A couple of months ago, a reddit thread asked for stories about health inspection violations. Chamale posted a lovely story about an inspection at a historical recreation.
My stepdad used to be a baker in an authentic recreation of an 18th century New French fortress. Because they sell bread to the public, the health inspector came by, and she was ripping into my stepdad for violations like the stonework walls, the doorless entranceways, or the lack of a mosquito zapper. He pointed out that they were following the highest standards except for things that would destroy the authenticity of this 18th-century bakery. The health inspector relented and agreed to give him a pass after verifying the food storage area was secure. They went to the shed, which was a doorless building attached to the bakery. As the health inspector went in, there happened to be an escaped cow licking all of the loaves. My stepdad could only say, "Honestly, this never happens." They passed the health inspection.
In response, redditor Poem_for_your_sprog (Sam Garland) wrote an amazing poem.
my name is Cow,
and wen its nite,
or wen the moon
is shiyning brite,
and all the men
haf gon to bed -
i stay up late.
i lik the bred.
That started a meme that spread way beyond reddit, as others contributed poems recited by the dog, the cat, the calf (with a reply from the cat), the goat, the bread, and more from the cow. And more here and here. So when you run into more poems of the same type, you'll know where they came from.
-via Metafilter, where you'll find more poetry.