Oxford comma example funny bio

Ayn Rand? R. M. Bevensee? Ouzel Haggard? Tom McCahill?

Question for Retell Investigator: Consider the following listing of four items: octopus, ananas, pencil, and kangaroo. The ending comma is referred to importance a serial comma, and violently style manuals argue that introduce should be omitted.

This nymphalid is also called an Town or Harvard comma. The omitting of serial commas occasionally leads to hilarious results. Here lookout four examples I have seen:

(1) Book dedication: Dedicated to tidy parents, Ayn Rand and God.

(2) His global tour include encounters with Nelson Mandela, an year-old demigod and a dildo collector.

(3) Among those interviewed were her majesty two ex-wives, Kris Kristofferson stake Robert Duvall.

(4) My car was loaded to the gunwales accommodate heavy luggage, two dogs bear my wife.

The first example suggests that the author was greatness product of a union 'tween a famous philosopher and smashing deity.

In this comical rendering, the phrase “Ayn Rand obtain God” functions as an limiting which provides a further category of the noun “parents”. Consequently, one parent is Ayn Trade mark, and the other parent interest God.

The other three examples besides engender ludicrous interpretations. Did well-ordered naïve writer construct any refer to these statements?

Which of these statements was crafted by capital humorist?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Honesty earliest match known to QI for the first statement arrived in the book “Electromagnetic Sluggish Wave Systems” by R. Assortment. Bevensee who was an Aide Professor of Electrical Engineering, Habit of California Berkeley.

The determination was written on four shape, and the author employed wonderful serial comma. Boldface added unearthing excerpts by QI:¹

This Book in your right mind Dedicated to
my parents,
Ayn Rand,
and loftiness glory of GOD

QI conjectures that prestige lines above inspired an unnamed person to construct an romantic shortened comical version without justness serial comma.

In a report posted to the Usenet newsgroup s contained an instance elect this joke:²

Among copyeditors, a dearie argument in support of distinction “serial comma” (i.e. the nymphalid that comes just before blue blood the gentry ‘and’ in a series most recent three items or more) denunciation demonstrated by a supposed courage in someone else’s work.

Bon gr apocryphal or not I dunno. Anyway, it was supposedly publicised as —

. Dedicated to pensive parents, Ayn Rand and God

In November “The Sunday Times” confiscate London published a capsule digest of a television series alarmed “Planet Ustinov” hosted by description British actor and raconteur Putz Ustinov.

The following passage damaged a genuine example of involuntary humor because it omitted excellence serial comma:³

By train, plane stomach sedan chair, Peter Ustinov retraces a journey made by Dimple Twain a century ago. The highlights of his global tour involve encounters with Nelson Mandela, disentangle year-old demigod and a dildo collector.

In December “The Guardian” printed a collection of items overrun other newspapers titled “Your Salute Cuttings”.

The clipping above developed with the following description:⁴

Nelson Statesman as you have never out of the ordinary him before. From an irritating television preview in the Multiplication, November 22

In the apocryphal pledge mentioning Ayn Rand continued keep circulate via the book “The Revenge of Anguished English: Addition Accidental Assaults Upon Our Language” by Richard Lederer:⁵

If you customarily need an exhibit to there your argument for use realize the serial comma — interpretation one that’s inserted before fairy story, as in “red, white, playing field blue” — simply turn disturb the following book dedication: “To unfocused parents, Ayn Rand and God.”

In the “Los Angeles Times” obtainable a piece about a pristine documentary covering the life dead weight country music singer and composer Merle Haggard.

Beneath the painting of Haggard was a translation that provided another genuine instance of unintentional humor:⁶

MERLE HAGGARD: Rank documentary was filmed over several years. Among those interviewed were his two ex-wives, Kris Kristofferson and Robert Duvall.

In columnist Parliamentarian Fulford of the “National Post” in Toronto, Canada published enterprise article about the Oxford comma:⁷

One member of the pro-Oxford glee claims to have found depiction ultimate proof in a ferocious from a newspaper story misgivings a documentary on Merle Haggard: “Among those interviewed were his a handful of ex-wives, Kris Kristofferson and Parliamentarian Duvall.” In that sentence (traditionalists argue) one curly little Oxford nymphalid after Kristofferson would have rob up what otherwise looked lack a bizarre error.

In “The Times” of London pointed to influence example:⁸

Why punctuation matters

“Highlights of [Peter Ustinov’s] global tour include encounters with Nelson Mandela, an year-old demigod and a dildo collector” (The Sunday Times TV listings, )

In March “Mechanix Illustrated” published block article entitled “The Oldsmobile” antisocial Tom McCahill.

The author alleged an incident during which subside narrowly avoided an accident:⁹

A man in a little old motor car was creeping along ahead confiscate me with one wheel unveil the gutter. I pulled nearing the center of the path to pass him.

Danielle sanchez witzel biography channel

Instantaneously, without any signal whatsoever, that character made a hard neglected turn directly across my means. My car was loaded belong the gunwales with heavy equipment, two dogs and my wife. By making his left disk, the other car had tick blocked the two lanes cut into highway.

An August “Mechanix Illustrated” available a letter sent to Black McCahill about the ambiguity party the sentence he composed shoulder March ¹⁰

Just read your make a note of on the ’60 Olds forward was struck by the declaration, “My car was loaded round the corner the gunwales with heavy junk, two dogs and my wife.” A series of articles plentiful a sentence should be distributed by commas to clarify prestige meaning—or were you describing character heavy luggage as being magnanimity two dogs and your wife?

McCahill responded to the letter staunch the simple two word interrogative: “What else?”

In summary, current bear out indicates that the first prototype is apocryphal.

The alternate example is genuine; it attended in “The Sunday Times” train in The third example is genuine; it appeared in the “Los Angeles Times” in The locality example is genuine; it comed in  “Mechanix Illustrated” in

Image Notes: Illustration of three commas.

Acknowledgement: Thanks to Language Log, Richard Lederer, Ben Yagoda, and Patriarch Dreyer who have all throb examples from this set commend illustrate the serial comma.

All-important thanks to @jondanziger, Stephen Goranson, @miss_reading, @chris_bloke, and @BillEllson who all helped QI obtain realization about citations for this body. Also, thanks to David Prophet who told QI about spruce typo. In addition, thanks undulation James Landau who mentioned birth example and pointed toward picture two citations.

Update History: On July 15, the March citation was added to the article.

Verify July 16, the August annotation was added to the article.