Limericks for John

PTH
Peptidyl tRNA hydrolase
Eliminates cellular toxic waste.
    In the heat, cells will die
    With a cough and a sigh,
By John’s lethal mutant erased.
 
Sea Turtle
There once was a sea turtle carapace
In the basement of Menninger’s ediface.
    In the middle of winter,
    The museum did whimper,
And the shell swam back fast to its starting place.
 
Frogometer
What a wonderful thing the frogometer,
Diabolical quasi-voltameter.
    When a frog sees John enter,
    The amphibious sprinter
Breaks records and hops a kilometer.
 
Rattleback
An amazing thing is the rattleback
Spins merrily left with a tiny smack —
    But to physicists’ surprise
    Natural laws seems like lies,
As it even turns left with a rightward whack!
 
          Limericks in honor of Prof. John Menninger,
          who finds them the highest expression of poetry,
          on his 90th birthday.