The evaluation of moments of inertia of simple solids is frequently regarded merely as a convenient source of problems in the integral calculus. From the point of view of the student of dynamics it is, however, perhaps even more instructive to make these calculations without any actual integration, for in this way he may obtain a deeper insight into the physical significance of the underlying concept. Whether this be so or not it seemed to the writer an amusing task (performed during a moment of inertia caused by a bacteriological infection) to see how many of the well known formulae could be derived by such methods.