The alphabets are spelled A B C D

April 13, 2009 11:10 AM

What is an alphabet thread, and where did the term come from?

I have noticed a few comments in the past week or so that reference "alphabet threads". The nearest I can deduce is that they are MeTa threads that get massively derailed due to unworthiness, or something. I'm sure that's not exactly it. Can someone please explain this phenomenon to me? And seriously, what is up with the name "alphabet thread"?

posted by Night_owl to MetaFilter-Related at 11:10 AM (152 comments total)

Ah, an alphabet thread.
posted by box at 11:11 AM on April 13, 2009 [5 favorites]

Once a MeTa thread has served its purpose -- or sometimes when people are just feeling lulzy -- an old thread becomes a game where people start their comments with letters of the alphabet in line with some sort of predetermined theme [backwards, forwards, only questions, only jokes, only 70s bands] and this continues until people get sick of it or the thread closes at 30 days.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 11:12 AM on April 13, 2009

Box has it.
posted by ocherdraco at 11:12 AM on April 13, 2009

Cleverly, jessamyn has derailed with second-post helpfulness.
posted by ZakDaddy at 11:13 AM on April 13, 2009 [2 favorites]

Don't do this.
posted by barnacles at 11:14 AM on April 13, 2009

Madness
posted by Burhanistan at 11:14 AM on April 13, 2009

Everyone stop! We can't seriously have 3 alphabet threads going at once. Close it up!
posted by team lowkey at 11:15 AM on April 13, 2009

For fuck's sake, folks. Again?
posted by shiu mai baby at 11:17 AM on April 13, 2009

Finding out where they came from is an interesting research project idea. But:

Alphabet threads are just a silly thing that happens organically occasionally. Not, usually, because the thread is "unworthy", and not usually as an intentional derailment, but rather as something that just sort of kicks in when people are feeling silly and there's no momentum carrying the thread forward in any other direction.

You don't make this clear, so to be completely tedious, the thing is that the comments proceed alphabetically in order (or reverse order, or not so much in order at all sometimes) by first character of each comment.

The name "alphabet thread" is, I think, just something people are calling this lately—there's been a spate of these (maybe three or four in the last month) and it's kind of in the water right now. "The Alphabet Game" is probably the canonical name for this, if there is such a thing. It's much like "Questions"—it's a hazy, conversational protogame that a lot of people have played in one sense or another at one point, or if they haven't can jump in on easily when they trip across it.

Metatalk is many things to many people, and one of those things is the back seat of your parents' car during a road trip.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:17 AM on April 13, 2009 [3 favorites]

GFAR
posted by carsonb at 11:17 AM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Have both of Night_owl's been answered?
posted by box at 11:19 AM on April 13, 2009

I think so, let's close this up?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 11:19 AM on April 13, 2009

Just in time.
posted by box at 11:19 AM on April 13, 2009

It's much like "Questions"—it's a hazy, conversational protogame that a lot of people have played in one sense or another at one point, or if they haven't can jump in on easily when they trip across it.

What's Questions?
posted by inigo2 at 11:20 AM on April 13, 2009

You don't know what "Questions" is?
posted by yhbc at 11:21 AM on April 13, 2009

Are you actually asking him, or just taking the piss?
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:22 AM on April 13, 2009

Isn't it obvious, cortex?
posted by Mister_A at 11:23 AM on April 13, 2009

What's that supposed to mean, cortex?
posted by yhbc at 11:23 AM on April 13, 2009

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.............\`~.*-,.....................................|,./.....\,__
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posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 11:24 AM on April 13, 2009 [10 favorites]

Why everyone's gotta be so tuff about it?
posted by carsonb at 11:24 AM on April 13, 2009

What are you, a sissy?
posted by boo_radley at 11:31 AM on April 13, 2009

You guys have a strange alphabet.
posted by dirigibleman at 11:32 AM on April 13, 2009 [2 favorites]

Zima iz zickening™.
posted by Smart Dalek at 11:32 AM on April 13, 2009

ABOUT FACE
posted by carsonb at 11:34 AM on April 13, 2009

Ban alphabet threads.
posted by mullacc at 11:35 AM on April 13, 2009

Clearly this is a trend that has to be stopped. Except it's kind of retro-charming. Like the old internet.
posted by Weighted Companion Cube at 11:37 AM on April 13, 2009

