13 Mart 2005 Pazar

Typo Generates International Rage

CNN has up one of those stories which reinforces the need for human proofreaders in an age of spell-checker and grammar checkers. A senator gave testimony this week about nuclear tests in the Nevada desert in 1962 called "Project Sedan." It was part of the early enthusiasm for nuclear explosives, before scientists really realized the radioactive costs of using such devices, and was trying to prove that nukes could be used in large construction projects which need to clear out a large crater quickly. One of the people on the scene accidentally transcribed the name as "Project Sudan" - a natural slip of the pen or keyboard - and posted their write-up on the web. Well, it was quickly picked up by the international press, and the Sudanese government went to the point of demanding explanation and reparations from the U.S. government for "cancer spread in Sudan" by these tests. Luckily, Steven Aftergood (which sounds suspiciously like a tongue-in-cheek psuedonym) caught the story and figured out quickly that the whole thing was just one misplaced letter.

Then again, let us not forget if Iran is not help back, "Project Sudan" could still happen... just not with American weapons.

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