Haiioween!
This may seem like an odd title for a page, but there is a reason for it. One of my pet peeves is when people write in all upper case except for the "L", which they write as lower case. It may not seem like much of a problem, but when you look at it, it appears that it may be an "I". It wouldn't bother me much, except I soon realized that this is not an isolated incident - I see this sort of thing often.
The first time I was confronted with it was when I saw a sign that said "HAPPY HAllOWEEN". I looked at it for a few minutes and soon realized that it did not say "Haiioween" as my mind immediately saw it, but rather meant to say "Halloween". So, since then, I have been making note of these occurrences as I discover them in an effort to try and figure out what goes on in the human mind to allow such a glaring error to occur. (I am also adding when an I or an l is confused with the number 1 to the list.) Thus, the following table shows the various times I's, l's, and 1's have been confused:
| Word(s) | With Serif | What it looks like | What it should be | In what context | Where seen |
| HAllOWEEN | HAllOWEEN | Haiioween | HALLOWEEN | On a billboard | Prescott, AZ |
| INDIAN HOllOW | INDIAN HOllOW | Indian Hoiiow | INDIAN HOLLOW | An apartment complex name | San Antonio, TX |
| EXPlORER | EXPlORER | Expiorer | EXPLORER | On the back of a van | Chicago, IL |
| GlASS | GlASS | Giass | GLASS | On a bottle of glass cleaner | St Louis, MO |
| BlUE | BlUE | Biue | BLUE | Ad for a 1985 Blue Corvette | Seattle, WA |
| IllINOIS | IllINOIS | Iiiinois | ILLINOIS | Filled in on a form | Dayton, OH |
| PlEASE | PlEASE | Piease | PLEASE | On a sign in a convenience store | San Antonio, TX |
| HAllMARK | HAllMARK | Haiimark | HALLMARK | On a school building | San Antonio, TX |
| RAUl | RAUl | Raui | RAUL | On a form | San Antonio, TX |
| OCEANS II | OCEANS II | Oceans 2 | OCEAN'S 11 | On a movie marquee | Edina, MN |
| COIA | COlA | Coia | COLA | On "Captain Linger," a short cartoon | Cartoon Network |
| SPANIEl | SPANIEl | Spaniei | SPANIEL | On a sign for a "Cocker Spaniel" puppy | Minneapolis, MN |
| BELl | BELl | Beli | BELL | At dustindiamond.com | cyberspace |
| ELECTRICAl | ELECTRICAl | Electricai | ELECTRICAL | On a sign in Home Depot | Bloomington, MN |
| PlUMBING | PlUMBING | Piumbing | PLUMBING | On a sign in Home Depot | Bloomington, MN |
| BlESSED | BlESSED | Biessed | BLESSED | On a $1 bill | Eagan, MN |
| 3I,500,000 | 3I,500,000 | 3i,500,000 | 31,500,000 | On a Nigerian spam | cyberspace |
| l am sorry | l am sorry | L am sorry | I am sorry | On a Nigerian spam | cyberspace |
| ClEVELAND | ClEVELAND | Cieveland | Cleveland | In the movie "Major League" | On my TV |
| EMPlOYEE | EMPlOYEE | Empioyee | EMPLOYEE | On a sign | Eagan, MN |
| STROllER | STROllER | Stroiier | STROLLER | On a sign | Eagan, MN |
| FlIGHT | FlIGHT | Fiight | FLIGHT | On a whiteboard | Eagan, MN |
| BlAZING | BlAZING | Biazing | BLAZING | On a movie marquee | Minneapolis, MN |
| BOTTlES | BOTTlES | Botties | BOTTLES | On a trash can | Eagan, MN |
| lOCATION | lOCATION | Iocation | LOCATION | On a whiteboard | Eagan, MN |
Have you come across an incident where an "l" was confused with an "I"? If so, send it to us to include it in the list!