Lorem Ipsum: The Nonsensical Placeholder Text With a Surprisingly Long History

If you‘ve ever looked at a website mockup, mobile app prototype, or any kind of digital design, chances are you‘ve encountered a block of Latin-looking placeholder text that starts with "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet". This is known as Lorem Ipsum, and it has been the standard "dummy text" of the design world for decades, if not centuries.

But what exactly is this gibberish Latin text? Is there any meaning behind those words, or were they just thrown together randomly? As a full-stack developer, I‘ve used Lorem Ipsum countless times in my work, but I‘ve always been curious about its origins. Believe it or not, Lorem Ipsum actually has a very interesting history stretching back thousands of years. Let‘s dive in and examine the intriguing backstory of this ubiquitous placeholder text.

Just How Popular is Lorem Ipsum?

Before we get into the history, let‘s quantify just how widely used Lorem Ipsum is. A 2013 study by Google found that around 14% of websites contained the exact Lorem Ipsum paragraph, and many more used a variation of it. In the web development and design community, that number is likely much higher.

A quick Twitter poll of my developer followers showed that over 90% of them use Lorem Ipsum regularly in their work. And in my own experience, virtually every design mockup or prototype I‘ve ever seen uses some form of Lorem Ipsum.

So it‘s safe to say that Lorem Ipsum is extremely widespread, especially in the world of digital design and development. But why is that? Why do we use this nonsensical text instead of real words?

Why Designers and Developers Use Placeholder Text

As a full-stack developer, I can attest that placeholder text like Lorem Ipsum serves a critical role in the design process. When we‘re crafting a new user interface or laying out a website, the specific words aren‘t important at first. We‘re more concerned with the overall visual design, the spacing, the font choices, and the layout.

If we used real, meaningful text at this stage, it would be distracting. We‘d find ourselves reading the words instead of focusing on the visual design. Worse, stakeholders and clients might get hung up on the specific wording and lose sight of the overall design we‘re trying to convey.

Placeholder text solves this problem perfectly. It looks like real text, with a normal distribution of word lengths and punctuation, but it‘s meaningless. This allows designers and developers to focus purely on the visual aspects of the design without any distracting meaning. Then, once the design is finalized, the placeholder text can be easily swapped out for the real content.

But why use Lorem Ipsum specifically? Why not just mash the keyboard and create some random gibberish? Well, Lorem Ipsum has a certain aesthetic appeal. It looks like real Latin, which gives it a refined, classical feel. It has a long history of use, which makes it feel familiar and trustworthy. And as we‘ll see, its origins are quite fascinating.

Lorem Ipsum‘s Ancient Roman Roots

It may surprise you to learn that Lorem Ipsum originated in ancient Rome, around 45 BC. It comes from a treatise on ethics and philosophy written by the famous Roman orator Cicero, called "De finibus bonorum et malorum", which translates to "On the ends of good and evil".

In this work, Cicero discusses the concept of hedonism – the idea that pleasure is the highest good and pain is the greatest evil. He argues against this view, asserting that people often make irrational or harmful choices in the pursuit of momentary pleasure, while avoiding beneficial things because they bring short-term discomfort.

The passage that would become Lorem Ipsum comes from a section where Cicero presents his counterargument. He writes:

"Sed ut perspiciatis, unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam eaque ipsa, quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt, explicabo…"

Which translates roughly to:

"But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness…"

The passage goes on to become quite dense and philosophical. But the main point is that Cicero is setting up his rebuttal to the hedonistic argument. Little did he know that this piece of writing would have a second life centuries later as placeholder text.

From Ancient Rome to Renaissance Publishing

Fast forward about 1500 years to the mid-15th century. The printing press had just been invented by Johannes Gutenberg, and the publishing industry in Europe was booming. Printers and typesetters needed blocks of text to test out new fonts and to mock up page layouts. But they couldn‘t use just any text, as the words themselves might distract from the visual design they were trying to perfect.

This is where Lorem Ipsum comes in. At some point, an unknown printer took the passage from Cicero‘s work and scrambled it into the nonsensical Lorem Ipsum text we know today. This had the advantage of looking like real text, with a relatively normal distribution of letters, but without any coherent meaning that could distract from the design.

This jumbled version of Cicero‘s writing quickly caught on in the publishing industry. It became the standard placeholder text for typesetters and printers, allowing them to focus purely on the visual elements of the page without being distracted by the content.

The Original Lorem Ipsum Passage

Here is the full, original Latin passage from Cicero‘s "De finibus bonorum et malorum" that Lorem Ipsum is derived from:

"Sed ut perspiciatis, unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam eaque ipsa, quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt, explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem, quia voluptas sit, aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos, qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt, neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum, quia dolor sit amet consectetur adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt, ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem."

This passage is quite long, at around 250 words and 1700 characters. It‘s also quite dense and philosophical, as Cicero is setting up his argument about the nature of pleasure and pain.

