Fifty Word Masterpiece

 

Bennett Cerf was the co-founder of Random House. As part of his duties as publisher, he also had an enviable job — he was Dr. Seuss’ editor. And on March 12, 1957, Random House published Dr. Seuss’ masterpiece, The Cat in the Hat. At 65 pages, the book is notable not only because of its well-deserved fame, but also because Dr. Seuss used only 225 unique words in writing it. Cerf was impressed — so much so that he challenged Seuss to do one better. He wagered that Seuss could not author a book — a meaningful one — using fifty unique words or fewer.

 

On August 12, 1960, Seuss won the bet. Random House published Green Eggs and Ham, 62 pages long — and containing merely fifty different words. And of those fifty words, only one — “anywhere” — has more than one syllable or five letters.

The limited vocabulary did not make Green Eggs and Ham less popular. In fact, according to Publisher’s Weekly, as of 2001, it was the fourth highest selling (in volume) children’s book, ever. (The Cat in the Hat rings in at #9.)

Bonus fact: Dr. Seuss’s real name was Theodor Geisel. In 1925, as a Dartmouth College undergrad, Geisel — then 21 years old — and nine friends were caught, in his room, drinking gin. The problem? Prohibition. As part of his punishment, Geisel was not allowed to continue at the Lantern, Dartmouth’s humor magazine. A talented editorial cartoonist, Geisel did what many before him have done: donned a moniker, and participated under a pseudonym. In his case, under Geisel drew under the names L. Pasteur, L. Burbank, D. G. Rossetti, and one other — his middle name, Seuss. It obviously stuck — later with a made-up honorific.

From the Archives: Miranda Piker and the Chocolate Factory: The untold story of the sixth child from Willy Wonka’s universe.

Take the Quiz: Name the 50 words from Green Eggs and Ham.

Related reading: The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, and my personal favorite, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. For the adults: Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel, 4.4 stars on 31 reviews.