A is for Acceleration

    I was reading the comments for Best Way To Publish an "Indie" Research Paper? entry on Slashdot. Then I have jumped to The Journal of Irreproducible Results. Somehow I have ended up meeting the Annals of Improbable Research magazine. Among the titles I semi-randomly clicked on their March-April 2007 Theoretical Figures issue. "Stress Analysis of Gawn" has kept me busy for a little while (keeping my comments private, no worries) Here comes a part of the poem in the same issue. See the free PDF if you are curious to read the rest...

You’d think there were enough. You’d think
There were no need for tricks.
The letters of our alphabet
Seem plenty— twenty-six.

The choices should be obvious
When making letters stand
For quantities of physics. Well,
Things weren’t quite that well-planned.

The quantities are many, 
And the letters not enough.
Some choices feel intuitive,
But some feel off-the-cuff.

Yes, some are fairly obvious,
But others feel make-do.
In case you have forgotten, kids,
Let’s do a quick review.

A is for acceleration.
B, magnetic feld.
C is for the speed of light
That prism tests revealed.