diff --git a/NEWS.txt b/NEWS.txt
index 68ba514..2f9fb4e 100644
--- a/NEWS.txt
+++ b/NEWS.txt
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ Bug fixes
 
 - Prevent i from being declared global in extractRange (reported by
   Alexander Obukhov, issue 627).
+- Throw errors in a more cross-browser-compatible manner (patch by
+  Eddie Kay)
 
 - Prevent pie slice outlines from being drawn when the stroke width is
   zero (reported by Chris Minett, issue 585)
diff --git a/jquery.flot.js b/jquery.flot.js
index 54807e4..81b4da2 100644
--- a/jquery.flot.js
+++ b/jquery.flot.js
@@ -716,7 +716,7 @@
             canvasHeight = placeholder.height();
             
             if (canvasWidth <= 0 || canvasHeight <= 0)
-                throw "Invalid dimensions for plot, width = " + canvasWidth + ", height = " + canvasHeight;
+                throw new Error("Invalid dimensions for plot, width = " + canvasWidth + ", height = " + canvasHeight);
         }
 
         function resizeCanvas(c) {