Imagine my disappointment in seeing the thread title and 26 comments awaiting.
posted by joe lisboa at 11:40 AM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

D'oh. Thanks, guys. I apparently fail at teh MeTa.
posted by Night_owl at 11:40 AM on April 13, 2009

*Elephant urinating*
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:42 AM on April 13, 2009

I'd just like to point out that my comment here is the pinnacle of alphabet thread wankery.
posted by Burhanistan at 11:42 AM on April 13, 2009

Every time I've seen that thing so far, I've been unable to figure out what it's supposed to be.
posted by cgc373 at 11:43 AM on April 13, 2009

ZAMBONI!
posted by dersins at 11:44 AM on April 13, 2009

Madness

Suggs?
posted by ob at 11:44 AM on April 13, 2009

Everybody seems to be avoiding linking to it, but here's a current alphabet thread that's going on right now. (We're at 1273 comments so far. Don't stop the love!)
posted by koeselitz at 11:44 AM on April 13, 2009

crap
posted by dersins at 11:44 AM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Holy crap, Burhanistan, we just randomly linked to the exact same comment. That's, like, a one in 1273 chance.
posted by koeselitz at 11:45 AM on April 13, 2009

Every time I've seen that thing so far, I've been unable to figure out what it's supposed to be.

It's a guy grating a block of cheese. Mmm!
posted by Burhanistan at 11:46 AM on April 13, 2009

That is rather spooky! And for some reason I feel an urgent need to evacuate.
posted by Burhanistan at 11:46 AM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

A ban causes doubt everywhere. Forgo going horrendously insane, jealously killing little memes! No, options prevail–questions, responses. See?

-The Unruly Visionaries

(WPW, XQUZYPHYR, YHBC, Zardoz)
posted by Mister_A at 11:53 AM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

A bit cheezy, duh. Everyone fights gloriously, having injected jokes. Killing lame MeTa noob-occupying pretentious questions rather swiftly. That's understandable, vacuous words xylograph* your zest.


* sorry
posted by blue_beetle at 11:58 AM on April 13, 2009

That X is a killer ain't it?
posted by Mister_A at 12:00 PM on April 13, 2009

WTF letter are we on now?
posted by desuetude at 12:27 PM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Anyone (besides Charles) denying Earth's forbearers gets hefty incarcertations: jailtime, kids. Lightheartedness maybe* necessary once prision quells restless seething towards undercover vice, who's xenophobia yields zealotry.

*once you cheat you can't go back!
posted by abc123xyzinfinity at 12:47 PM on April 13, 2009

Do I know what rhetorical means?!?
posted by Chrysostom at 12:49 PM on April 13, 2009

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
posted by Pronoiac at 12:50 PM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Zowie! I am so glad that I did not ask that question.
posted by Cranberry at 1:00 PM on April 13, 2009

a/s/l?
posted by ALongDecember at 1:00 PM on April 13, 2009

Before we go any further, I'd just like to point out that alphabet threads have been done to death. I say we go with something much harder, like number threads;

One way or another, I'm going to try to convince everyone here to not have yet another sequentially updating thread that I'll have to try to pay attention to.
posted by quin at 1:10 PM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Two alphabet threads are already underway. Must we add a third?
posted by gingerbeer at 1:12 PM on April 13, 2009

Red stegosaurus.


Oh, wait, wrong thread hijack.
posted by Spatch at 1:13 PM on April 13, 2009

Three? Don't be a piker!
posted by languagehat at 1:13 PM on April 13, 2009

Fore anyone goes any further with this newfangled thing, what is a numbers thread, and where did the term come from?
posted by carsonb at 1:19 PM on April 13, 2009

'Five been thinking too much about what a numbers thread is, and can't reach a conclusion, will my head explode?
posted by owtytrof at 1:22 PM on April 13, 2009

Six seconds or so of planning is all I put into the idea. To be honest, I was hoping it would fail from the start, as I figured it would be too pointless and difficult, but it seems that we are underway for better or worse.
posted by quin at 1:28 PM on April 13, 2009

Seven things are needed in MeTa comment to get others to pay attention to you, they are:
posted by Science! at 1:30 PM on April 13, 2009

Eight years ago, I spent a summer working in the radiology department of a hospital. Midway through the summer, a couple of the techs took me aside and informed me that I had been there long enough and they liked me, and it was time to show me the "Special File".

