Leigh Mercer

Leigh Mercer (1893–1977) was a noted British wordplay and recreational mathematics expert.[1] He is best known for devising the palindrome "A man, a plan, a canal: Panama!".[2]

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

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

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. A. Ross Eckler: Leigh Mercer, Palindromist. In: Word Ways. Volume 24, Issue 3, 1991, Article 2, p. 131–138
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.