Lost in translation: Max Planck Forschung

China takes a lot of crap for failing to get a second opinion on the English they throw into circulation, often leading to amusing f*ck ups like this and this. It turns out, however, that this knife cuts both ways.

The German research institute Max Planck is getting a lot of well-deserved ribbing for its attempt to publish a classical Chinese poem on its cover without bothering to get someone to read it first. According to the Independent, it looks like the magazine got a little bit more than they bargained for:

Editors had hoped to find an elegant Chinese poem to grace the cover of a special issue, focusing on China, of the MaxPlanckForschung journal, but instead of poetry they ran a text effectively proclaiming "Hot Housewives in action!" on the front of the third-quarter edition. Their "enchanting and coquettish performance" was highly recommended.

The use of traditional Chinese characters and references to "the northern mainland" seem to indicate the text comes from Hong Kong or Macau, and it promises burlesque acts by pretty-as-jade housewives with hot bodies for the daytime visitor.