Limericks about the Life Sciences

A profession that we poets all too often overlook is that of the life scientist. The biologists, botanists, agronomists and organic chemists all get short shrift from those of us in the business of wordsmithing.

The following collection of limericks about the life sciences seeks to rectify this injustice. Poetry and science use difference means, but we share the same admirable goal, to make better sense of this mixed up world that we live in.

Plants and Animals

The science of life begins in the cell and overruns the planet with all varieties of flora, fauna and fungi. From time immemorial, humans have attempted to make this wildlife a little less wild. And in recent centuries, we’ve made momentous strides. Who can forget how Eli Whitney revolutionized agriculture in the New World with his ingenious cotton gin? Or Mendel’s brilliant breakthroughs into the heretofore unknown world of genetics?

     Eli Whitney (1765-1825)
     There’s a farmer you may have forgotten
     His device did a job that was rotten
               By separating seeds
               From the fibrous weeds
     Eli Whitney gave life to King Cotton

     Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
     There once was a boat called the Beagle
     Set out on a mission so regal
               They found a solution 
               That’s called evolution
     But in Kansas they call it illegal

     Photosynthesis 
     With carbon and water plus light in addition
     Chlorophyll carries the key to fruition
               As nature’s slow cooker
               Assembles the sugar
     Providing our principal source of nutrition

     Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)
     There’s a pesky pea-farmer named Greg
     Whose chicken came after his egg
               An obsession with beans
               Would uncover his genes
     You’d’ve thought he was pulling your leg

     Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
     There once was a Frenchman in search of a cure
     By boiling his milk he aroused quite a stir
               To wipe out the germs
               And kill off the worms
     For this was the very best way to be sure

The Life of the Mind

Of course, poets are always fascinated by human activities, so I would be remiss if I failed to include a few representatives of the behavioral sciences. What is it that makes the human being tick? Or the domesticated animal water at the mouth? From our subconscious projections to our psychedelic escapades, the following limericks celebrate some groundbreaking pioneers in the field of psychology.

     Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
     Old Pavlov was nobody’s fool
     Although pet lovers might call him cruel
                    No food could they smell
                    But the sound of a bell
     Was enough to make hungry dogs drool

     Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
     In Vienna there lived a smart alec
     Who considered his mother angelic
               Deciphering dreams
               For subconscious themes
     He deemed everything to be phallic

     Hermann Rorschach (1884-1922)
     Rorschach presents an ambiguous blotch
     A disguise of ourselves in the world that we watch
               So try to decide 
               As you’re peering inside
     You might see your mom or you might see her crotch

     Albert Hofmann (1906-2008)
     There’s a curious chemist from Basel
     Whose eyes hold a glimmer of hazel
               Promoting an acid
               To make the mind placid
     Consider the old man’s appraisal

Further Reading

If you liked these limericks about life science, you’ll be sure to enjoy:

• Poetry about Anatomy
• Limericks about Physics
• Limericks about Nature
• Limericks about the Environment
• What is a Limerick?

Photo Credit: Claude Bernard, father of modern physiology (Wikipedia)