Really, the credit for this blog should go directly to the folks at Fiddler’s Elbow.

Let me explain. A few weeks ago my coworkers and I went to Fiddler’s Elbow on our lunch break. As we drove into the back parking lot, I quickly became irritated by a row of crimson banners supporting the University of Utah. And, no, this was not because I’m a huge backer of rival Brigham Young University. No, what really bothered me was the content of several of the banners.

They read: “Go Ute’s.”

Go Ute’s? Go U-T-E-apostrophe-S?! There’s no apostrophe in a plural! How could any decent person (or group of people, for that matter) sleep at night after committing—in 200 point font—a huge and glaring error in punctuation?! Why didn’t anyone—the designer, editor, or printer—catch this before it was plastered all over the side of a completely innocent building? What kind of place was this?

I’ll admit it. I couldn’t think of anything else during lunch. When we went out into the parking lot, I went out of my way and looked at the sign yet again. Yep—still wrong. At this point, I could no longer suffer in silence and began venting my surprise to my coworkers. Shortly after my coworkers’ eyes glazed over, I realized that perhaps there was a better forum for my frustration.

And thus, CommaTrauma was born.