May 12th is Limerick Day, celebrating the nonsensical verse form popularized by 19th century English author and illustrator Edward Lear in his Complete Book of Nonsense. Lear was born on May 12, 1812, the 21st of 21 children. In addition to limericks, he is known for his nonsense alphabets (e.g. A Was Once an Apple Pie), the classic poem The Owl and the Pussycat, and such neologisms as "runcible" and "crumbobblious." Lear lived a life of mediocre health and material worries, but out of his restless imagination came rhymes, drawings and stories which have entertained generations.
