Where did they come up with "mangle?"

This post has been fermenting in my mind for some time now, but a recent comment-leaving expedition finally spurred me on to actually write it! One of the things that always amuses me when I leave comments are the word verifications (incidentally, do they actually increase security? I've always wondered).

I just have to know -- have those quirky word verifications ever caused you to scratch your head? And more importantly, do you think Blogger hires someone to come up with word verifications all day? Imagine the lonely individual, spending long hours in a cubicle trying to find some new way to rearrange the 26 letters of the alphabet... Okay, so it's probably a computer that scrambles the letters, but I think my scenario opens up more opportunities for imagination.

Usually the word verifications are just odd conglomerations of colored letters sprawled across the screen, but I still can't resist the opportunity to sound them out. Something like "zpqwrk" ends up as "zipquirk," while "flffl" clearly can only be pronounced as "fluffle."

But today's word verification surprised me -- "mangle." Now that's actually a word! And having just participated in an "Our Mutual Friend" marathon this past weekend, it brought to mind vivid images of Betty Higden and Sloppy. Was "mangle" an accident, or was it deliberate rebellion on the part of the aforementioned lonely, cubicled individual? I guess I'll never know...

Well, go out there and have a klrdox -- whatever that is!