Oxford commas are the world's most controversial punctuation mark — but where did they come from? Follow Phil Edwards and Vox Almanac on Facebook for more: https://www.facebook.com/philedwardsinc1/ Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO The Oxford comma is a grammar geek's obsession, and it turns out to have an unusual history behind it. The mark got its start thanks to the advocacy of Herbert Spencer, a scientist/philosopher/generalist who believed it was more efficient and clear. He also came up with the term survival of the fittest. This is how it happened... Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com to get up to speed on everything from Kurdistan to the Kim Kardashian app. Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE Follow Vox on Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H Or on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o