The Fascinating History of Lorem Ipsum
Lorem ipsum is the most famous placeholder text in the world. But where did it come from, and why has it endured for over five centuries?
Ancient Roman Origins
Contrary to popular belief, lorem ipsum is not simply random gibberish. It's derived from "De finibus bonorum et malorum" (On the Ends of Good and Evil), a philosophical work by Cicero written in 45 BC.
The original Latin text discusses theories of ethics and was widely studied during the Renaissance. The lorem ipsum version is a scrambled, altered form of sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of this work.
The Original Passage
The standard lorem ipsum passage begins with "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit..." This is actually a corruption of "dolorem ipsum" meaning "pain itself" from Cicero's original text.
The complete original passage (translated) discusses the nature of pleasure and pain in ethical philosophy.
How It Became Standard
The 1500s - Print Origins
Lorem ipsum became standard in the printing industry during the 1500s. An unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. The garbled Latin ensured readers wouldn't focus on the content but rather the visual appearance of the typefaces.
The Survival Through Centuries
Unlike most texts from that era, lorem ipsum survived:
The Letraset Era
In the 1960s, Letraset (a company producing dry-transfer sheets) popularized lorem ipsum by including it in their catalog of fonts and graphics. Designers worldwide began using these sheets, spreading lorem ipsum globally.
Digital Adoption
In the 1980s, Aldus Corporation (later Adobe) included lorem ipsum in their PageMaker software. This cemented its place in digital design workflows.
Why Lorem Ipsum Works
Several characteristics make lorem ipsum effective:
Neutral Content
The scrambled Latin doesn't form coherent sentences, preventing readers from being distracted by the content. This lets them focus on:
Realistic Appearance
Lorem ipsum has a distribution of letters and word lengths similar to English and other European languages. This makes layouts look more realistic than using repeated characters or purely random text.
Industry Standard
Because everyone uses it, clients and collaborators immediately recognize lorem ipsum as placeholder text. There's no confusion about whether it's final content.
Common Misconceptions
"It's Meaningless"
While the scrambled version doesn't make sense, it's derived from meaningful philosophical text about ethics and the pursuit of pleasure.
"It's Perfect Latin"
The scrambling process introduced many grammatical errors and nonsense words. Scholars have noted numerous deviations from proper Latin.
"It's Always the Same"
While the standard opening is consistent, different generators produce varying lengths and combinations of lorem ipsum text.
Conclusion
Lorem ipsum has survived for over 500 years because it perfectly serves its purpose: providing realistic-looking placeholder text that doesn't distract from design. Use LoremSpark to generate as much lorem ipsum as you need for your next project.