Leigh Mercer

Leigh Mercer (1893-1977) was a British writer of word games and mathematical conversations . Probably his best-known work is the palindrome A man, a plan, a canal - Panama! .

The following mathematical limerick is also attributed to him:

${\displaystyle {\frac {12+144+20+3{\sqrt {4}}}{7}}+(5\times 11)=9^{2}+0}$

reads

A dozen , a gross , and a score

Plus three times the square root of four

Divided by seven

Plus five times eleven

Is nine squared and not a bit more.

Individual evidence

1. ^ A. Ross Eckler: Leigh Mercer, Palindromist. In: Word Ways. Volume 24, No. 3, 1991, Article 2, pp. 131-138 [1]
2. ↑ Published in Notes and Queries. November 13, 1948, according to FR Shapiro (Ed.): The Yale Book of Quotations. 2006, ISBN 0-300-10798-6 .
3. ^ Math Mayhem . Lhup.edu. Archived from the original on October 8, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2011.