Here's another mistranslation that I came across on the BBC just yesterday. The commentator was talking about Robert Burns's "Address to a Haggis"—traditionally read at a Burns Supper<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_supper>—which starts:
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin-race! The story goes that a gentleman in Germany wished to host a Burns Supper and hence asked a friend in England for a translation of the poem. At which point—and it's not clear why—someone translated it back from German to English. The second line came out as: "Mighty Führer of the sausage people" I do hope that's a true story :-) -- R P.S. I heard this on a program called "QI", hosted by noted Twitterer Stephen Fry. Worth finding!
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