Enduring in advertising and bad movies, but nowhere in reality, is the image of a librarian as a prim and sharp-nosed female (read: spinster) who, after shushing everyone in the near vicinity, retrieves a heavy book from a dusty shelf and hands it to the lowly library patron who backs away to read under her watchful glare. Luckily, we librarians have never bought into this tired cliche and enjoy our careers helping people find answers, navigate the computer web sites and databases, introduce new authors to readers and lead children to learning through rhyme, story and play. And luckily, thousands of users know better too.
But mistakes are made all the time, and some endure until they are corrected or new and better information emerges. The leaning tower of Pisa, the Edsel, Columbus "discovering" Asia after landing in North America these and are at least as well known as the successes like the Eiffel Tower, the microchip or landing on the moon. There are mistakes that one regrets (New Coke), mistakes which anger (leaving the Sleeping Giant off of the Seven Wonders of Canada list), mistakes which amuse (The Tonight Show Headlines) and mistakes which have led to new discoveries and advanced our information about the world (penicillin being accidentally discovered as an effective killer of bacteria).
Our country's name is derived from a mistake. Explorer Jacques Cartier misunderstood the Iroquois people's word for the nearby Stadacona village to mean the whole land subject to Chief Donnacona. From this mistake, the Iroquois/Huron word "kanata" or village, developed into the Canada we know today. Source: canadaonline.about.com
It shouldn't happen, but there are misspellings on the Stanley Cup, the holy grail of hockey. Look close and you can see the Toronto Maple Leaes, the New York Ilanders and the Bqstqn Bruins to name a few.
Source: Hockey Facts and Fun. by Glenn Marlow
The Brontosaurus never existed. A paleontologist had fixed one dinosaur skull onto a set of different dinosaur bones and the creation was named Brontosaurus. Years later the mistake was discovered and the skeleton was fixed and renamed Apatasaurus.
Source: The Dinosaur Atlas by Don Lessum
Pluto is not a planet. Despite what we learned in elementary school, it is no longer correct to say that there are nine planets in the solar system. In August 2005, Pluto was downgraded to a dwarf planet because the IAU determined that it only met two of the three necessary criterion for being classified as a planet.
Source: What's Out There by Mary K. Baumann et al
Safety glass was discovered by accident in 1903. When scientist Edouard Benedictus knocked over a glass flask that had previously contained cellulose nitrate, it shattered but the pieces held together. The evaporated chemical had left a film that kept the glass intact. This discovery was first used for safety goggles during World War I and has been protecting people ever since.
Source: Mistakes that Worked by Charlotte Jones
I like to reflect on the mistakes I regularly make. I always learn something useful or interesting. I enjoy mistakes for their power to startle one into a different way of looking at something. Thomas Edison often said "I've failed my way to success" and it is true that it is only by making mistakes that you can progress and continue to learn. So I wish you readers many "happy accidents", "curious coincidences" and "mistakes that work". The Library always welcomes those who seek to learn and to grow.
Angela Meady, Head of Children's & Youth Services
The "@ Your Library" Column appears in the Sunday edition of the Chronicle Journal newspaper. The Column is written by staff at the Thunder Bay Public Library. Library staff also write for other publications, and those columns will occasionally be posted here as well. This blog helps us share our writing with a broader audience, and provides our readers with a forum for feedback. We welcome your comments!
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