the dinosaur poem

behold the mighty dinosaur,
famous in prehistoric lore

not only for his weight and strength
but also for his intellectual length

you will observe from his remains
the creature had two sets of brains

one in his head (the usual place)
the other at his spinal base

thus he could reason apriori
as well as posteriori

no problem bothered him a bit
he made both head and tail of it

and if one brain found the pressure strong
he passed a few ideas along

so wise was he, so wise and solemn
each thot just filled a spinal column

and if in error he was caught
he had a saving afterthot

if something slipped his forward mind,
'twas rescued by the one behind

since he could think without congestion
upon both sides of every question

oh gaze upon this noble beast
defunct ten millions years ... at least


Note:

Apatosaurus had a horse-sized head with a cat-sized brain. Scientists used to think it had an extra brain near the hips, but there is little evidence of this. --- p111 dixon


citations: s&c oct 79; leyden: time on my hands: science activities feb-mar 84

original: bert taylor -- chicago herald-tribune 1905 10 / 24t /95