Everybody who has read codesamples in whatever language will encounter the famous words “Foo”, “Bar” and “Foobar”. Did your mind wander of on trying to find the meaning of these words? I remember it confused me as I was looking for a deeper meaning.
Well last monday my colleague Michiel send me this link to the Etymology of “Foo”. I first couldn’t believe it. There is an actual RFC document on these words.
According to the RFC “Foo” was invented somewhere around 1938. It’s not clear if it was the Warner Brothers cartoon “The Daffy Doc”, Walt Kelly’s “Pogo” strips or Bill Holman’s “Smokey Stover”.
But as I was following the “Foo” trail into the past I came across the Smokey Stover website and even a WikiPediA page.
Even if Bill Holman wasn’t the inventor of “Foo” I’m sure he was responsible for putting this word in our collective brain.
If you have a moment or need a distraction visit the Smokey Stover website and browse through the comics. You’ll see there’s a lot of “Foo” to be found. A good example is the comic “Glass Lake”. The Foo’s are mostly presented as side-kicks of the main story line.
Following are some of Bill Holman’s FOO quotes:
Divided we fall
United we FOO
No FOO is Good FOO!
It’s a long lane that has no FOO
FOO mixed with GOO lessens POOO
A FOO on tap makes one flap
Hear no FOO,
See no FOO,
Speak no FOO
All’s FOO
That ends FOO
Little FOO peep lost her sheep
FOO while the iron is hot
Keep thy
FOO and
Thy FOO
Will Keep
Thee
A FOO no
artist
could
paint
Roses are
red violets
are FOO
The postman always FOOS twice
Merci
Beau
FOO
FOOLOSOPHY:
In telling her age a woman is often shy in more ways than one.
Well for now this was enough FOO for me. But I know now that the next time I read a codesample and come across the word Foo I will think about Smokey Stover with a smile on my face.