The Special File was a folder containing extra copies of cool, gross, or otherwise noteworthy x-rays and other diagnostic images. A guy who had shot himself in the face several times with a nailgun, a woman with some odd object she had swallowed lodged in her stomach, that sort of thing.

The most special item in the Special File was the one of the guy who had come in one weekend night with a chief complaint of potato irretrievably lodged in his rectum. The best part of this was not the potato butt x-ray, but the accompanying explanation given upon presentation to the ED. He had been, he said, innocently walking through his house naked, when he slipped and fell, landing on the potato, which just happened to be on the kitchen floor. Hence its new and unfortunate location.

I am certain this has something to do with hardcore and softcore taters, if only I could figure out exactly what.
posted by little e at 1:31 PM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

(it wasn't actually eight years ago, but I had to make it fit somehow)
posted by little e at 1:34 PM on April 13, 2009

Ninetales evolves from Vulpix with a Fire Stone, and is Super Effective against the Grass type.
posted by Metroid Baby at 1:36 PM on April 13, 2009

Tentatively, the number line is abused.
posted by carsonb at 1:37 PM on April 13, 2009

Elevenses? But we just had brunch!
posted by box at 1:40 PM on April 13, 2009

Dozen't this count as a derail of some kind? Numbers are not the alphabet!!!
posted by Hellgirl at 1:40 PM on April 13, 2009

Thirteen is leaving House (by getting caught in a house fire) to go build houses! Spoiler alert!
posted by Night_owl at 1:43 PM on April 13, 2009

Fourteen years ago, there I was with cortex, eighteen thousand feet in the air with my pants on my head...
posted by scrump at 1:47 PM on April 13, 2009

15 stone is just 14 stone plus 14 pounds.
posted by shii at 1:49 PM on April 13, 2009

Sixteen candles make a lovely light.
posted by box at 1:52 PM on April 13, 2009

Fourteen hours from now, I will fail my exam.
posted by Phire at 1:53 PM on April 13, 2009

16 tons and whaddaya get?/
Another day older and deeper in dept/
Saint Peter don'tcha call me 'cause I can't go/
I owe my soul to the Company Store
posted by desuetude at 1:53 PM on April 13, 2009

FUCK.
posted by Phire at 1:53 PM on April 13, 2009

[lyrics to "I saw her standing there"]
posted by desuetude at 1:53 PM on April 13, 2009

[I owe my soul to The Company Store]
posted by box at 1:55 PM on April 13, 2009

π
posted by Mister_A at 1:58 PM on April 13, 2009

Eighteen!

(Obvious, sure, but I like it.
Oh I like it.
Love it.
Like it.
Love it.)
posted by languagehat at 2:02 PM on April 13, 2009

There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always—do not forget this, Winston—always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face ... for ever.

PS - Sorry I'm late, dersins.
posted by zamboni at 2:05 PM on April 13, 2009

Hey Nineteen
posted by Daddy-O at 2:14 PM on April 13, 2009

2012
posted by desuetude at 2:14 PM on April 13, 2009

Well played, zamboni, though I'm miffed that I was too late to post this nineteen.
posted by desuetude at 2:16 PM on April 13, 2009

Twins tie one!
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:26 PM on April 13, 2009

22 Going On 23
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 2:28 PM on April 13, 2009

Have we ever had an alphabet thread where people posted based on the alphabetical order of their usernames? Because that would be cool. Comment whatever you like, but only if your name comes next.

I think most people would not pick up on something like that. C'mon Artw, bluebeetle, cortex, and dersins. Let me know when I'm on deck.
posted by Eideteker at 2:28 PM on April 13, 2009

Artw loves to have his own fun in alphabet threads.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 2:33 PM on April 13, 2009

I vote for word association threads. Or Mad-Libs.
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 2:36 PM on April 13, 2009

Alphabet threads are best when unexpected, as are any of the "let's play a game since this thread has devolved into meaninglessness" threads.

