[Ads-l] Limerick: Oh, a wondrous bird is the pelican!

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Many quotation references include the following limerick (or something similar):

Oh, a wondrous bird is the pelican!
His beak holds more than his belican.
He takes in his beak
Food enough for a week.
But I’ll be darned if I know how the helican.

References usually credit the verse to Dixon Lanier Merritt. The date
specified is either 1910 or 1913. The Associated Press obituary of
Merritt in 1972 also gave him credit.

Now the Quote Investigator website has an entry on the topic. I found
that Merritt did publish the limerick in 1913, but he disclaimed
authorship repeatedly. Details are available in the QI article.

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2020/06/20/pelican/

Garson O'Toole
Quotenvestigator.com

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