"Biology is the only science in which multiplication…

“Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same thing as division” is a popular biology joke. Cells multiply when a cell divides.

“Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same thing as division” was cited on rec.humor on February 6, 1990.

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Fun lines
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2/6/90
Organization: Xerox, Sunnyvale, CA

Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same thing as division.

Google Groups: comp.std.unix
Finding physical memory size
Eric Schnoebelen
1/2/91
(...)
Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same thing as division.

Google Groups: rec.humor
science jokes (6/11)
Joachim Verhagen
6/26/95
(...)
“Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same thing as division.”

Google Books
Speaking of Science:
Notable Quotes on Science, Engineering, and the Environment
By Jon Fripp, Michael Fripp and Deborah Fripp
Eagle Rock, VA: LLH Technology Pub.
2000
Pg. 16:
Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same thing as division. — Anonymous

Google Books
Naturally Speaking:
A Dictionary of Quotations on Biology, Botany, Nature and Zoology
By C.C. Gaither and Alma E Cavazos-Gaither
London: Institute of Physics Publishing
2001
Pg. 60:
Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same thing as division.
Source unknown

Google Books
Laboratory Manual for
Postlethwait and Hopson’s Explore Life
By Doreen Schroeder
Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole-Thomson Learning
2003
Pg. 26:
A rather clever person once said, “Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same as division.” Explain this statement.
Answer: The division referred to in this statement is cell division, which multiplies the number of cells, and so multiplication = division.

Google Books
Gaither’s Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
Edited by Carl C. Gaither and Alma E. Cavazos-Gaither
New York, NY: Springsr
2012
Pg. 285:
Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same thing as division.
Source undetermined

Business Insider
16 Jokes That Only A Biologist Will Get
KELLY DICKERSON
SEP. 9, 2013, 10:58 AM
(...)
2. Biology is the only science in which multiplication is the same thing as division.
Explanation: In biology, cells multiply in number when one cell divides into two.