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Notes by RBJ on

The Riddle of the Dinosaur

by John Noble Wilford

A poem from the first Chapter:

Behold the mighty dinosaur,
Famous in prehistoric lore.
Not only for his power and strength
But for his intellectual length.
You will observe by these remains
The creature had two sets of brains -
One in his head (the usual place),
The other in his spinal base.
Thus he could reason "A priori"
As well as "A posteriori."
No problem bothered him a bit
He made both head and tail of it....
If something slipped his forward mind
'Twas rescued by the one behind.
And if in error he was caught
He had a saving afterthought.
As he thought twice before he spoke
he had no judgement to revoke.
Thus he could think without congestion
Upon both sides of every question....
Written in 1912 by Bert L. Taylor, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.

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