5 ms·

Found it really funny to see this attributed to a Slashdot meme

• keane 7d ago
  It seems like the "Step 1, Step 2, …, Step 4" format likely predated the 1998 South Park episode, with use on Usenet for omitting dangerous or legally-questionable instructions or otherwise gatekeeping "trade secrets": https://arstechnica.com/civis/threads/where-does-the-step-step-profit-reference-come-from.63379/ https://arstechnica.com/civis/threads/where-does-the-step-st... There's also a bit of prior art with the cartoon by Sidney Harris published in American Scientist in 1977 with a step two abridged as "Then A Miracle Occurs": http://www.sciencecartoonsplus.com/images/miracle_sharris.gif http://www.sciencecartoonsplus.com/images/miracle_sharris.gi...
  • andy99 7d ago
    Interesting, thanks. Looks like also guilty of assuming the first place I saw it was the definitive source.