Leigh Mercer

Leigh Mercer (1893–1977) was a noted British wordplay and recreational mathematics expert. He is best known for devising the celebrated palindrome "A man, a plan, a canal — Panama!".^[1]

The following mathematical limerick is attributed to him:^[2]

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

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. 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).
2. "Math Mayhem". Lhup.edu. Retrieved 2011-06-29.