Maybe I'm Too Picky...

I have a problem. I edit everything.

I know this sounds dumb considering that there are many mistakes in my blog grammatically and puncuationally. But I still can't ignore mistakes when I find them.

Like today, when I was lifting weights at our gym and simultaneously reading the instructions just in case I was doing it wrong - I didn't want to look stupid. There was a line that said something to the effect of, "Sit facing the fron and place feet on foot pad..." And the fact that front was missing the 't' was so obvious that it interfered with my lifting. Obviously, I need to lift more weight if I have time to consider spelling.

But, my big question today: is there a grammatical difference between "into" and "in to"? Because I believe there is. Lately, I've seen a lot of what I consider misuse of the word "into" and I'm beginning to wonder if I just made up these rules.

Well, frankly, I don't know any rules but some uses of "into" just seem inherently wrong. I really don't think that when "to" follows "in" that it automatically turns into "into".

For example, consider this sentence:

"Please bring your papers to turn (in to/into) Mr. Jones."

Now, if we write "into" then doesn't that really mean that we want to turn the papers into a physical copy of Mr. Jones so that instead of having both papers and a Mr. Jones, now we have two Mr. Jones and no papers? Am I crazy?

I really think they should stay separated into two words - in and to. We are turning them in... to someone else. Not turning them into someone else. They are not becoming someone - are they?

Does anyone feel this way?

Does anyone know of any rules that explain when to use "in to" versus "into"? Because I am definitely confused about what should go here: "Come ____ the room." Or here: "Go ____ the box." Or here: "Speak ____ the mic." Do we even need the "to" or could we just use "in"?

I have a theory, but I'm curious if anyone really, truly knows...

...or cares?

Maybe I'm the only one...