Like this one. I like the idea of a number thread.
posted by not_on_display at 2:42 PM on April 13, 2009

24 with Bobby Lee
posted by not_on_display at 2:43 PM on April 13, 2009

(I pre-emptively call 99 Luftballons.)
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 2:50 PM on April 13, 2009

Is this a new MeFi phenomenon, or one that has just gathered steam again recently? I've been here officially since 2005, and was a lurker for years before that, and I swear I haven't heard of an alphabet thread since the last week or so.
posted by Ian A.T. at 2:51 PM on April 13, 2009

Marisa, if you get 99 Luftballons, I want 76 Trombones.
posted by Night_owl at 3:06 PM on April 13, 2009

""The Alphabet Game" is probably the canonical name for this, if there is such a thing. It's much like "Questions"—it's a hazy, conversational protogame that a lot of people have played in one sense or another at one point, or if they haven't can jump in on easily when they trip across it."

Both are improv games done during warm-ups, and have been at least since I was in high school. The harder variations of the Alphabet Game include everyone starting over at any flub, everyone holding to a letter but eschewing a pattern (which is then repeated, meaning if you had F, K and U, you're responsible for those letters on the next go-round, and everyone wins when the alphabet can be completely given through conversational statements without anyone flubbing), and doing the same as conditions prior only reversing the flow of the alphabet either once the alphabet is completed or whenever there's a flub, while still maintaining your letters.

Usually the quick warm-up was to do this with just letters, which is why I can zip through the alphabet backwards drunk or sober, but if the director was, say, working with just one actor at a time, the rest of the cast and crew would elaborate to full sentences.

Another, though nigh impossible game to play given this population, is "Yes, and…" in which every statement must agree and elaborate on the previous one.
posted by klangklangston at 3:12 PM on April 13, 2009

777 is the current number of AskMe REPLIES that I've proffered. 777 nuggets of absolute wisdom that you would ignore at your own peril.
posted by Burhanistan at 3:13 PM on April 13, 2009

Ian A.T. I've seen it for the past ... half year or so maybe?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:21 PM on April 13, 2009

Finding out where they came from is an interesting research project idea.

I remember starting one last September. A few comments upthread I had suggested playing Questions, which I just got from Rosencrantz & Guildenstern. I had however just seen two Dutch TV comedians signing off on their show in a call-and-response follow-the-alphabet fashion, earlier that week. So that's where I at least got the idea, and I don't think I had heard of such a game before, let alone seen an Alphabet thread. I think I would remember if I have, because I feel quite sure that the TV show prompted it for me.

So I'm not going to take credit, but here's just a data point. And I would be very interested to see if there were in fact Alphabet threads before that, if only to prove that my memory is indeed faulty.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:23 PM on April 13, 2009

Una coma veinteuno heeeeeegawatts?
posted by codswallop at 3:24 PM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Another, though nigh impossible game to play given this population, is "Yes, and…" in which every statement must agree and elaborate on the previous one.

Yes, and although I find that participating in this exercise can be fascinating, it invariably also gets really irritating. Kind of like the "And then..." scene from Dude, Where's my Car?
posted by quin at 3:39 PM on April 13, 2009

Yes, and it's important to note the difference in difficulty between the "Yes, and…" and the "And then…" Instead of simply being a repeated prompt, "Yes, and…" should impel a bizarre ambition, despite being obnoxious in the hands of less-skilled players.
posted by klangklangston at 3:43 PM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yes, and one of the difficulties that comes with prompting this sort of game in a semi-public space is the tension between the desire for collaborative fun and the risk of alienating those observers/potential-participants who either (a) resent and reject the repurposing of the public space as a playing field or (b) perceive themselves, correctly or otherwise, to be one of the "less-skilled players" and hence resent the judgement that comes with participation and/or the exclusion that comes with the social pressure toward highly-skilled play.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:58 PM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yes, and that judgement isn't without merit, either. It can shape participants to be better not only at the "Yes, and" game, but also to sharpen their skills in critical thinking, cause and effect, and reading comprehension. If only the original legal inquiry into the Teapot Done Scandal had played this game, things might have turned out much differently.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 4:03 PM on April 13, 2009

Yes, and a broader appreciation of the corrupting influence of business especially in opposition to lands in public trust could have both had broad positive influence on later administrations, and given the public a better sense of great men failing, which could only help their improv-game acumen.
posted by klangklangston at 4:08 PM on April 13, 2009

