Who coined "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama"?
Bill Teahan
The subject says it all. I want to quote the palindrome
"A man, a plan, a canal, Panama" but can't find out who
coined it in the first place. I know it was about Teddy
Roosevelt.
BTW, the person who translated Georges Perec's "La
Disparation" (the French novel that doesn't contain
an "e") into English was Gilbert Adair. The translated
novel is called "A Void", and is reviewed in the Guardian
Weekly, October 16, 1994.
(That prooves I've looked at the FAQ!)
Bill Teahan
Richard Sabey
w...@cs.waikato.ac.nz (Bill Teahan) wrote:
>The subject says it all. I want to quote the palindrome
>"A man, a plan, a canal, Panama" but can't find out who
>coined it in the first place.
It was Leigh Mercer, who composed and published many other
palindromes, too.
--
R. Sabey, GPS Richar...@gpsemi.com
Dave Dodson
In article <Dvrr9...@world.std.com>,
Daniel P. B. Smith <dpbs...@world.std.com> wrote:
>In article <4u8uq0$1o...@thebes.waikato.ac.nz>,
>Bill Teahan <w...@waikato.ac.nz> wrote:
>>The subject says it all. I want to quote the palindrome
>>"A man, a plan, a canal, Panama" but can't find out who
>>Roosevelt.
>
>the Panama canal was originally planned and begun by the Frenchman,
>Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had directed the construction of the Suez canal.
>The French effort ended in bankruptcy but not until after a considerable
>amount of excavation had been accomplished. I think Goethals modified
>the plan somewhat, but the general approach (cutting through the
>isthmus rather than at sea level) was still de Lesseps'.
>
>However, "A man, a plan, a failure, another country, another man, a
>modified plan, better funding, attention to mosquito control--Panama!"
>doesn't lend itself so well to palindrome construction.
Yes it does. SPOILER FOLLOWS.
"A man, a plan, a failure, another country, another man, a
modified plan, better funding, attention to mosquito control--Panama;
a man a plort nocot I uqso motnoit nettag nidnufret tebnalp deifid
omanam rehton ayrt nuo creh tonaeru lia fanal, Panama!"
Dave :-)
Daniel P. B. Smith
In article <4u8uq0$1o...@thebes.waikato.ac.nz>,
Bill Teahan <w...@waikato.ac.nz> wrote:
>The subject says it all. I want to quote the palindrome
>"A man, a plan, a canal, Panama" but can't find out who
>coined it in the first place. I know it was about Teddy
>Roosevelt.
I've always assumed it was "about" George W. Goethals. On the other hand,
the Panama canal was originally planned and begun by the Frenchman,
Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had directed the construction of the Suez canal.
The French effort ended in bankruptcy but not until after a considerable
amount of excavation had been accomplished. I think Goethals modified
the plan somewhat, but the general approach (cutting through the
isthmus rather than at sea level) was still de Lesseps'.
However, "A man, a plan, a failure, another country, another man, a
modified plan, better funding, attention to mosquito control--Panama!"
doesn't lend itself so well to palindrome construction.
--
dpbs...@world.std.com
From: dpbs...@world.std.com (Daniel P. B. Smith)
Subject: Re: Who coined "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama"?
--
| Return Address: dpbs...@world.std.com
| Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly their own.
Philip Carter
In article <Dvrr9...@world.std.com>, "Daniel P. B. Smith"
<dpbs...@world.std.com> writes
>In article <4u8uq0$1o...@thebes.waikato.ac.nz>,
>Bill Teahan <w...@waikato.ac.nz> wrote:
>>The subject says it all. I want to quote the palindrome
>>"A man, a plan, a canal, Panama" but can't find out who
>>coined it in the first place. I know it was about Teddy
>>Roosevelt.
>
>I've always assumed it was "about" George W. Goethals. On the other hand,
>the Panama canal was originally planned and begun by the Frenchman,
>Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had directed the construction of the Suez canal.
>The French effort ended in bankruptcy but not until after a considerable
>amount of excavation had been accomplished. I think Goethals modified
>the plan somewhat, but the general approach (cutting through the
>isthmus rather than at sea level) was still de Lesseps'.
>
>However, "A man, a plan, a failure, another country, another man, a
>modified plan, better funding, attention to mosquito control--Panama!"
>doesn't lend itself so well to palindrome construction.
>
It did indeed honour George W. Goethals, chief engineer of the Panama
Canal. It was compiled by an Englishman, Leigh Mercer(1893-1977), a word
play expert who also used the pseudonym Roger G. M`Gregor.
--
Philip Carter
Kevin M. Buzzard
This always reminds me of my pal Andy, whose .sig used to be
A man, a plan, a banal...palindrome.
Mark Brader
As noted elsewhere, the answer to the Subject question is Leigh Mercer.
Daniel P. B. Smith (dpbs...@world.std.com) writes:
> However, "A man, a plan, a failure, another country, another man, a
> modified plan, better funding, attention to mosquito control--Panama!"
> doesn't lend itself so well to palindrome construction.
Even less so if you include the part about how Panama got separated
from Colombia...
The history of the canal is a fascinating story of deception and
self-deception, political machinations, and financial, engineering, and
medical failure and triumph on the grandest scale. David McCullough
wrote an excellent book about it all: "The Path Between the Seas:
The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914" (1977, Simon & Schuster,
ISBN 0-671-22563-4). I don't expect it's in print at the moment,
but try your local public library.
ObPuzzle:
Not only "Panama", but "Panama Canal" has alternating vowels and
consonants. What country name, which has been mentioned in this
newsgroup in the past few weeks, is longer than "Panama Canal" and
also has alternating vowels and consonants?
Answer:
United Arab Emirates.
--
Mark Brader, m...@sq.com "Mark is probably right about something,
SoftQuad Inc., Toronto but I forget what" -- Rayan Zachariassen
My text in this article is in the public domain.
Richard
>
> In article <4u8uq0$1o...@thebes.waikato.ac.nz>,
> Bill Teahan <w...@waikato.ac.nz> wrote:
> >The subject says it all. I want to quote the palindrome
> >"A man, a plan, a canal, Panama" but can't find out who
> >coined it in the first place. I know it was about Teddy
> >Roosevelt.
>
> I've always assumed it was "about" George W. Goethals. On the other
> hand,
> the Panama canal was originally planned and begun by the Frenchman,
> Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had directed the construction of the Suez
> canal.
> The French effort ended in bankruptcy but not until after a
> considerable
> amount of excavation had been accomplished. I think Goethals
> modified
> the plan somewhat, but the general approach (cutting through the
> isthmus rather than at sea level) was still de Lesseps'.
>
> modified plan, better funding, attention to mosquito
> control--Panama!"
> doesn't lend itself so well to palindrome construction.
>
> | Return Address: dpbs...@world.std.com
> | Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly their own.it must have been
Royob Sitis Boyor
from
Amrerma
Scott
Bill Teahan (w...@cs.waikato.ac.nz) wrote:
: The subject says it all. I want to quote the palindrome
: "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama" but can't find out who
: coined it in the first place. I know it was about Teddy
: Roosevelt.
well all I know is that it was a newspaper headline.