Speaking of bad science, here's an early, poetic screed on homeopathy attributed* to Rev. George Washington Doane (1799-1859), professor of belles-lettres at Washington (now Trinity) College, Hartford, Connecticut; rector of Christ church, Boston; and, later, Episcopal bishop of New Jersey:
Take a little rum
The less you take the better
Pour it in the lakes
Of Wener or of Wetter.
Dip a spoonful out
And mind you don't get groggy,
Pour it in the lake
Of Winnipissiogie.
Stir the mixture well
Lest it prove inferior,
Then put half a drop
Into Lake Superior.
Every other day
Take a drop in water,
You'll be better soon
Or at least you oughter.
* A few sources sources attribute Lines...
20 December, 2009