No, the itch hasn't subsided. Thanks for asking, though.
posted by eyeballkid at 4:14 PM on April 13, 2009

No, I'm sorry, I have no interest in that, and what's more, I didn't ask.
posted by klangklangston at 4:18 PM on April 13, 2009

Maybe that's true, but I could see the curious look in your eyes.
posted by eyeballkid at 4:22 PM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Maybe, but those weren't my eyes.
posted by not_on_display at 4:29 PM on April 13, 2009

Maybe, but once you touch them you're buying them.
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:33 PM on April 13, 2009

Moby, these eyes of mine look into the very eye that is even now beholding him; aye, and into the eye that is even now equally beholding the objects on the unknown, thither side of thee, thou sun!
posted by klangklangston at 4:43 PM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Mooby, the Cow! Who only moos when we beg and scream and shout!
posted by eyeballkid at 4:55 PM on April 13, 2009

µ
posted by klangklangston at 4:59 PM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

む
posted by cortex (staff) at 5:02 PM on April 13, 2009

ヌ
posted by klangklangston at 5:12 PM on April 13, 2009

(An onomatopoeia that expresses surprise or confusion!)
posted by klangklangston at 5:15 PM on April 13, 2009

*



(A tiny symbol representing no sound at all, whatsoever. Complete absence of sound. And thought.)
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:15 PM on April 13, 2009

– oooh we're in unicode finally! Someone wake me when my favorite, en dash, comes up.
posted by cowbellemoo at 6:47 PM on April 13, 2009

This one is pretty! む
posted by Mister_A at 7:07 PM on April 13, 2009

☻/
/▌
/ \

this is Bob, Bob will take over youtube. please copy & paste to videos
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:42 PM on April 13, 2009

☻/
/▌ This Is Otto, Otto will take over for Bob
/ \ When Bob has to go to the bathroom.
posted by jefeweiss at 8:26 PM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Азбука игры
posted by zinfandel at 8:34 PM on April 13, 2009

אלפבית את המשחק
posted by ErWenn at 8:54 PM on April 13, 2009

मैं हिंदी नहीं जानता, लेकिन मैं Google अनुवाद पता है!
posted by klangklangston at 9:38 PM on April 13, 2009

Þessi þráður er bara tómt vitleysa.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 9:39 PM on April 13, 2009

❄☃❄
posted by not_on_display at 9:51 PM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

damn, I missed the numbers game.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 9:56 PM on April 13, 2009 [3 favorites]

not_on_display: "❄☃❄"

I had to copy and paste that into Word and increase the font size to see what it was. I thought it looked like a cat's face. Maybe.
posted by Phire at 10:02 PM on April 13, 2009

6060842!
posted by klangklangston at 10:05 PM on April 13, 2009

93711195
posted by jschu at 10:13 PM on April 13, 2009

00202811906!
posted by gingerbeer at 10:15 PM on April 13, 2009

"93711195"?
posted by klangklangston at 10:26 PM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
posted by Burhanistan at 10:28 PM on April 13, 2009

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
posted by klangklangston at 10:29 PM on April 13, 2009

1 2 3 4 5 6 9 10
posted by jschu at 10:32 PM on April 13, 2009

I had to copy and paste that into Word and increase the font size to see what it was.

CTRL + +/-/0 just changed your life.
posted by carsonb at 10:45 PM on April 13, 2009

15 Ways
posted by Burhanistan at 10:45 PM on April 13, 2009

8 6 7 5 3 0 9
posted by zamboni at 10:45 PM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

It's only fitting that the namesake of the go-to Z for alphabet threads would post the Tutone song.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:54 PM on April 13, 2009

And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
posted by flabdablet at 2:58 AM on April 14, 2009

but, c'mon, Moses, Egypt wasn't all that bad, now was it? I mean look, here you are in the desert, scrambling around for water... ain't all that great, is it? Why don't you consider getting yourself back to Cairo, huh? Plenty of night life there, at least, and, hey, the food can't be beat!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:07 AM on April 14, 2009

Cairo, huh? Maybe I could settle down. Run a taco stand near the pyramids. but...
posted by not_on_display at 4:40 AM on April 14, 2009

OK, so the title of this post has me wondering: alphabets are? Is this a regional thing? Where I grew up, it was acknowledged that there is an alphabet* composed of 26 letters. But I've heard my friends from India use "alphabet" and "letter" practically interchangeably, e.g. "That word has six alphabets."

