Geisel Put NSFW Pictures in His Manuscripts
In case you’re not familiar, “NSFW” means “not safe for work,” and Dr. Seuss put “unsafe” images in his book manuscripts before they were published. Why? To make sure his editors were paying attention. A draft of the book “Dr. Seuss’ ABC” that Geisel sent to his editor at Random House included a picture of a naked woman next to the letter “X.”
Source: Flickr
The text that went along with the image read: “Big X, little x. X, X, X / Someday, kiddies, you will learn about SEX.” Geisel was fully aware that Random House would never include that sort of text in a children’s book. He only put it in the draft to keep his bosses on their toes. And what a hilarious way to do so!