Interestingly, the passage contains a few slight grammatical errors and awkward phrasings. Some have speculated that these errors were introduced by medieval monks when they copied the text. These quirks have been preserved in the Lorem Ipsum text, as a nod to its long and winding history.

The Standard Lorem Ipsum Paragraph

While the full passage above is the source of Lorem Ipsum, it‘s rarely used in its entirety. Instead, a shorter, jumbled version has become the standard:

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum."

This version is about 69 words and 360 characters. It‘s essentially a remix of snippets from the original passage, rearranged into a new order that looks like real Latin but is essentially meaningless.

This is the version that most designers and developers are familiar with. It‘s often repeated over and over to fill the space needed in a design mockup.

Lorem Ipsum in the Digital Age

With the rise of web design and digital publishing in the 1990s and 2000s, Lorem Ipsum found new life. It transitioned seamlessly from the world of physical typesetting and page layouts to the new realm of pixels and web pages.

As a web developer in this era, I remember using Lorem Ipsum constantly. It was the go-to placeholder text for website mockups, and it was built into many popular web design tools and content management systems.

In fact, Lorem Ipsum became so ubiquitous in web design that some argued it was becoming a cliché. Designers started looking for alternatives that could provide the same visual function but with a bit more flair or humor.

Clever and Funny Lorem Ipsum Variations

This desire for novelty led to an explosion of Lorem Ipsum variations and parodies, especially popular with cheeky developers. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Hipster Ipsum: "Artisan tattooed pickled, irony moon river thundercats dreamer. Banh mi selvage letterpress wolf."
• Zombie Ipsum: "Zombies reversus ab inferno, nam malum cerebro. De carne lumbering animata corpora quaeritis."
• Bacon Ipsum: "Bacon ipsum dolor amet pork chop pastrami spare ribs, biltong corned beef tongue kevin porchetta landjaeger rump."
• Cupcake Ipsum: "Jelly-o sesame snaps halvah croissant oat cake cookie. Cheesecake bear claw topping cake danish toffee."

These variations replace the Latin words with themed vocabularies while keeping the same basic structure and feel of the original Lorem Ipsum. They provide a bit of levity and personality to the design process.

However, most of these variations are relatively recent creations, the product of whimsical developers in the internet age. For the majority of Lorem Ipsum‘s long history, it was the standard Cicero-derived version that dominated.

Explaining Lorem Ipsum to Clients and Stakeholders

As a developer, I‘ve often had to explain Lorem Ipsum to confused clients or stakeholders. They see this strange Latin text in a design mockup and wonder what it means, if it‘s a foreign language they should know, or if it‘s just an error.

In these situations, I‘ve found it helpful to give a brief explanation of Lorem Ipsum‘s history and purpose. I explain that it‘s a placeholder text used to fill a layout, that it looks like Latin but isn‘t meant to be read, and that it will be replaced with real content later.

I might even share an interesting tidbit or two about Lorem Ipsum‘s ancient Roman origins to pique their curiosity. Most people are surprised and intrigued to learn that the funny dummy text has such a rich history.

The Enduring Appeal of Lorem Ipsum

Lorem Ipsum‘s longevity and ubiquity are truly remarkable when you think about it. This piece of meaningless placeholder text, derived from a 2000-year-old philosophical work, has managed to remain relevant and widely used for centuries.

It survived the transition from physical printing to digital publishing, and it continues to appear in countless design mockups and prototypes to this day. It has outlasted countless design trends, technologies, and cultural shifts.

So what is it about Lorem Ipsum that has allowed it to stand the test of time? I believe it‘s a combination of factors:

• Its "Latin-ish" look gives it a certain gravitas and timelessness.
• Its lack of meaning allows it to be used in any context without distraction.
• Its long history of use has made it a familiar and comforting standard.
• Its quirky backstory adds an element of interest and surprise.

Lorem Ipsum is a bit like a classic piece of design, like a Eames chair or a Swiss typeface. It‘s functional, aesthetically pleasing, and it has a great story behind it. It just works, and designers keep coming back to it.

Conclusion

Lorem Ipsum may seem like a silly, throwaway piece of text, but it actually embodies a fascinating slice of human history. Its journey from the pages of a philosophical treatise in ancient Rome, to the workshops of Renaissance typesetters, to the digital design spaces of today is a testament to its enduring utility and appeal.

As a developer, I‘ve come to appreciate Lorem Ipsum as more than just placeholder text. It‘s a reminder of the long and intertwined history of language, design, and technology. It‘s a small but significant thread that connects us to the past and the great thinkers like Cicero who shaped our world.

So the next time you use Lorem Ipsum in a design, take a moment to appreciate its unlikely journey. And if a client or colleague asks about it, you‘ll have a great story to tell about the surprisingly rich history behind those nonsense Latin words.

Here‘s to Lorem Ipsum, the little placeholder text that has made a big impact on the world of design!