*And yes, I know there's Greek, Cyrillic, etc., but let's stay within Roman orthography.
posted by kittyprecious at 4:51 AM on April 14, 2009

...Cairo's full of people who mess up your alphabet game, God. You gotta skip over their clueless comments about Greek and Cyrillic and whatever else... ah, it just get's tiresome y'know? At least here in the desert, everybody's on the same page. Everybody's hungry, everybody's thirsty, but, hey, nobody's fuckin' up the alphabet game, God, s'cuse my French...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:59 AM on April 14, 2009

And what are the rules for when someone messes up the alphabet game?
posted by fleacircus at 6:07 AM on April 14, 2009

"Damn, Moses", said God, "you're right! Not only is Egypt full of people who don't even know when an alphabet game is going on, it's also full of wiseacres who think it'd be all cute and *rebellious* to ignore it." So Moses says, "Yeah, it's a lot like MetTalk in that way, innit?" And God says "Yep".
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:19 AM on April 14, 2009

2.71828
posted by fleacircus at 6:27 AM on April 14, 2009

3.
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posted by double block and bleed at 6:50 AM on April 14, 2009

4, Baker, Sesame Street
posted by not_on_display at 7:30 AM on April 14, 2009

Jeez, not sure which one we're doing now.
posted by fleacircus at 8:05 AM on April 14, 2009

"Egypt SUCKED," added Moses's teenage son. "No WAY am I going back there. Can't we go to Virginia Beach?"
posted by salvia at 8:08 AM on April 14, 2009

"Great," said Moses. "Virginia Beach again. That's just going backwards. Exponentially. To former stuff. JEEzus wept -- get with the program kiddo. Now go finish off your hieroglyphics homework or something."
posted by fleacircus at 8:20 AM on April 14, 2009

"Fuck" said the son. "I think I forgot something. I just can't remember what."
posted by gingerbeer at 8:54 AM on April 14, 2009

Moses' son went and scrounged around his room, and finally found what he'd been looking for in the pile of dirty clothes underneath his Ferris Bueller's Day Off poster.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:35 AM on April 14, 2009

No, I generally say "the alphabet is". The title just didn't sound very clever that way, so I wrote the title to portray my ignorance. Did it work?
posted by Night_owl at 10:00 AM on April 14, 2009

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children built. 6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
posted by klangklangston at 11:28 AM on April 14, 2009

10 And the LORD woke up the next morning with a terrible hangover. 11 And HE called the local sub shop to order HIS usual hangover cure, an eggplant parmesan sub. 12 When HE came to pick the order up, verily they screwed up the order as the Man Behind the Counter couldn't understand HIM. 13 So the LORD ate the Large Tuna Sub with Pickles and grumbled at this, one in a long series of drunken mistakes.
posted by not_on_display at 1:12 PM on April 14, 2009

Barons Court! I realise that Piccadilly would have been the obvious move here of
course, but Barons Court opens up all the diagonals below the line.
posted by BadMiker at 5:20 AM on April 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

MORNINGSTAR FARMS VEGAN CROISSANT!
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:45 AM on April 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

1 Ceiling Cat iz mai sheprd (which is funni if u knowz teh joek about herdin catz LOL.)
He givz me evrithin I need.

2 He letz me sleeps in teh sunni spot
an haz liek nice waterz r ovar thar.

3 He makez mai soul happi
an maeks sure I go teh riet wai for him. Liek thru teh cat flap insted of out teh opin windo LOL.

4 I iz in teh valli of dogz, fearin no pooch,
bcz Ceiling Cat iz besied me rubbin' mah ears, an it maek me so kumfy.

5 He letz me sit at teh taebl evn when peepl who duzint liek me iz watchn.
He givz me a flea baff an so much gooshy fud it runz out of mai bowl LOL.

6 Niec things an luck wil chase me evrydai
an I wil liv in teh Ceiling Cats houz forevr.
posted by flabdablet at 11:48 PM on April 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

Did I ever mention how much I love the LOLcat bible?
posted by Night_owl at 11:55 AM on April 16, 2009