oprah and Reese Witherspoon, but it showed them with extra limbs. Witherspoon had three legs, and somehow nobody noticed this before publication time. CRACKED — Vanity Fair
BBC

5

Media blunders 1932 WALTER DURANTY, PULITZER PRIZE WINNER STALIN AIN'T SO BAD In 1932, Duranty won the Pulitzer Prize for writing 13 articles about the Soviet Union under Stalin. Unfortunately, his coverage has been proven to be inaccurate because he downplayed Stalin's brutality and only used official sources. CRACKED — Wiki Commons
The New York Times Company

4

Laptops

Media blunders 1985 The New York Times LAPTOPS ARE A FAD In 1985, a tech writer for The New York Times wrote that laptop computers wouldn't last long because they weren't very useful and were too expensive, and that they wouldn't significantly change in the future. CRACKED — Ground Picture/Shutterstock
Quartz

3

Dream on, Robert.

Media blunders 1920 The New York Times SPACEFLIGHT VIOLATES THE LAWS OF PHYSICS In 1920, The New York Times wrote a piece making fun of rocketry pioneer Robert H. Goddard's idea that his rockets could one day take pictures of the Moon and go to other planets, saying it would go against a basic law of physics CRACKED — Vladi333/Shutterstock
Vice

2

"Person of the Year" indeed.

Media blunders 1938 TIME HITLER IS PERSON OF THE YEAR In 1938, Adolf Hitler was chosen as Person of the Year by Time Magazine, even though they had strongly criticized him. Now, Persons of the Year are chosen for their impact, not praiseworthy deeds ... but still. CRACKED — Everett Collection/Shutterstock
History

1

Holocaust ignored by NYT.

Media blunders WWII The New York Times THE HOLOCAUST? WHERE? During World War II, The New York Times didn't really explain or give much insight into the Holocaust, even though they had access to people who had seen it first-hand, and could have reported on it in detail as it happened. CRACKED — Everett Collection/Shutterstock
The New York Times

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