History Main / TheProblemWithPenIsland

** In the past, it was rumored that UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode forbade the use of the words "Clint" and "Flick" for this reason. This rumor has been [[http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/07/23/comic-book-legends-revealed-217/ discovered to be untrue]].

** Discussed when comic book fan Jonathan Ross spoke about the [[UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode Comics Code Authority]]: "Comics were investigated after a certain Doctor Fredric Wertham brought out a book called ''Seduction of the Innocent'' in 1954, calling for the introduction of a self-regulating body known as the Comic Code Authority, that had such ridiculous rules as, you could not use the word 'flick' in a comic for fear that the 'L' would run into the 'I' and Spider-Man would be saying, 'Look, he's got a fuck knife!'" The only problem with this statement is that the Code didn't have such a rule - while it certainly didn't condone vulgarity, it didn't regulate word usage to that demanding a degree.

* UsefulNotes/{{Supermarionation}} is a technology, invented in the 1960s, for making marionettes whose mouths move when they are "speaking". The word is a portmanteau of "marionette" and "animation". To a modern reader, however, it's hard not to read it as "[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Super Mario]] Nation", despite it predating the video games by several decades.

* While companies that make handcrafted products are certainly justified in describing them as "artisanal", using that word in a web domain can backfire, because it can also be parsed out as a [[UsefulNotes/{{Dada}} Dadaist]] bit of ToiletHumor commentary on artistry--Art is Anal Cheese, Art is Anal Wine Cellars, Art is Anal Talent, Art is Anal Tattoo, Art is Anal Pasta Tools, etc.

* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': In "[[Recap/MidsomerMurdersS2E2 Dtrangler's Wood]]", the way a name written in a diary is spaced causes Barnaby to initially read it as "Draycott" rather than the correct "Dr Aycott".

The tropes title originated from WebAnimation/BattleForDreamIsland, when Pen was discussing to Eraser, about when he wins dream island, he'd name it "Pen Island", no spaces, all caps. Which would look like "PENISLAND".

The tropes title originated from WebAnimation/BattleforDreamIsland, when Pen was discussing to Eraser, about when he wins dream island, he'd name it "Pen Island", no spaces, all caps. Which would look like "PENISLAND".

* In 2008, someone named Shawn W [[https://twitter.com/shawnw/status/673169402 tweeted]] an invitation to a Super Bowl party, but mistyped it as "Superb Owl party" -- and promptly created [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/superb-owl one of the Internet's most enduring running gags]] (likely helped along by the fact that [[CuteOwl owls]] [[TheOwlKnowingOne are]] [[NobleBirdOfPrey cool]]). The subreddit [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Superbowl/ r/superbowl]], for example, is dedicated entirely to owls. The joke has since leaked into other media, becoming a frequent means of WritingAroundTrademarks on ''Series/TheColbertReport'', as well as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE8fdUIW-Wk a category]] on an episode of ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'', and also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS0qhHiyrfI showing up]] in ''Series/WhatWeDoInTheShadows'', where the vampires end up being disappointed by the party they're invited to.

* One early test case session for the UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh's operating system ended with users complaining that the OS was calling them a ''[[http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Do_It.txt dolt]]''. It turns out that rendering the word ''Do It!'' in a san-serif font and with too small a space between both words is a bad idea (aside from the implication of the other meaning of ''[[UnusualEuphemism do it]]''). It was quickly changed to the industrial standard "OK".

---'''>[[MistakenForGay Ian]]:''' FFFUUU–

-->[[MistakenForGay Ian]]: FFFUUU-
* This appears to be a RunningGag with Quackity's appearances on various Minecraft servers. His faction on WebVideo/SMPEarth directly employed this trope, being named Pen Island, and most of the characters he plays in ''Tales From the SMP'', a spin-off of the ''WebVideo/DreamSMP'', have names based around lewd puns, including and not limited to a LowerClassLout named Drew P. Wiener and a bandit named Jack Kanoff.

