It's been a Bad Week for...

Sunrise-McMillan Elementary

The Fort Worth, Texas, school is in the midst of discovering just how costly bad spelling can be. For eight years the school has been misspelling its own name. The school changed its name in 2004 to honour its first teacher, but somehow managed to misspell the name McMillan as McMillian on all building signs, business cards, stationery, even the school's Facebook page. The school finally changed its sign May 7 after a family member of Mary McMillan pointed out the error.

Commuters

A new study to be published in June in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows the more time you spend in your car commuting to and from work, the larger your waistline is likely to be. Long commutes also led to higher rates of high blood pressure and heart disease. It is perhaps a no-brainer conclusion that if you're spending long periods of time in your car every day, you will have less time to get outside and be physically active. Similar studies have previously found the happiest cities are those with the most people who get to work by bike or on foot.

Twitter trolls

Though 140 characters aren't a lot, Twitter is one of the most popular forums for launching vicious insults at perceived enemies. One Twitter user learned comebacks can be just as pointed when he or she tweeted an insult at Andrew McDougall, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's director of communications. The tweeter, who uses the handle @oxy28 and is identified as "tj", asked McDougall "how does it feel to work for the biggest asshole in canada? i know i'd be proud." McDougall took little time to bite back. "I wouldn't know. I don't work for you."

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 12, 2012 J5