Bad Translations

• start with a well known poem
• type it in a language translation app
• have it translated into a random language
• copy the new poem
• translate it again into a different random language
• repeat a minimum of 5 times
• then a final translation back into the original language

Example:

old pond…
the frog jumped out
crying tears

The original is probably the most famous haiku of all time, by Basho:

Old pond…
a frog jumps in
water's sound

English > Maori > Urdu > Coriscan > Haitian Creole > Esperanto > Japanese > English

Of course, this can be done with any kind of writing. Poetry or prose. Short or long (but not so long that readers might lose interest). Works best for widely known works.