SPELLING-CHECKER POEM

A poem demonstrating the failings of spelling checkers, written in 1992, was entitled "Candidate for a Pullet Surprise" (and is often referred to as "Owed to a Spelling Checker"). It has appeared on the Internet thousands of times, on Web pages and in e-mails, and also in books and articles about writing. Very often when it appears it is abbreviated or otherwise tampered with, and very often it is presented as authored by "Anonymous" or otherwise without attribution.

The complete, correct poem may be viewed by clicking here.

A 2004 newspaper column about the poem, in the Chicago Tribune, may be viewed by clicking here.

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