My husband, a software engineer who makes it his life’s purpose to know everything, recently explained the philosophy and tactics behind spammers. I don’t remember anything specific except the one thing that I’ve always known but never wanted to admit: those spam e-mails that make their way by the hundreds into our inbox … they purposefully have typos! They spell words incorrectly because it tricks the filters.

I always just shook my head at those subject lines about the priem ministre of zimbabwe or how I can please my woman all lnog nigt. Those foolish e-mailers, I thought, they think I’m really going to wire them money or buy their love pills AND they don’t know how to spell. Someone send these poor people a link to one of these prestigious online universities I keep hearing about!

But, no. The spam is that much more despicable for perpetuating misspellings as the foundation of its message. Sick.