Commas Save Lives!

I'm pretty sure it didn't start with me.

In fact, I'm positive I am not the originator of this thought and its example.

I bet I could even find a meme based on it.

The thought:
Commas save lives.

The example:
The simple difference between an exuberant invitation to share a meal together and a call to cannibalism.

Notice the difference a single comma can make:

"Let's eat, Grandma!"  vs. "Let's eat Grandma!"

While setting off a noun-of-address with a comma (as in the above example) is a consistent rule of grammar, there's another use of commas that has become a bit of a controversy.

I speak of the Oxford comma; also known as the serial comma. It's that friendly little period-with-a-tail that appears before the word "and" when writing a list of three or more things.

Allow me to demonstrate.

There at the table sat my two ex-wives, Tom Hanks, and a large bulldog.

Clearly, there are three persons and a canine entity sitting at the table in question. But without the Oxford comma, the table only has one human and one dog, both of which I was once married to: "There at the table sat my two ex-wives, Tom Hanks and a large bulldog."

Yikes.

By the way...yes, I was able to find that meme I mentioned: