I used to play Mad Libs often when I was a child. Did you? These were small activity books that included short stories on each page and the reader had to
"fill in the blank." It actually helped one learn grammer
because you had to know the difference, for example, between a noun, a verb, and an adjective.
It always ended up in a silly story that was read out loud to others when complete. I remember playing this often at birthday parties and it was a fun pastime.
Since Mad Libs was first published back in 1958, more than 110 million copies have been sold.
I always wondered how the name, Mad Libs came to be. Apparently, the creators, Leonard Stern and Roger Price could not agree on a
name...and
therefore no name was chosen until 5 years later! These two chaps were enjoying Eggs Benedict at a New York city restaurant when they heard a nearby party (apparently a talent agent and an actor) arguing about "ad-libbing" an upcoming interview. The agent did not want to do this, stating that doing so would be "mad."
Good thing Stern and Price were there, because they used that conversation to come up with the name Mad Libs.
Isn't it interesting how things come to be? This is, actually, a
good lesson for organizing your ideas. If you're trying to think up an idea...one of the worst things you can do is sit around waiting for that idea to fly into your brain. It's much more effective to listen to others, to read, and to watch what's happening around you, Doing so gets our minds churning and helps us generate ideas.
While we're on this subject, I wrote a newsletter back on December 21 that included a non-grammar Mad Libs-type activity for GON Readers. It was:
While I'm __________,
I feel as if time has gone by in a blink,
but when I'm __________,
I feel like time is standing still.
Here are a bunch of the responses I received:
While I'm busy, time flies,
while I'm not busy time stands still.
--Lydia
While I'm looking back,
I feel as if time has gone by in a blink,
but when I'm in the middle of it,
I feel like time is standing still.
--Linda
While I’m spending time with my granddaughter,
time goes by in a blink;
but when I’m in a traffic
jam,
time seems to be standing still.
--Norma Brown, Cary, NC
While I'm riding my stationary bike reading,
I feel as if time has gone by in a blink,
but when I'm biking with nothing to read,
I feel like time is standing still.
--Nancy
While I'm having a 2-hour coffee with friends,
I feel as if time has gone by in a blink.
When I'm listening to a 1-hour presentation at work,
I feel like time is standing still.
--Ralph N., Boston, MA
While I'm scrolling through Facebook,
I feel as if
time has gone by in a blink.
When I'm waiting for pasta to boil,
I feel like time is standing still.
--Jenny Sue Pinkerton, Ormond Beach, FL
While I'm enjoying a book,
I feel as if time has gone by in a blink.
When I'm waiting for someone to text me back,
I feel like time is standing still.
--Jada Crew, New York, New York
While I'm enjoying summer and fall,
I feel as if time has gone by in a blink.
When I'm waiting for winter to end,
I feel like time is standing still.
--Sally H., Duluth, MN
While I'm working on a project with a tight deadline,
I feel as if time has gone by in a blink.
When waiting for my kid to get dressed for school,
I feel like time is standing still.
--Ellie Jane
