Words and Weird Misunderstandings

It's all in the words. Using the right words isn't always about the literal meaning of the words. The context matters, too. And just a slight variation can make a world of difference when it comes to wordly weirdness. Here are some examples:

Who's Calling?

In April 1977, a construction supervisor in France made an incredible find. His team uncovered the heads of the Kings of Judah statuary that once decorated the Notre Dame Cathedral (statues there at present are reproductions.) The statues themselves had been sold as scrap after being removed by revolutionaries during the French Revolution, and the heads were presumed to have met the same fate. But after the 1977 discovery, the world eventually learned that the long-lost heads had been collected and buried for safe-keeping by an art-loving aristocrat.

Why did the French antiquities authorities initially show no interest in this find when the construction supervisor called them with his exciting news ?

...It could have been the date of the call, April 1, or

...perhaps, the disbelief stemmed from the man's words when he introduced himself as Giscard D'Estaing. His name, in fact, was Giscard D'Estaing, but that was also the name of France's president at the time.

It Sounded Similar

At the Battle of Maida in 1803, the British/Sicilian Allied commander ordered his troops, "Advance when the drums sound."

Someone who probably would be relieved to know his name was lost to history, communicated this order to the troops as "Advance, sounding the drums."

And that's what the troops did, alerting the waiting French troops to their arrival.

Not a Cognate

Learning a foreign language is aided by cognates, words that sound the same in both the native and target language. But it you're going to advertise, it pays to check first to ensure the word really is a cognate. That's what the makers of Parker Pens found out when they introduced a slogan in Mexico meant to communicate that their pen won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you.

They learned to their dismay that the Spanish word "embarazar" is no cognate; their slogan translated as, "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant."

The moral of the story? Watch your words. Weird meanings lurk in the most unexpected places.