Ogden Nash Online Contest Draws a Crowd

John Tierney's blog on the New York Times site recently asked readers to add a stanza to Nash's oft quoted work, Reflections on Ice Breaking.

The competition was launched to draw attention to the new scientific research touting that "Pyschologists report in Science that you’re more likely to think warmly of someone else if you’re holding something warm in your hand like a mug of coffee or tea." Tierney posits " At long last, we have scientific guidance regarding that great question of social lubrication: Should you ask someone to meet for a drink or a cup of coffee?"

Nash often serves as 'contextual color' for journalists and Reflections may be the most memorized poem in the English language:

Candy is dandy,
But liquor is quicker

The event drew 231 responses, far exceeding the average number of comments for this blog that seeks to validate new research with common experience. The ardent response to a 1931 poem from a science forum points to the universal appeal and cultural staying power of Mr. Nash's work.

My favorite entry in the contest:

Darjeeling’s
Appealing

Espresso
No less so.

No word on the winner yet...