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Mistakes

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forests

How a Map Mistake Saved a Forest of 300-Year-Old Trees

Minnesota's "Lost Forty" survived the lumberjack's ax thanks to a improperly drawn lake.
Frank Jacobs, Big Think March 31, 2023
London, England

The Wrong Abbey Road

Tourists who rely on a transit map to find the iconic Beatles location often end up in a far-off neighborhood.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Armstrong Tunnel

This quarter-mile tunnel under the Bluff in Pittsburgh bends at a 45-degree angle.
libraries

Podcast: Library of Mistakes

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team May 26, 2021
infrastructure

What It's Like to Stress-Test Berlin's Brand New, Much Maligned Airport

A little stressful, by design.
Andrew Curry October 30, 2020
Derby, Australia

Derby Boab 'Prison Tree'

Critics argue this boab tree has been mislabeled for the sake of dark tourism, undermining its spiritual significance.
Stockholm, Sweden

'Highway'

Locals rallied to save this beloved mural after someone mistakenly attempted to cover it.
Oulu, Finland

Paska Kaupunni

This misspelled graffiti reappears every time it is removed.
museums

Solved: A Case of Mistaken Identity in a Madrid Art Museum

Auguste Rodin takes his rightful place in the portrait gallery, evicting King Leopold II of Belgium.
Matthew Taub June 6, 2019
Newmarket, England

Potoooooooo

A misunderstanding gave this 18th-century racehorse a most amusing name.
ancient

The Latin Typo That Gave Us the Temple of Ridicule

Ancient Rome never had an "Aedicula Ridiculi," but plenty of people thought it did.
Caroline Wazer April 12, 2019
England

Park Tunnel

An engineering error ensured this cavernous 350-foot-long subterranean thoroughfare was never used as intended.
Albany, New York

The Mummy Ankhefenmut

A CT scan revealed the identity of this 3,000-year-old mummy that everyone erroneously thought was female.
Laadla, Estonia

Kingdom of Torgu

A clerical error gave rise to this imaginary micronation in the southwestern corner of Estonia.
London, England

Coade Stone Caryatids

A measuring mishap led to these artificial stone ladies losing their stomachs.
Castalla, Spain

La Foia de Castalla

This site is both a remarkable reminder of the town's mining history and a fantastic government blooper.
Lake Placid, Florida

Lake Placid Murals

Many of the murals covering this sleepy Florida town hide some sort of intentional error.
Two Harbors, Minnesota

3M Birthplace Museum

This institution celebrates the happy accidents of uncommon sticktoitiveness.