Copying Security Words

I just finished posting an email on Facebook and I wondered if anyone else gets irritated with the security words you must copy. It’s not that I mind copying the words but I do mind feeling like a lunatic trying to figure out what some of the letters are. Why must the letters you’re copying be written as if some alien alphabets were created to blow your mind? I’m not a computer expert, so someone tell me, is this some cruel joke many sites use to give you a false sense of security when using the program?