Hyperbole and a Half

I highly recommend this hilarious blog post about moving across country with two dogs.

Lie Down

One of my many grammar pet peeves is the use of "lay" instead of "lie."  Dogs don't like it either.

The Oxford Comma & Ambiguity

Also known as the serial comma, the Oxford comma precedes the "and" or "or" before the last item in a list of three or more.  Its misuse can cause some humorous misunderstandings, as in the below example. 

[Tweet courtesy of @peterc.]

Unfortunately, adding the serial comma does not always clarify the ambiguity.  As wikipedia notes, "The Times once published an unintentionally humorous description of a Peter Ustinov documentary, noting that 'highlights of his global tour include encounters with Nelson Mandela, an 800-year-old demigod and a dildo collector.'  This would still be ambiguous if a serial comma were added, as Mandela could then be mistaken for a demigod, although he would be precluded from being a dildo collector."