SPOILERS: School Books

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 184214

Penny wrote:
> >
> > <snip>
> >
> > 4.  I don't understand why Japanese is underlined in the
description of Kappas (or the comment "Snape hasn't read this
either").  Can anyone explain? <snip>
> 
Ruth responded: 
> Comment on 4 in the HP books in a lesson covering for Lupin Snape
incorrectly states that Kappas come from Mongolia, they actually come
from Japan.

Carol adds:

Either that or the blunder about Kappas being most commonly found in
Mongolia is JKR's own and she covered it up by blaming it on Snape
through the graffiti in Fantastic Beasts. It wouldn't be the first
time; she covered a similar blunder with Marcus Flint by having him
repeat a grade.

At any rate, if Snape, who knows a lot about DADA and Dark magic in
general, is going to make a mistake about a minor Dark creature in
PoA, JKR ought to call attention to it in the same book. Otherwise,
it's pointless. At least when Harry thinks (in SS/PS) that information
on Bezoars could be found in "One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi,"
the reader can figure out, on learning that Bezoars come from goats'
stomachs, that Harry is on the wrong track. (Then again, JKR seems to
think from that point forward that "1,000 Magical Herbs and Fungi" is
the Potions text, forgetting completely about "Magical Drafts and
Potions" by Arsenius Jigger. Logically, "1,000 Magical Herbs and
Fungi" must be the Herbology text.)

Be that as it may, there's not even an implicit correction of Snape's
supposed blunder in PoA, and the mistake serves no plot purpose, which
leads me to think that the mistake is JKR's own. Kappas do occur in
Japanese folklore, but JKR might have mixed up her Asian countries.
Apparently, geography, like math and history, isn't one of her strong
suits: she mentions the no-longer extant country of Assyria in one of
her books. 

I realize that Pippin disagrees with me on this point, but it's one of
those areas in which it's impossible to prove that a viewpoint is
right or wrong. I can, however, point to additional instances of JKR's
covering up her own mistakes and inconsistencies. Why not do so
humorously at Snape's expense, since he's the one who provides the
misinformation within the story? I'm sure she had fun in doing so.
Unfortunately, having Snape "correct" a student by providing incorrect
information undermines Snape's credibility as a DADA authority (at
least for those who read FB), yet he does turn out to be a Dark Arts
expert later in the books. (We can argue that minor Dark creatures
aren't his forte, they're Lupin's, but that doesn't undo the damage to
his credibility in my view.)

Carol, wishing that JKR had simply noted the mistake for correction in
later editions rather than foisting it onto a character!