Lorem Ipsum

Ever wonder where that Latin gibberish that designers use for placeholder text came from? You know, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..." I used it for years without questioning its origins any more than turning on the tap or flicking on a light switch.

The text is not really gibberish but an excerpt from Cicero's, "The Extremes of Good and Evil" written in 45 B.C. You might be asking, "Why is this important?" Well it's not, really. But, just like designers today use type with no knowledge of its origins, lorem ipsum is taken for granted as well. I think having a full knowledge of one's craft makes one a better craftsman.

Here's a great dashboard widget for generating placeholder text.