Mad Libs
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Mad Libs is the name of a word game that uses word substitutions for humorous effect. They are especially popular with children and frequently played as a party game or as a pastime. They were invented in the 1950s by Leonard Stern and Roger Price, who published the first editions themselves.
Mad Libs consist of a book which has a short story on each page, but with many of the key words replaced with blanks. Beneath each blank it is specified the lexical category (noun, verb,:"One day, _(name of person)_ _(past tense verb)_ to New York to see the _(noun)_.
After completing the Mad Lib, it might read:
- "One day, George Washington flew to New York to see the blueberry."
Mad Libs in popular culture
- The Drawn Together episode "Captain Girl" features a villain called the Mad Libber who is based on Batman's foe The Riddler. He leaves clues in the form of Mad Libs, but since the heroes, playing like "typical teenagers", end up filling in every blank with the word "penis", they have a difficult time catching him.
- In the Simpsons episode "Barting Over", while the family is cleaning out the garage, Lisa finds a book with the ability to summon Satan. But before she finishes the phrase of the book to summon him, she discards the book for a Mad Libs booklet.
- In the Friends episode "The One With the Kips", Joey hides things in Monica's bedroom, including a Mad Libs book. Phoebe takes the game from him. During the ending credits we see the group playing Mad Libs. Phoebe uses only the word "Phoebe" to fill the blanks. In the episode "The One With the Jam", Phoebe dates her sister Ursula's stalker, who at one point shows Phoebe the items he carries with him while he's stalking and explains their uses. At one point he pulls out a Mad Libs book and says, "They're just for fun."
- In My Name is Earl we see Randy and Earl's ex-girlfriend Jessie playing Mad Libs. Randy fills the blanks with "butt".
- On an episode of Reno 911, Officer Weigel engages traffic offenders in traffic school in a game of Mad Libs.
See also
External links
- [How Mad Libs got its start]
- [Some other madlibx,][and another,][and another.]
- [Create your own Mad Libs online and share them with anyone, all free.]
- [Mad Lips Puzzles]
Books
- Cool Mad Libs (Mad Libs) - ISBN 0843176601
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