Our first and SOlAMENTE Spanish submission! Not only are we treated to a lowercase L, but my eyes are also drawn to the L ANORMALES!, perhaps a vain attempt to compensate for the L deficiency at the beginning of the sign. Yes, the lowercase L is slightly taller than its capitalized counterparts, so it isn't as confusing as it could have been. But we'll let this one slide through the border for originality.
A while back, friend and fellow blogger PD Berger posted Lowercase L Goes Psycho, following an interview about dysgraphia with Research Fellow in Neuropsychology, Bart D. Brigidi, Ph.D.[..] The 'artist' is clearly not a consistent lowercase "l" offender, 'MAPLE SYRUP' escapes.
Secondly, and more notably, unlike other examples displayed on the site, the "l" has not been squeezed in to its designated space; there is ample room left which suggests to me that the horizontal has been painted out in an attempt to join the dysgraphia gang - or simply undermine the important and relevant research of Mr Levin.
My main concern however, surrounds the fact that of all the important issues raised by EINY, this one has caused my lengthiest and hard-thought response. BOllOCKS.
Adam also included the three photos in this post, click them to see larger versions. I was amazed at the quality of these lowercase L sightings. "ClOSED" looks real enough, but the other two made me suspicious. I asked Adam about it, and he replied: 
"Unfortunately, you should be suspicious of them all. To back up my suspicions about the 'maple syrup' image on your site, I thought I'd illustrate a few forgeries for myself. Still on the lookout for genuine ones though, in an effort to oust these despicable people!"
Hidden deep in the shadows of a small, dark server closet at a new client's office, I found this short and sweet lowercase L on a box containing an OlD UPS battery. I'm glad they didn't follow the instructions to Dispose of the evidence, as was suggested on the box top, because this hidden treasure is now the second OlD case on file.
Visiting the family for the holiday weekend in my sleepy hometown of Vineland, NJ, lowercase L's were the last thing on my mind, especially after a belly full of Thanksgiving turkey and more in-laws' kids than you could shake a stick at (legally). But once the l-Tryptophan wore off, I joined my sister and mom at the local fitness center. Looks like I can't escape the lowercase L phenomenon, even on holiday. This whiteboard fitness class calendar is in a class all to itself. Notice the two occurrences of SCUlPT, with a normal SCULPT in between. Did the class planner realize his mistake in November 3, correct it in November 10, but go back to his old ways for November 17? I suppose this could be another example of squeezing the L to save space, but the beauty of whiteboard is that you can easily correct your mistakes.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wish to thank the Donut Shop on 7th Ave here in Park Slope, Brooklyn, for giving me this perfect example of improper lowercase L usage. Strangely enough, this is the second time we've seen a lowercase L used when spelling APPlES. Perhaps the word "apple" reminds the writer of apple pies, so he subconsiously changes the L to look like an i in PIE. Or maybe he's thinking of "apple of my eye", which sounds like "apple of my i". Or maybe the guy just had too much of the "sweet pot".The lowercase "l" is an interesting occurrence and maybe not as understudied as one would think. From a neuropsychological perspective, errors in writing fall under the umbrella term of dysgraphia, which means that somene has a writing disability or disorder -using the Latin dys which means "a difficulty with" and graphia which means the act of writing. Dysgraphia is not uncommon for individuals with aphasia or childhood learning disorders. It usually refers to inconsistencies in letters, irregular letter sizes and shapes, mixing case or cursive with print, and incomplete or unfinished letters. This type of deficit must be out of sync with the person's intelligence level and rarely occur in isolation outside of other learning impairments such as dyslexia. Very important is that dysgraphia must be differentiated from laziness, too.
Yes. The why. I knew that was coming. Recent thought about the "why" of switching case has pointed to the potential role of faulty inhibitory mechanisms in the brain. For the lowercase "l" phenomenon, this would mean that someone was unable to inhibit the intrusion (unwanted thought) that a lowecase "l" was correct. Then after writing this error, it becomes an issue of awareness followed by the issue of what to do with the error if it is noticed. Given awareness and why someone would not change the error, who knows, I would guess time contraints, laziness, "good enough" mentality, not having an eraser, or some combination of all these would factor in to why the error is not changed. Aphasic patients can have interesting dissocations in the neural circuits governing writing and speaking, so that is a population that has traditionally been studied with respect to this phenomenon.
How often does this happen is a good question. Short answer is I am not sure. And I am not sure its prevalence is known. However, it is thought to occur at least as often as reading disorders, which would mean that dysgraphia, in all its forms, occurs in approximatley 4% of the population. This is a low baserate phenomenon,and the percentage of people specifically exhibting the lowercase "l" phenomena is likley much lower. As far as I know, gender biases have not been specifically studied for errors in caseness. But there is data that shows that learning disorders in general occur in boys two to four times as much as in girls.
I knew you would ask me this, too. Treatment for the lowercase "l" phenomenon would likely first assume that this is a problem that somebody feels causes some impairment in their social, occupational, or academic functioning. The frequency and impact of the switching are also key. If I leave a sticky for a co-worker that says "See you at the meeting Later," there is probably little harm done. However, if I gave a presentation with repeated "l" mistakes or I was completing a job application, then there might be more consequences.
