One area of language that remains especially divisive is the practice of punning, and in this regard people generally fall into one of two opposing camps: they either appreciate puns as a sign of intelligence and wit, or dismiss all puns contemptuously - good and bad alike - as juvenile, foolish, or the lowest form of humor.

What such critics fail to recognize, however, is that puns and punsters were actually instrumental to the very rise of modern civilization...