Thursday, August 11, 2011

J.Crew Schooled On Periodic Table

"Thanks!" to Stephanie, who shared another {funny} link from Jezebel about J.Crew's latest window visual. Click here to read their take in its entirety:
J.Crew Gets The Periodic Table Wrong
J.Crew thought the Periodic Table might make a nice backdrop for a window display. The elements of style, geddit? Unfortunately, someone didn't remember their Here He Lies Beneath Bed Clothes, Nothing On, Feeling Nervous. And as per usual: Naughty Margaret Always Sighs, "Please Stop Clowning Around." (When I was learning the names of the elements, my two best friends and I came up with mnemonics for dozens of them. The birds are not here. They are gone. Argon.)
It is pretty funny that someone recognized the mistake. Although I honestly would not have caught that error. Plus, I have to give credit to J.Crew for even creating a display around the Periodic Table. Extra bonus points for that creative thinking!

Would you have caught J.Crew's mistake? Do you like how J.Crew incorporated the Periodic Table into their window display?

18 comments:

  1. Being a math teacher and the fact that I sucked at chemistry I would have definitely not have caught that mistake at all. I remember Nike doing a similar thing as a display. It probably didn't make any sense either.

    Complex Cardigans

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  2. I LOVE the "elements of style" idea so I am willing to let the error slide. After all, this is fashion we are talking about - not school. Sure, I guess some chemists and other smart people would consider it a terrible mistake, but I say just enjoy the clothes!

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  3. Big sale update this morning, 1600+ items, the Lady Lace Popover is back in several sizes and colors. Yay I snagged got the gray one!

    Guess all that store sale inventory is rolling in to the warehouse ...

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  4. I have averted my eyes from the windows and rushed right into the stores ever since the wedding store window featured a mannequin in large shaggy fur vest, denim shorts, woolly tights and spike-heeled sandals WITH VEIL. But since you asked, the goblins at the Ministry of Snark did indeed wonder:

    Are the missing elements somewhere where the inventory control system can't find them?

    Is the mystery metal of last winter's "jewelry" composed of the missing elements?

    Could the names and numbers of the missing elements spell out the name and postal code of the foreign city where the next JC store will open?

    Oh, no, this is a threat. Dear Leader and the Commander-in-Chic are stockpiling WMD! Be afraid, be very afraid.

    Enough, because at last, I think there may be a possible solution to the puzzle of the Copywriter from Space! It would seem that she saw a copy of The Elements of Style on a shelf, but someone told her it was a chemistry text, so she put it back.

    Have a lovely day, all!

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  5. Um, yeah, why did they take out the Group IV elements? Being a chemist, I spotted it right away. What a strange window display.

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  6. I saw it last week and thought it was clever considering it's timed for back-to-school ... but honestly I was waiting for the other shoe to drop like this, lol. After the map tee debacle and the incorrect French on another tee, hell, it's like shootin' fish in a barrel!

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  7. WFF & Elaine: I'm LOLing!

    I wouldn't have caught the mistake since I didn't major in science field. Anyways, my kindergartener saw the display and asked me what it meant. I actually like the display.

    My word verification is "coping"

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  8. When I visited my store this weekend, I mentioned to my husband how cool it was that they were using the periodic table in their elements of style campaign in the the window. And then I noticed the mistakes; I told my husband about it and he just shook his head at me and called me a "science nerd" and we went into the store. :)

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  9. We're in a big heap of trouble of we lose carbon. :)

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  11. I'd like to say that I would have caught it right away, since I am a chemist by training, but I won't. :)

    WFF, you crack me up!

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  12. I love reading WFF. That was hilarious

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  13. Well, since alot were missing, I feel like J. Crew knew what elements they were missing but wanted certain size squares to fill up the window. Maybe their aesthetic decision was that including all the elements would made the backdrop ugly/distracting. On the other hand, it's super weird that they didn't just copy and paste from a preexisting periodic table...you can't just change it - you don't eff with it!

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  14. WFF, the missing elements were faux popbacks that will never ship.

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  15. That's stupid, they thought they could leave out a couple of groups so it would fit in the window?

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  16. It is likely that the folks at J Crew knew exactly what they were doing and simply had to omit a few columns to fit the display to the window. I wasn't bothered at all by the local display and only found this story because I was hoping the store would have some interesting element images on its web site for possible use in the classroom. Sadly the in-store display has no counterpart on the web.

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  17. I'm guessing they did it on purpose so that it would fit. The periodic table is huge. I am a science teacher and I love it. and Why on earth would you memorize the periodic table???? That's the silliest thing I ever heard. The whole point of it is to USE it, not memorize it. That's what books and posters are for. If you learn it by default from using it so much, that's cool... but mnemonics? really?

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  18. BTW , they are cardboard boxes hanging on nails. It's not like its a printed poster or something...

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