There are treatments available for dysgraphia and dyslexia. Those individuals with known or suspected language problems should meet with a professional trained to treat these problems, such as a reading specialist, speech and langage pathologist, or neuropsychologist.
Bart D. Brigidi, Ph.D.
Research Fellow in Neuropsychology
The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke
Duke University Medical Center
After a lowercase L dry spell which left me doubting my own conspiracy theory, I finally return with fresh evidence, proof that an epidemic more eminent than the Avian Flu is upon us. Only this latest find is bittersweet victory. My client, DDC Lab, makers of the coolest jeans on the planet, are a team of wonderfully creative and admirable people. They run a highly effective business which has flourished in the years I've worked with them. After nearly eight years of loyal patronage, they are more than just a client, they are my friends. This is why I was baffled upon discovering their grisly BlACK LABEL bin. I am certain that no DDC staff member would have committed this offense, so it seems they have a mole in their midst.
Sweet Tally! from Massachusetts submits this primo example of lowercase L signage. Taken in front of a produce farmer's market, this could be the most stunning case of L-lunacy yet. Not one, but two of the three L's stick out like a sore i. And this is not just a simple case of using a lowercase L just to save canvas real estate, since, for reasons I cannot begin to explain, the author intentionally left ample kerning space where the phantom lower limb of an uppercase L should have been drawn. Did this foolish farmer plan on penning them in later, like those folks who dot their handwritten i's all in one sweep? Or is this more proof that a subtle yet widespread mental disorder is going untreated, on a path to becoming a psychological pandemic?
This chalkboard menu sits outside the new Cocoa Bar, a coffee, chocolate and wine lounge around the corner from me on 7th Ave. in Park Slope, Brooklyn. What makes this sign extra special is not just the GlASS, but the GlASS of PINOT BlANCO ... or is it BIANCO?! See, Pinot Bianco is the Italian term for a varietal pressed from the family of Pinot grapes, and Pinot Blanco is the Latin term. So is this a case of double lowercase L's, with GlASS and the Latin BlANCO? And then there's that GIANDUJA Chocolate ... I wasn't sure if it was Glanduja or Gianduja, so I had to look it up. Turns out it is Gianduja. The point is that between GlASS and BlANCO/BIANCO, and having to look up Gianduja because of some crazy, chalky handed menu writer, I've lost my appetite. I am reluctant to patronize this establishment, at least until they fire the employee who wrote this menu.
Click on the close-up photo to the left to see a larger view. Notice the White-Out applied to what used to be the lower portion of an uppercase L. What could possibly explain this disturbing behavior? It seems the author had previously written the word ALL with at least one uppercase L. Perhaps the middle L was squeezed in after the final L was doctored to look lowercase? Did a second, deranged author surreptitiously modify this signage in an attempt to discredit the first author? And the word MAJOR was taped over whatever else used to be there, as well as the word APPLIANCE. This is all just too suspicious if you ask me. It's one big cover-up for the lowercase L conspiracy that is emerging right under our noses.
Spinning Girl submits this fine lowercase L specimen found in Danbury, Connecticut, where, according to the window dressing, NY music is now lOCATED. And I had been wondering where it went, it's been so quiet here in Brooklyn!
Found on the doors of a Herald Square building in Manhattan, this is an exceptional lowercase L sighting, because the author posted not one, but two signs that read the same, ... except for the upper and lowercase arrangement of letters! You will notice that the first sign (above) contains the coveted lowercase L in a word with all uppercase letters, but the second photo has an uppercase L in a word with an odd lowercase "e". Also notice "step" and "STep", and how the first "Attention" is not as attention-grabbing as the second, more appropriately uppercase "ATTENTION"!
Out of context, this box could read "old" or "oid", not sure. I'm assuming it says "old" because a) "oid" is not a real word, and b) here in Brooklyn, in the days immediately following the first of the month, you will find the sidewalks cluttered with lots of stuff that people have put out to the curb after moving into their new apartments. This box was probably used by a tenant to separate his "OlD" junk from the things he wanted to keep.
HEllO AND WElCOME!
If you are confused by the subject of this blog, don't worry, I am too. The case of the lowercase L has been a mystery to me for many years, and it continues to baffle me even as I investigate this unusual phenomenon.
The gist of lowercase L is this: I have noticed that, when people create handwritten signs, they sometimes choose to capitalize every letter except the letter "L". I can understand using some lowercase letters like "i" and "y", to stylize the handwriting. But why confuse matters by using the only letter that, when lowercase, is identical to an uppercase "I"?
At first I thought this unusual writing habit was an anomaly. Growing up in rural south New Jersey, when I'd see handwritten yard sale posts that read "FOR SAlE", I figured it was just a slip of the magic marker. And as a college freshman, while it irked me that my fellow dorm mates produced tee-shirts that read "STONE HAll", I didn't give it much thought.
But now, having lived in NYC for ten years, I have seen the lowercase L rubbing shoulders with uppercase company more often than you might imagine. So often, in fact, that I wanted to bring the case of the lowercase L to the attention of the public.
The purpose of this blog is to provide a forum for people to submit their photos of lowercase L sightings, and to discuss the psychology of the lowercase L offender. And if you are one of those people guilty of writing all-caps signs with lowercase L's, we welcome and look forward to understanding your unique perspective in this matter.
Thank you all ... NOW LET'S BlOG!
