Thursday, April 30, 2009

Pluto Humor

I just finished The Pluto Files. It is a light-hearted and serious account of how astrophysicist Tyson of the Hayden Planetarium single-handedly demoted Pluto's status as a planet.

Here is an excerpt from the book, which quotes a humorous 2/16/01 NYT op-ed piece by Eric Metaxas on the mistreatment of Pluto with the following mock headlines:

"TROPICS OF CAPRICORN AND CANCER TO BE ABOLISHED

TOMATO UNEQUIVOCALLY DECLARED A VEGETABLE

GREAT LAKES TO BECOME FIRST FRESHWATER OCEAN

BEIGE TAUPE AND MAUVE LOSE COLOR STATUS

60S STARTED IN 1963

TEXAS DECLARES ITSELF A SUBCONTINENT

EUROPEAN MAPS TO DROP LICHTENSTEIN

METER AND YARD SHAKE HANDS

ASTERISK REMOVED FROM GERALD FORD'S PRESIDENCY

TAB AND ZIMA LOSE BEVERAGE STATUS"

CKY

1 comment:

Laurel Kornfeld said...

Actually, Tyson did not single-handedly demote Pluto. In fact, he has publicly distanced himself from the controversial IAU demotion, done by four percent of its members and rejected by hundreds of professional astronomers, accurately labeling it as "flawed." The debate over Pluto's status is still very much ongoing.

For another perspective on this issue, check out Dr. David Weintraub's "Is Pluto A Planet?"