Schoolyard rhymes like “Johnny and Mary sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G” and “Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider” travel from child to child, often with local tweaks. They can be silly, rude, or cruel, but their singsong meter helps children...
Pickle, baboon, cupcake, snorkel, pumpkin, Kalamazoo—let’s face it, some words are just plain funny. But what makes some words funnier than others? Martha and Grant consider this question with an assist from Neil Simon’s play (and movie)...