Even words that are chosen for no meaning whatsoever, such as the Lorem Ipsum phrase that typographers use for dummy layout text.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Ut condimentum laoreet sem. Proin nisl libero, convallis nec, dignissim quis, tristique vitae, velit. Integer lacus ipsum, dapibus vitae, fermentum vitae, vestibulum eget, tortor. Nam id metus nec mauris consectetuer sollicitudin. Curabitur semper. Nunc in ipsum. Suspendisse cursus. Nulla facilisi. Phasellus sapien. Sed malesuada gravida magna.
The idea is that if you put in meaningful words, people will be distracted by the content, not the layout. On the other hand, you want text that looks like real words, so you can see how it works. So back in the 1500s, typographers started using the same standard text in printing out dummy pages on their newfangled movable type presses. The text that was used was the Lorem Ipsum (or Lipsum, as it is sometimes called).
What most people don’t realize is that it’s a real piece of Latin text. This page delves a bit into its history.
Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source. Lipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of “de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum” (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC.
The page also has a Lipsum generator for doing your own dummy text.
(via BoingBoing, with apologies to Adam)
I’ve actually had people get upset when I use Latin as a placeholder…as if I’m calling down some evil black curse on their stupid empty heads.
Oh wait…
Heh heh heh. I’m planning to take some Latin classes at some point. I think I’ll use more Latin in my blog. I haven’t pissed enough people off yet…