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I've always heard it as: Billy was a chemist's son But Billy is no more For what he thought was H2O Was H2SO4.
by daeken 7y ago
I've always heard it as:
Billy was a chemist's son
But Billy is no more
For what he thought was H2O
Was H2SO4.
- ohyeshedid 7y agoand I heard it as: Little Timmy took a drink But he will drink no more For what he thought was H2O Was H2SO4
- kerkeslager 7y agoI went down a bit of a rabbit hole with this yesterday. It's interesting--there's clearly some parts of the poem that are effective and lasting, while other parts aren't. "thought was H20 was H2SO4" is identical in all the variants I found after the mid-20th-century. Most, but not all, have "What he thought was H20 was H2SO4". It seems like they "perfected" that part and it hasn't really changed since. But the rest is very changeable--a few variants mention chemists and most mention a male name of some sort, but most have nothing else in common.