'Prime Time'

Is it fine
If I pine
For the time
Of the prime?
'Twas sublime


Written to celebrate the period where the ages of everyone in my immediate family was represented by a prime number.

An Ode to the Sleep-Deprived

Lack of z's
Affects the bees
Up in the trees
So when it's late
'Twould be great
To be quiet, please

Hat tip: icanhasscience

Viscosity & Fractals

While doing a little light reading [1], I came across this 1920 poem by Lewis Richardson--

Big whorls have little whorls,
That feed on their velocity;
And little whorls have lesser whorls,
And so on to viscosity.

Several people [1,2] have remarked on this poem's debt to Jonathan Swift's famous flea poem

So, Nat'ralists observe, a Flea
Hath smaller Fleas that on him prey,
And these have smaller Fleas to bite 'em
And so proceed ad infinitum.

[1]  Introducing Fractals: a Graphic Guide by Lesmoir-Gordon, Rood, and Edney (2009).
[2]  Wondering Minstrels, a poem-a-day blog that ran from 1999-2007.

Surely You're Joking (#8): Burma Shave

Polyphenylene
Is tough
To make
So why not
Just depilate
Burma Shave

Update: Original article at Macromolecules [login required]

Update 2: Thanks to user drj1990 for putting this post on reddit.  Only one vote so far; I'll have to try harder next time.

Update 3:
This version rhymes better

Polyphenylene
Is tough
To create
So why not
Just depilate
Burma Shave

A Limerick

Inspired by the poetry page referenced below, here is a limerick inspired by lab work this week…


In my lab I work with food.
I'm often in a good mood.
But a service report,
Of the rheometer sort,
Has me singing songs that are blued.