Lorem ipsum is a famous dummy text. Random words, Latin-looking, that designers use in page mockups.

(Not to get too wonky about it, but “studies show” that when designers are creating new looks, real text often distracts non-designers who are looking at a page. They begin reading real stories, instead of looking at how marvelous the new design is.)

In the sports department of The National, we sometimes use lorem ipsum to hold space for a story that has not yet arrived. So that the production editor can lay out the page without waiting for late copy.

So, yesterday, I did my regular search for “dummy text” … and after the google results came up, my browser didn’t want to open the item … and while staring at the screen I noticed a couple of other types of “lorem ipsum” further down the screen.

And I discovered that other clever/bored lorem ipsum users have come up with their own versions of the classic text.

Have a look.

Here is basic lorem ipsum, which is named after the first two words of the fake text:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Duis tincidunt maximus purus, at tristique lectus commodo sed. Mauris vestibulum justo quam, nec sollicitudin sapien varius sit amet. Nulla varius neque non arcu venenatis, in vulputate enim luctus. Donec in risus purus.

Weird. Curious. (Most of is based on the Roman poet/statesman/politician Cicero, but has been tweaked to be nonsensical.)

But not amusing.

That is where some clever/bored people come in.

Here is a “hipster” version of lorem ipsum:

Ugh pop-up 90’s, taxidermy fanny pack Wes Anderson crucifix pickled. Artisan twee Blue Bottle, banjo mlkshk PBR&B farm-to-table salvia raw denim 3 wolf moon. Banh mi swag Wes Anderson, mustache meggings deep v Pitchfork. DIY retro you probably haven’t heard of them, Williamsburg Banksy polaroid photo booth stumptown distillery seitan Bushwick locavore. Tattooed pork belly fashion axe tilde. Next level fanny pack health goth authentic disrupt pour-over. Pug wolf swag squid.

Random text? Not at all, if you know a hipster. Which is where it is funny.

Turns out, this url has links to all sorts of lorem ipsum knockoffs. Some of them quite clever.

Here is “bacon ipsum”:

Bacon ipsum dolor amet rump fatback brisket kielbasa pastrami alcatra kevin corned beef short loin shank. Ribeye sausage tail chicken jerky, brisket pork chop. Boudin andouille short loin capicola. Ribeye ham hock prosciutto drumstick. Salami kevin short loin brisket strip steak spare ribs landjaeger leberkas pork filet mignon turkey. Ham spare ribs ground round shankle, ball tip bresaola pork belly. Chuck cow turkey, short loin porchetta jerky pork chop tenderloin pastrami short ribs kevin pancetta.

And here is “journo ipsum”:

the medium is the massage dying net neutrality Walter Cronkite died for your sins WaPo newspaper strike future of narrative Colbert bump, Knight News Challenge Facebook cancel my subscription Ushahidi SEO. WSJ serendipity Free Darko Storify libel lawyer Demand Media Storify the notion of the public eHow, newsroom cafe put the paper to bed Tim Carmody writing Patch bloggers in their mother’s basement Josh Marshall Marshall McLuhan, Pulse startups Nick Denton link economy DocumentCloud Colbert bump totally blowing up on Twitter.

And “tuna ipsum”:

Yellow bass round herring Blobfish Old World knifefish kissing gourami coelacanth inanga. Queen danio, surfperch; common carp amago atka mackerel thresher shark scissor-tail rasbora, anemonefish bullhead, “shark,” combfish fusilier fish? Thornyhead Blobfish eagle ray bala shark noodlefish squawfish wolf-eel, john dory conger eel.

And so on.

One last fave: “gangsta ipsum”:

Brizzle ipsizzle dolizzle sit gizzle, nizzle adipiscing bling bling. Nullizzle sapien velizzle, my shizz volutpizzle, da bomb crackalackin, fo shizzle mah nizzle fo rizzle, mah home g-dizzle vizzle, break yo neck, yall. Pellentesque eget tortizzle. Dawg eros. Hizzle at gizzle dapibus my shizz tempus gizzle. Maurizzle pellentesque away et turpizzle. Pimpin’ izzle tortor. Fo shizzle eleifend rhoncizzle we gonna chung. In hizzle we gonna chung platea get down get down. Black dapibizzle. Owned tellizzle urna, pretizzle you son of a bizzle, sheezy brizzle, shizznit away, own yo’. Bow wow wow suscipizzle. Integizzle dizzle my shizz the bizzle dope.

For all I know, that paragraph may be deeply obscene as well as quite fat. Or phat.

I am sure I would never create a dummy file using it.

I will stick with lorem ipsum, for that … and perhaps visit the others, now and then, when I really do have some time to kill.