Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

I'm sure you've all heard this children's riposte, but just in case, here's the full phrase (as I heard/said it): "I'm rubber, you're glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you." (By the way, sorry for the run-on in the phrsae, but it just wouldn't read correctly if I put a period between "rubber" and "glue").

I've been married more than twenty years, and my husband has always insisted that he "invented" that line when he was a child. He's half kidding, half serious. He said he distinctly remembers coming up with it on the spot in response to his cousin's teasing. I would really like to find out that it goes back a hundred years or more. In other words, I'm hoping to prove him wrong once and for all.

All help is appreciated.