* In the ''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'' episode [[Recap/StrongBadEmailE181WebComics "web comics"]], Strong Bad gets a message from one "Gunkiller", presumably meant to be read as "Gun Killer". Since Strong Bad [[MaliciousMisnaming deliberately misnaming]] anyone who emails him is a RunningGag of the series, he refers to the sender as "Gunk Iller" instead, which he later shortens to "Gunky".

* * In the late 1990s, Microsoft released a precursor to Windows Update known as the '''Critical''' '''U'''pdate '''N'''otification '''T'''ool. When they caught on, they renamed it the Critical Update Notification Utility.

* * In the late 1990s, Microsoft released a precorsor to Windows Update known as the '''Critical''' '''U'''pdate '''N'''otification '''T'''ool. When they caught on, they renamed it the Critical Update Notification Utility.

* In one episode of ''Series/{{Castle}}'', when a murderer writes a message on a wall and the word "psychotherapist" is too long to fit. [[TheGadfly Castle]] reads it literally "psycho the rapist".

* God is Nowhere:

** Maho: innocent enough unless a person happens to be named Ivan or Irene.

* http://www.michaelspornanimation.com sounds like some guy's {{Hentai}} collection, but is in fact the site of an animation company run by a man named Michael Sporn.

* This can be an issue in solving crossword puzzles since one has to guess the number of words in the answer. And even with the right number of words, guessing where one ends can be difficult.

* One early test case session for the UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh's operating system ended with users complaining that the OS was calling them a ''dolt''[[http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Do_It.txt]]. It turns out that rendering the word ''Do It!'' in a san-serif font and with too small a space between both words is a bad idea (aside from the implication of the other meaning of ''[[UnusualEuphemism do it]]''). It was quickly changed to the industrial standard "OK".
* Crossed with SnipeHunt -- one midwestern church camp needed a sign at the entrance to the cabin areas warning [=RVs=] [[note]]Recreational Vehicles[[/note]] off, since those roads were too narrow for large vehicles to maneuver easily. Instead of [=NO RVS BEYOND THIS POINT=], the sign maker misplaced a space and gave them [=NORVS BEYOND THIS POINT=]. "Norvs" turned out to be a good way to keep the junior campers in their cabins after lights-out, so the sign was kept.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': The "[[https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?popularpage=2&multiverseid=73941 Frazzled Editor]]" card from the joke expansion set ''Unhinged'' had flavor text that reads "The penis mightyer then the sord." [[PaintingTheMedium marked up with an editor's red-pen markings]] to correct it to "The pen is mightier than the sword."

* A Turkish designer named Adil Işık has a clothing line named after him. Of course the website would be "Adil Işık" followed by ".com". However, Turkish letters can cause trouble in [=URLs=], so it's written as adilisik.com instead...and "Adil'i sik" means "Fuck Adil".(Not as in "Man, fuck that guy.", but as in sexually violate him.)

* The UrbanLegend of the Chevy Nova's alleged failure in Latin America hinges on this. The claim is that since [[InMyLanguageThatSoundsLike "no va" is Spanish for "it doesn't go"]], people didn't want to buy a car with that name. While the idea that customers would automatically conflate one word with two is absurd enough, where this fits the trope is the fact that "nova" itself ''[[http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/nova is a word in Spanish.]]'' And if you were to say "my car won't go", you'd say ''no funciona'' or ''no marcha'', not ''no va''. There's also the fact that ''no va'' (depending on the dialect) normally means ''It doesn't combine'' or ''it doesn't mix''. However, people in Spanish-speaking countries ''did'' make the association...as a kind of pun ("''¡Mi Nova no va!''" "''¡Jajajajaja!''").

* Because many companies use the "first initial, last name" setup, it can lead so some issues with names that are traditionally common in one part of the world but are less so with immigration. Examples include: