[INSERT BLURB]

The word blurb, meaning "a short description", is now seriously used by advertising agencies and Silicon Valley corporations who want to appear hip. Little does everyone realize that those short short-outs secretly satirize stuff! The word blurb first appeared in 1906 but was popularized by comic writer Frank Burgess in his book Are You a Bromide? In this titillating tome, Burgess featured a woman on the front cover named "Miss Belinda Blurb" who (along with the caption in the act of blurbing) shouts out "Yes, this is a blurb!" The whole affair was meant to poke a little fun at the habits of publishers to use short catchy quotes and "damsels" on their books' dust jackets. Queer as the joke may seem now, it was pretty popular then, and blurb caught on, with its fastest rate of growth until 1936 and a steady rise afterwards. The rest is history. Literally.