Thursday, November 8, 2007

The Unfortunate Topologist

A burleycue dancer, a pip
Named Virginia, could peel in a zip;
But she read science fiction
And died of constriction
Attempting a Moebius strip.

-Cyril Kornbluth, Fantasia Mathematica, ed. Clifton Fadiman, 266.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I keep sharing this one with folks in seminary, and they tend to be offended as though this were an off color joke. And yet, it's absolutely wonderful.

Beth said...

Well, it is a bit risque I guess. But it is a FABULOUS limerick. Your fellow seminarians just need to lighten up. Perhaps we should incorporate this into our pastoral candidate interview process, as a sort of test for legalism/prudery (right up there with "discuss your views on smoking" and "discuss your views on the consumption of alcohol" - "discuss your views on vaguely off-color limericks concerning strippers and higher mathematics").