The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks
The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks is a blog about the misuse of English quotation marks. The blog features photographs of signs, notes and advertisements that misuse quotation marks, usually intended as emphasis. Most photographs are reader submissions, curated and commented on by blog author Bethany Keeley-Jonker, who generally intentionally misinterprets the depicted sign.[1]
Type of site | blog |
---|---|
Available in | English |
Created by | Bethany Keeley |
URL | http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/ |
Registration | none |
Launched | July 1, 2005 |
The blog was started in 2005, and after being featured on Yahoo! became an Internet phenomenon.[2]
In September 2016, nearly a year after the previous post, Keeley-Jonker announced that she would no longer be updating the blog,[3] but in March 2020, making "absolutely no promises about the long term", she began updating it again, suggesting that "people wouldn't mind something silly to look at" during the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]
Influence
The theme of the blog has become an Internet meme. On occasion, some businesses will correct their signs after being featured on the blog.[5] In May 2008, Blogger removed unnecessary quotation marks from a cancel button on the service's delete page.[6]
Other media
A related book was published by Chronicle Books in July 2010. The book is titled The Book of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks.[7]
References
- "Bethany Keeley's Blogger profile".
- Noveck, Jocelyn (2007-09-01). "Blogger "exposes" Annoying Quote Abuse". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
- Thanks Everybody, by Bethany Keeley-Jonker, at The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks; published September 5, 2016; retrieved January 31, 2017
- Keeley-Jonker, Bethany (2020-03-22). "Ok, we're back. Short term". The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
- Keeley, Bethany (2008-03-18). "influence". The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- Blogger (2008-05-09). "Updates and Bug Fixes for May 9th". Blogger Buzz. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- "The Book of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks". Chronicle Books. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010.