1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 1: Lauren fog Obam here for all of the Facebook posts 3 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: that fail to use correct punctuation, and for all of 4 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: the grammar geeks who insist on pointing out those errors. 5 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:20,319 Speaker 1: There's some compelling evidence that, well, the geeks are sort 6 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 1: of right. In a labor dispute in Maine was decided 7 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: based entirely on the lack of an Oxford comma. Before 8 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:32,599 Speaker 1: we delve into the case, though, let's examine the Oxford comma, 9 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: also known as the serial comma. This punctuation mark is 10 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: the final comma in a list of things. So if 11 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: I were to write I love studying octopuses, comma, fungi comma, 12 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: bacteria comma, and snails, that final comma is the Oxford comma. 13 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: But it's acceptable in the English language to forego that 14 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 1: final comma. In many cases, your meaning will still be clear, 15 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 1: But some examples show how confusing leaving it off can 16 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: potentially be. One popular demonstration is the sentence this book 17 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 1: is dedicated to my parents Comma iron rand and God. 18 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: Without a comma between the last two items in that list, 19 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 1: it's ambiguous whether the author is thinking three entities, or 20 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: whether they're thinking their parents and then clarifying that their 21 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: parents are iron Rand and God. Thus, an Oxford comma 22 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: can help prevent confusion by separating specific items in a list. 23 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 1: This comma is called the Oxford comma because it's required 24 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: by the Oxford University Presses Style Guidelines. There are other 25 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:35,480 Speaker 1: equally respected and used style guides, like the Associated Press 26 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 1: Style Guide, which prohibit the use of the serial comma. 27 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: Examples of both existing media with news sources preferring a 28 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: pe style and other publications relying on the Oxford comma. 29 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: There are also plenty of passionate debates about the merits 30 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: of each style, elevating the comma to celebrity status among 31 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,559 Speaker 1: Grammarians and the like. And as I said at the top, 32 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: this comma was recently at the center of a labor 33 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: dispute between drivers and the company for whom they worked. 34 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: While the drivers insisted that they deserved over time pay 35 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 1: for delivering dairy products, the company disagreed, pointing instead to 36 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: a state law that spelled outwork activities that did not 37 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,079 Speaker 1: lead to overtime pay. Quote and follow with me here. 38 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: This is awkward out loud. The canning comma processing, comma preserving, 39 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: comma freezing, comma drying, comma marketing, comma storing comma packing 40 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: for shipment or distribution of agricultural produce, meat and fish products, 41 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:35,919 Speaker 1: and perishable foods. Okay, The answer the judge determined existed 42 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 1: in the first sentence in that phrase packing for shipment 43 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,720 Speaker 1: or distribution without an Oxford comma before the word or, 44 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: it could be interpreted to mean that because the drivers 45 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:51,519 Speaker 1: weren't packing items intended for either shipment or distribution, they 46 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: could be paid over time. But with the comma, then 47 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:59,520 Speaker 1: the sentence would have contained separate activities. Packing for shipment 48 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 1: would have in its own distinct activity, as distribution would 49 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: have been. With packing and distribution listed as two separate 50 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,119 Speaker 1: things that didn't warrant over time, the dairy driver's case 51 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,320 Speaker 1: would have been lost, but because of the lack of 52 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: a comma, it wasn't. When labor laws are unclear, the 53 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 1: justice system is designed to benefit the laborers, said the 54 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 1: judge who ruled in favor of the dairy drivers. The 55 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: judge wrote, in a statement, for want of a comma, 56 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: we have this case. Today's episode was written by Laurie L. 57 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: Dove and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is production 58 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radios How stuff Works. For more in 59 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: this and lots of other nitpicky topics, be kind to 60 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 1: your fellow humans on the Internet. Visit our home planet, 61 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com and for more. Podcasts for 62 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: my heart Radio visiting the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 63 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:51,960 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.