This is dedicated to Atlantic Sound Factory's John, who while not making a terrible mistake, suffered the results of a small mistake made involving text messaging station monitoring, a flakey DSL line, a wayward DSL modem reboot, a web based power switch, a Sony PSP with an IP address it should not have had, and the resultant lack of station monitoring. Not only did parts of ASF go down for a bit but John didn't get the extra sleep he was hoping for as he needed to roll out of bed and fix the situation.

Admittedly not quite a "Rosemary Woods," but worthy of mention nonetheless.

Now if only I had a photo... as I do for the following.
 

On November 9, 1973, then President Richard Nixon launched "Operation Candor," promising that he would disclose critical evidence he had heretofore suppressed, answer charges against him conclusively, and with audio tapes would "let it all hang out." It was around this time that in response to questions posed to him by members of the press that he utter the words, "I'm not a crook!"

On November 21, it became public knowledge that an 18 1/2 minute buzz blotted out a crucial discussion about Watergate from a key June 20, 1972 tape. A demand was made that Nixon explain.

Rosemary Woods, Nixon's longtime secretary, testified that she made a "terrible mistake." As she was transcribing the tape for Nixon at Camp David her phone rang. Reaching for it with one hand, with the other she mistakenly pushed the "record" instead of "stop" button on her recorder, while keeping her foot on he operating treadle for all 18 1/2 minutes (!), and so set and kept in motion the erasure mechanism.

To demonstrate how the "accident" occurred, she then "assumed the position" necessary for the accident to occur - and which was then recorded for all posterity to see...