Leigh Mercer

British recreational mathematician (1893–1977)

Leigh Mercer (1893–1977) was a British wordplay and recreational mathematics expert.[1]

Career

Palindrome

Mercer is best known for devising the palindrome "A man, a plan, a canal: Panama!".[2]

Mathematical limerick

The following mathematical limerick is attributed to him:[3]

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

This is read as follows:

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.

References

  1. ^ A. Ross Eckler: Leigh Mercer, Palindromist. In: Word Ways. Volume 24, Issue 3, 1991, Article 2, p. 131–138 [1]
  2. ^ Published in Notes and Queries, 13 Nov. 1948, according to The Yale Book of Quotations, F. R. Shapiro, ed. (2006, ISBN 0-300-10798-6).
  3. ^ "Math Mayhem". Lhup.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-10-08. Retrieved 2011-06-29.