It's International Literacy Day

This just in from the word-nerd wires: Sept. 8 is International Literacy Day.

A disturbing fact:

- 800 million people aged over 15 are illiterate and two-thirds of them are women (who often aren't permitted to attend school)

And then this bit on 14 commonly misspelled words in the UK, which is a charming reminder of differences in British and American English:

• Accessory


• Blond/blonde


• February


• Occasion


• Chauvinism (Americans stopped saying this in the 1970s, when neckties with pigs were in fashion)


• Alright (spelled all right in the U.S.)


• Its (possessive)/it's (it is)


• Recommend


• Email (hyphenated in American newspapers)


• Webpage (two words in American newspapers)


• Wednesday


• Necessary


• Receive


• Mind your Ps and Qs (do they really say this?)