# "One hen, two ducks, three squawking geese, four . . ."

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hen-two-ducks-three-squawking-geese-four/38691>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 28, 2000, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hen-two-ducks-three-squawking-geese-four/38691 "2000-10-28T01:34:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2000, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hen-two-ducks-three-squawking-geese-four/38691/1 "2000-10-28T01:34:57Z")

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I remember hearing this many, many years ago. Could someone complete it (I believe it went to 10), and does anyone know the origin?

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**Author:** ![Ankh\_Too](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@Ankh\_Too](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ankh_Too)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2000, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hen-two-ducks-three-squawking-geese-four/38691/2 "2000-10-28T01:51:16Z")

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The history of it can be found on the [Jerry Lewis Museum](http://www.jerrylewiscomedy.com/index.htm) : [Fan Club](http://www.jerrylewiscomedy.com/fan_club.htm) : [Announcer Test](http://www.jerrylewiscomedy.com/announcer.htm)

> [@](#):
>
> \*\*  
> One hen
> 
> Two ducks
> 
> Three squawking geese
> 
> Four limerick oysters
> 
> Five corpulent porpoises
> 
> Six pair of Don Alversos tweezers
> 
> Seven thousand Macedonians in full battle array
> 
> Eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt
> 
> Nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic, old men on roller skates with a marked propensity towards procrastination and sloth
> 
> Ten lyrical, spherical diabolical denizens of the deep who hall stall around the corner of the quo of the quay of the quivery, all at the same time. \*\*

I remember my father reciting this just recently as an illustration of learning something entirely useless 40 years ago and still remembering it to this day.

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**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2000, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hen-two-ducks-three-squawking-geese-four/38691/3 "2000-10-28T03:26:22Z")

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Fascintating, but what are a ‘quo’ and a ‘quivery’?  
Not in any of my dictionaries.