Anyway, to lighten the mood, here are two humorous lists of top ten reasons why Pluto should/should not be a planet, courtesy of the Planetary Society.
This one has a nice nugget of truth in it:
8. When my son asks "Why is Pluto a planet, but Ceres isn't?" I want a better answer than "Old people are afraid of change."
Joshua B, Seattle, WA
(Although its accuracy is questionable - Ceres was demoted from planethood long before Pluto was discovered.)
This is the most rational reason for keeping Pluto a planet that I've heard:
3. It annoys people who like tidy categories.
Dennis D, Baton Rouge, LA
And the number one reason it shouldn't be a planet?
1. It doesn't appear to be so inclined.
Lyford R, Ventura, CA
Lyford R, you should be locked up for that one.
5 comments:
How many trees are going to die for this latest change to the textbooks? Poor Pluto, at the center of all this controversy - when all it's ever done is just hang at the edge of the solar system, creeping along at its own pace, trying to get a bit of sun.
I think I agree with annoying those who want to keep everything in tidy categories. Elitists.
Now we need some new mnemonics.
My Variation Eclipses Most Junior School Users' Nomenclature?
How many trees are going to die for this latest change to the textbooks?
Weeeeell... any science textbook worth its salt should be putting out new editions frequently anyway. ;-)
I think I agree with annoying those who want to keep everything in tidy categories. Elitists.
Or anarchists, depending on whether or not they want to include Pluto and its myriad pals in the category.
Now we need some new mnemonics.
Ironically, I can never remember any of the supposed mnemonics for the old set of planets. Of course the old ones were rubbish anyway because Pluto periodically wanders inside the orbit of Neptune, making the last two letters wrong for a decade or two.
I think it will seriously annoy all the parents who shop at the Discovery Store and buy planet mobiles and all that.
I hope you are feeling better now. I would like to read your story, bad ending or not. At least it has an ending, unlike most of my stuff.
...it will seriously annoy all the parents who...
Why? Pluto is still there! :-P
At least it has an ending, unlike most of my stuff.
It has no ending, yet. I faltered. T_T
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