Molecules: You'd better learn to live with them.
I have a lot of sympathy for graphic designers. For every one preaching to you about how you can't possibly appreciate whitespace on the same level she does, there's nine out there slogging away doing honest work. The ones who are just trying to convince the guy with the mattress store not to put seven fonts on the flyer (that's how many that are on MSNBC as I write this; you see how it's an uphill battle).
Chirality is easy to get wrong. Connectivity errors are a little rarer; usually designers seem to realize moving one of those lines in a stick figure might do something bad. However, the postal service released a stamp honoring Gerty Cori and her discovery of the above, metabolically important, compound - Cori Ester.
They got that lower right bond to the phosphate group wrong. A chemist noticed, and many chemists snickered.
(Hoping I got the structure and chirality right...and hey, at least the designer drew the chair conformer)
Comments
I recently complained on my blog about a similar thing...this T-Shirt that reads "Yay Serotonin" and has a picture of a molecule in it with a happy face. ...unfortunately, their version of serotonin wasn't an indole at all, but a quinoline. (Not to mention that they neglected to draw any double bonds/aromaticity...)
Posted by: Vince Noir | February 12, 2008 10:08 PM
My favourite example graphic designers doing organic chemistry a disservice (gosh, I hope it was graphic designers!) is the cover of the 2007 Oxford University Press Chemistry brochure, which was blogged about back when it first came out:
http://blog.chembark.com/2007/10/05/whats-wrong-with-this-picture-returns/
Posted by: Russ | February 13, 2008 10:00 AM
What, they can't even double-check for a stamp?? That's lame.
This maybe beats out my favorite typo to date, the Oxford University Press book catalog cover:
http://blog.chembark.com/2007/10/05/whats-wrong-with-this-picture-returns/
Posted by: Sara @ YellowIbis.com | February 13, 2008 11:09 AM
Yeah, I laughed a lot at that one. My favorite part was that they got the message that we enjoy the hexagons with the lines inside and 60 degree angles, but not much else made it through.
Posted by: Molecule of the Day | February 13, 2008 7:09 PM
I used to work at a Catholic school, and the chaplin there was terrible for font abuse. Every few days she would send an email to every staff member in the school to announce a prayer event or mass - every line a different color and font, and often changing color and font in mid-word.
Posted by: Suricou Raven | February 19, 2008 6:45 AM