National Limerick Day, celebrated annually on May 12, marks the birthday of Edward Lear, the English writer who popularized the comedic style of poetry. The holiday's exact origins are unclear, but National Limerick Day has been celebrated since at least 1984 on the birthday of Edward Lear, who brought limericks into the mainstream with his 1846 release Book of Nonsense. "I certainly do hate the act of painting: and although ...