The 500-Year-Old Text
- First used in the 1500s by an unknown typesetter arranging type specimens
- Source: Cicero's 'de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum' (45 BC) — a treatise on ethics
- 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet' is actually scrambled Latin, not real sentences
- Rediscovered in the 1960s when Letraset used it on dry-transfer sheets
Why Designers Use Fake Text
- Readable content distracts — reviewers focus on words instead of layout
- Real copy isn't always ready when designs need to be finalized
- Latin-like text mimics natural word length distribution (unlike 'asdf asdf')
- It's a signal: 'This is a placeholder, replace me before launch'
Fun Alternatives People Use
- Hipster Ipsum: 'Artisan kombucha helvetica sustainable...'
- Bacon Ipsum: 'Bacon ipsum dolor amet ribeye pork belly...'
- Cupcake Ipsum: 'Cupcake gummies candy canes lemon drops...'
- Zombie Ipsum: 'Zombie ipsum braaains reversus ab...'
- Corporate Ipsum: 'Synergize holistic bandwidth leveraging...'
Real Translation (Sort Of)
- 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet' ≈ 'Pain itself is love' (garbled)
- The original Cicero text discusses the pursuit of pleasure and pain
- About 80% of Lorem Ipsum words are real Latin; the rest are scrambled
- There's even a hidden message in some versions: 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit' appears 5× in original