Apostrophe Protection Society
Encyclopedia
The Apostrophe Protection Society is a UK society that has "the specific aim of preserving the correct use of this currently much abused punctuation mark". It was founded in 2001 by John Richards, a retired sub-editor, in response to his observations of widespread incorrect use of the apostrophe
.
The website includes many examples of apostrophe abuse, but is intended to help correct, rather than chide, offenders. Richards has a standard, polite letter that explains the basic rules for apostrophe use, which he sends to supporters to forward on to offending businesses and other organisations.
In 2001, Richards won an Ig Nobel Prize
for "his efforts to protect, promote, and defend the differences between plural and possessive".
Creating such a society does not come without criticism. Richards receives much heckling from the public; most notably, "What on Earth are you doing with your life?".
Apostrophe
The apostrophe is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritic mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet or certain other alphabets...
.
The website includes many examples of apostrophe abuse, but is intended to help correct, rather than chide, offenders. Richards has a standard, polite letter that explains the basic rules for apostrophe use, which he sends to supporters to forward on to offending businesses and other organisations.
In 2001, Richards won an Ig Nobel Prize
Ig Nobel Prize
The Ig Nobel Prizes are an American parody of the Nobel Prizes and are given each year in early October for ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research. The stated aim of the prizes is to "first make people laugh, and then make them think"...
for "his efforts to protect, promote, and defend the differences between plural and possessive".
Creating such a society does not come without criticism. Richards receives much heckling from the public; most notably, "What on Earth are you doing with your life?".