It is a well-known scientific fact that nature abhors a vacuum. Since dinosaurs and pterodactyls became almost extinct, there has been a vacuum in the sixth shemp. This is why trick horses and specially trained monkeys have relatively short life expectancies: the vacuum in the sixth shemp together with the loss of three shemps on death, gives them a very tenuous hold on vivacity. This is also why many reptiles become devout christians in the hope of gaining a shemp if they become truly pious. Conversely, by the fundamental laws of nature (every action has an equal but opposite reaction), many devout christians become distinctly reptilian.


Etymology: from Latin pons = bridge.