# The Perfect Master made a typo (birds & rice)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-master-made-a-typo-birds-rice/168448>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [April 13, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-master-made-a-typo-birds-rice/168448 "2003-04-13T16:11:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-master-made-a-typo-birds-rice/168448/1 "2003-04-13T16:11:49Z")

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In [Should you not throw rice at weddings because birds swallow it and explode?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_081.html) Cecil wrote (the very last line):

> [@](#):
>
> Peter, I’m counting to three. If you’re not of here by then, there’s going to be an explosion. And it won’t be the frog.

Shouldn’t it be “If you’re not **out** of here by then”?

I’ll assume Cecil had someone else type up this column.

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**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-master-made-a-typo-birds-rice/168448/2 "2003-04-13T17:03:47Z")

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This sentence appears correctly – "out’ is indeed the missing word – on page 87 of _Triumph of the Straight Dope_. According question #18 from the [Straight Dope FAQ](http://www.straightdope.com/faq/officialfaq.htm), “Veteran Straight Dope readers may remember that a column once referred to ‘talking books for the deaf.’ Very funny. It was a new copyboy’s first day on the job. His body has never been found.” so I would suggest someone may want to go into hiding.