Researchers Call for “Medically Sound” Nursery Rhymes

A team of researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, have written a tongue-in-cheek research paper decrying the serious injuries sustained in nursery rhymes. “Particularly egregious were the injuries presumably sustained by Ten Little Monkeys, who begin the rhyme jumping on a bed.” (If you don’t know what happens after that, it’s grim stuff indeed). The mock paper calls for legislation and “medically sound” nursery rhymes for today’s children. More here from Reuters. What strikes me is that this story shows up on Reuters News page and BBC as straight-up news. And here’s another archived fairy tale story, Russian Tots Amused by Sots.

December 11, 2003 by Uncategorized 4

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4 Responses

  1. John says:
    December 11, 2003 at 9:27 pm

    Online News – Quick n’ Sloppy
    more…

    Reply
  2. bentley says:
    December 11, 2003 at 10:39 pm

    The article, and a radio interview
    The CBC article has a radio interview with the two researchers and a link to the article (also in pdf).

    Reply
  3. Mock Turtle says:
    December 11, 2003 at 11:15 pm

    Priceless!
    Thanks for this, Bentley.

    Be sure to read the “e-Letter” responses to the CMAJ article. At this writing, there are two so far, both from seriously irony-impaired individuals.

    Reply
  4. djfiander says:
    December 12, 2003 at 1:33 am

    This is part of a long tradition

    The CMAJ is known for publishing such articles in the Christmas issue. Just search PubMed for

    CMAJ[jour] AND humor

    to see what’s been done in previous years.

    Reply

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