Grammar usage problems: In the book I’m editing, I had originally okayed, “In this way [protozoa] are more like animals or people than bacteria.” My proofreader rejected it and suggested either “…[protozoa] are more like animals or people than bacteria are” OR “…[protozoa] are more like animals or people than they are like bacteria.”

Researching protozoa on the internet just made my head hurt. (Why do they think science is hard to understand? Jeez…)

So I rephrased the simile thus: “Rice is more like oats than pasta is like oats” vs “Rice is more like oats than rice is like pasta.”

Ultimately, I believe the latter choice is correct because we care more about the difference between rice and pasta (protozoa and bacteria) than we do about oats (animals or people).

It may have cleared up the grammar question, but now all I can think about is the old children’s song “Mairzy Doats,” which led me to discover this unbelievable piece of musical trivia. Who would have thought it could be an intercontinental hit? I suspect it’s because the soldiers couldn’t get it out of their heads…