Shortly after joining Kronos, Incorporated in April, 1979, I received a couple of letters with the company's name misspelled in the address, first as "KRONIS" and then as "KRONOP". Amused, I put the envelopes aside on my desk. Then the third misspelling arrived, this one addressed to "Mr. Krakauer, DRONOS". That one particularly tickled me, so I pasted all three to a piece of paper labeled "Best Misspelling Contest", and hung them on the wall near my office door. Other people began to add additional examples.

As time went on, I filled the page, and went on to a second page, and then a third. I was astonished at how many misspellings I was getting of a simple, six-letter name! As the company grew, people still knew that I was collecting these, and I continued to get new misspellings from all over the company. I started printing certificates attesting to each new misspelling I received, as a reward for the finder.

I gradually developed informal "rules" for acceptable misspellings. They had to be new, of course. They also had to be misspellings of the name "Kronos" itself. The list contains the entry "Mrs. Kronos Co.", but once I established the new rules, I would have no longer accepted that one. Case doesn't matter ("Kronon" is the same as "KRONON"), but I did take plurals and possessives as different ("Kruno", "Krunos", and "Kruno's" are all different). Finally, the misspelling had to be a legitimate error; it wasn't fair to generate one and send it out on a questionnaire so as to get it onto someone's mailing list (submitters were on their honor on that one). I was the judge of what was acceptable, and my decision was final.

In each case, I had to receive the actual envelope or label, or a copy of it, and not just a statement as to what the error was. I actually kept each of the misspellings on my list, although some of were faded with age (in that sense, a photocopy was often better than the original, since xerographic copies don't seem to fade). I think I left the list at Kronos when I retired in 2003, in the hopes that someone would keep it up, but I don't think anyone has done so.

The following is the complete list of 256 misspellings as it stood on March 5, 2000. No new misspellings were submitted between then and my retirement. Actually, contributions to the list had tapered off long before March of 2000. The last misspelling was submitted December 30, 1999, but the one prior to that goes back to November 26, 1998.

Here is the list in alphabetical order; the number gives the order of receipt. Number 58 is missing; it was an accidental duplicate, and was deleted. As a result, number 59 is the 58th misspelling, and so on. The last misspelling received, ALRONOS, was received on December 30, 1999, and so was the last misspelling of the twentieth century. It was the 256th.

257 ALRONOS 128 ARONOS 215 ASRONOS 032 BRONOS 217 CAINOS 225 CHEOUOS 009 CHROMOS 028 CHRONOS 227 CHRONUS 234 CONNERS 081 CONNO 139 CORONAR 170 CORONAS 247 CROIN 119 CRONAR 103 CRONAS 086 CRONES 166 CRONIN 042 CRONIS 041 CRONO'S 049 CRONOCOS 194 CRONON 133 CRONONS 164 CRONORS 090 CRONOS 123 CRONOSE 120 CRONUS 150 CROSNOS 004 CROWOS 208 DRONDS 221 DRONIS 003 DRONOS 165 ERONOS 154 FRONDS 189 FRONOS 145 GRONOS 029 ITRONES 106 K NONOS 175 K. RONOS 231 KACNOS 232 KAMOS 080 KANSAS 066 KAONOS 238 KARNOF 075 KARNOS 212 KARONOS 148 KDRONOS 142 KEMOS 179 KEONAS 159 KEONIS 060 KEONOS 178 KEORS 204 KHRONIS 107 KIMOS 168 KINOS 135 KIONAS 083 KIONES 079 KIONOD 115 KIRONOS 065 KIZONO'S 188 KJONOS 167 KKONOS 219 KLANN 024 KLONAS

185 KMOIS 033 KNONOS 174 KNORF 235 KNOROS 163 KNOSSOS 207 KNOWONS 140 KNOWOS 248 KOMOS 218 KONNES 038 KONOS 025 KONRAN 118 KORNDS 182 KORNES 169 KORNODS 013 KORNOS 134 KORNS 152 KORONAS 146 KORONES 195 KORONIS 160 KORONOS 105 KORONOW 067 KORONS 230 KOROS 113 KOSNOS 063 KRAMAS 253 KRAMOS 021 KRANAS 111 KRANKOS 026 KRANNOS 020 KRANOS 222 KRASNAS 114 KRAUS 018 KRAUSE 141 KRAUSS 155 KRCNOS 121 KRENAS 034 KRENDS 087 KRENES 031 KRENOS 122 KRENSOS 162 KRINIS 099 KRINOS 216 KRLNOS 187 KRMAS 126 KRMOS 192 KRNON'S 124 KRNOS 250 KROAOS 236 KROAVOS 201 KROCOR 130 KROHN-HITE 096 KROHNES 102 KROHOS 210 KROJNOS 226 KROKOS 129 KROKUS 173 KROMA 016 KROMAS 094 KROMES 023 KROMOS 186 KROMOSINC 036 KROMOY 040 KROMOZ 209 KROMS

199 KROMSO 156 KRON'S 127 KRONAE 143 KRONAN 012 KRONAS 101 KRONCE 200 KRONCOS 249 KRONCS 044 KRONDOS 010 KRONDS 197 KRONE'S 109 KRONE 224 KRONEES 243 KRONERS 088 KRONES 177 KRONG 030 KRONGS 076 KRONICS 039 KRONIES 019 KRONIN 001 KRONIS 138 KRONIX 069 KRONK0S 255 KRONMD 191 KRONNOS 047 KRONO 014 KRONO'S 071 KRONOA 196 KRONOA 057 KRONOAS 072 KRONOCLAC 077 KRONOCS 089 KRONOD 193 KRONODS 097 KRONOE 008 KRONOF 054 KRONOG 055 KRONOIS 082 KRONOISE 198 KRONOL 095 KRONON 046 KRONONS 229 KRONOO 147 KRONOOS 002 KRONOP 211 KRONOPS 045 KRONOR 184 KRONORS 100 KRONOSE 220 KRONOSI 015 KRONOSINC 108 KRONOSIS 228 KRONOSS 251 KRONOSW 144 KRONOUS 006 KRONOX 091 KRONOY 053 KRONOZ 007 KRONS 239 KRONSOI 116 KRONTS 048 KRONUOS 078 KRONUP 011 KRONUS

254 KRONVA 051 KRONVS 056 KROONOS 233 KROONS 136 KROOS 050 KROROS 035 KROSAS 061 KROSES 240 KROSNO 043 KROSNOS 171 KROSOS 190 KROSSOS 037 KROUDS 092 KROUNDS 074 KROUNOS 223 KROUNS 104 KROUOS 112 KROVAS 153 KROVOS 213 KROWAS 064 KROWNOS 246 KROWOS 244 KROWS 252 KROXIS 181 KROYNOS 202 KROZOS 110 KRPNOS 157 KRRONOS 214 KRUHOS 237 KRUMUS 052 KRUNDS 256 KRUNO'S 027 KRUNOS 203 KRUNUS 022 KRWONOS 131 KRYNOS 183 KTONOS 245 KUNOS 149 KVONOS 098 KZONOS 070 LONOS 158 LRONOS 132 LRYNOS 206 MAKRONOS 085 MRS KRONOS CO 242 NRONOS 172 PRONDS 176 PRONOS 151 QRONOS 161 RINONOS 084 RONAS 073 RONOS 125 RORNOS 059 SKRONOS 137 TRONAS 005 TRONOS 241 UNONOS 180 URONDS 017 URONOS 062 VRONOS 068 WRONOS 117 XRONOS 093 YIONOS 205 YRONOS