A Correction. On Jan. 13, 1920, “Topics of the Times,” and editorial-page feature of the The New York Times, dismissed the notion that a rocket could function in vacuum and commented on the ideas of Robert H. Goddard, the rocket pioneer, as follows:

“That Professor Goddard, with his ‘chair’ in Clark College and the countenancing of the Smithsonian Institution, does not know the relation of action to reaction, and of the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react – to say that would be absurd. Of course he only seems to lack the knowledge ladled out daily in high schools.”

Further investigation and experimentation have confirmed the findings of Isaac Newton in the 17th Century and it is now definitely established that a rocket can function in a vacuum as well as in an atmosphere. The Times regrets the error.

A Nov. 26 article in the District edition of Local Living incorrectly said a Public Enemy song declared 9/11 a joke. The song refers to 911, the emergency phone number.

I tracked down the original article (which has since been corrected) here. In relevant part:

Public Enemy has earned notoriety with more than 20 years of politically charged music about fighting the power, challenging racism and declaring that 9/11 was a joke.

I’m not really interested in the error – I’m more amused by the way the Post chose to sum up Public Enemy’s body of work.

Let’s sum up a few other bands in a similar way, shall we?

“The Beatles earned notoriety with more than 30 years of groundbreaking music about having tickets to ride, advocating taking day trips, and promoting the proliferation of strawberry fields.”

“Pink Floyd earned notoriety with more than 40 years of progressive music about the differences between heaven and hell, their love of shiny diamonds, and not needin’ no education.”

“The Rolling Stones earned notoriety with more than 40 years of attention-grabbing music about painting red doors black, their undying search for satisfaction, and declaring their ownership of clouds.”

“Michael Jackson earned notoriety with more than 40 years of pop music about starting something, staring at himself in the mirror, and declaring himself  ’bad’.”

Maybe some things are better left undefined.

Found via Josh Blackman and Legal Blog Watch.