slight typo in yours as far as I remember it:

A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood

I learned it as:

A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could chuck
If a woodchuck could chuck wood.

However, science marches on. For the definitive answer, see The Straight Dope archives:


http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_083a.html

Dear Cecil:

With regard to how much wood a woodchuck could chuck, etc., I am happy to say that science marches on, and the quaint but oh-so- unscientific answer you gave has been replaced with a modern one. See the enclosed article in the Wall Street Journal. --Randy B., Los Angeles

Dear Randy:

The article reports on the work of New York state wildlife expert Richard Thomas, who found that a woodchuck could (and does) chuck around 35 cubic feet of dirt in the course of digging a burrow. Thomas reasoned that if a woodchuck could chuck wood, he would chuck an amount equivalent to the weight of the dirt, or 700 pounds. We are pleased to know this, of course. But it sure isn't easy to fit into a snappy verse.

--CECIL ADAMS

That takes all the fun out of it!

ah !

at least it shows I'm not the only one being "gnawed" by this question.....

sure gave me a chuckle

Not for me <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I'm now trying to figure out what the answer would be in board-feet <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />