Clyde William Tombaugh is spinning in his grave today.
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mary said on August 24, 2006 at 4:02 pm
They should have got rid of Uranus instead because there is no way to pronounce the name to a classroom full of fifth graders without making them laugh.
And what about the cartoon dog? Where does this leave him?
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Danny said on August 24, 2006 at 4:18 pm
I still laugh at that. But I think everyone here understands that about me.
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brian stouder said on August 24, 2006 at 5:04 pm
And what about the cartoon dog? Where does this leave him?
Yes – see, and that’s the joke! Not only does Pluto get demoted – but NOW Pluto is designated as a ‘dwarf’!!!
I just saw a report where people can name more of the Seven Dwarfs than the nine Supreme Court justices (insert joke here) -and now even THAT will get fouled up!! (Sleepy, Dopey and Doc are the only ones I can come up with….but the Evil Queen is a dish, eh?)
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Karen said on August 24, 2006 at 6:10 pm
My mother teaches at Tombaugh Elementary School. No word yet on what they’ve told the children!
Tombaugh. Is that a girls’ ROTC academy in Alabama?
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Mindy said on August 25, 2006 at 7:13 am
I heard it as “my very eager mother…” But educated is better. She can explain Pluto’s pink slip and answer questions about it.
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Danny said on August 25, 2006 at 9:59 am
Pluto’s pink slip? Now I know that, on occassion, Bugs Bunny dressed in drag, but I never saw a Disney cartoon where Pluto did so.
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John said on August 25, 2006 at 11:12 am
Why did Goofy wear pants while Pluto didn’t? They were both dogs even though Goofy could talk. And if talking were the requirement for pants, why did Donald Duck not wear them?
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Adrianne said on August 25, 2006 at 11:18 am
Our editor in the Borchst Belt imagined Pluto as a cranky Catskill comedian. Oy, vey, why don’t you pick on someone else, already?
It makes my kid that much smarter since he can’t remember 9 names put I think he is ok with 8
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Connie said on August 26, 2006 at 9:27 am
I was puzzled. I didn’t have a clue. What did your very educated mother have to do with Pluto?
This morning the same sentence occurred in my local newspaper’s editorial. Ah ha! Light bulb! A mnemonic! Now I get it. I feel smarter already.
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Danny said on August 26, 2006 at 4:00 pm
Connie, I did not either. I somehow just thought that Nancy’s mom was an astronomy buff. Too much work of late, LOL!
It also never occured to me that someone would need a mnemonic for the order of the planets. I have been such a geek all of my life that I had them completely memorized from a very young age. And I used to play with a set of monsters that supposedly came from the different planets.
Anyway, I just google the mnemonic and found there is another one that is quite funny:
“Men Very Easily Make Jugs Serve Useful Nocturnal Purposes”
Why, yes. Yes we do. 🙂
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nancy said on August 26, 2006 at 4:35 pm
Not only did I *not* know the order of planets, reliably, until Kate brought that mnemonic home — it ended “nine pickles,” by the way — this is what I did know, for sure.
1) Mercury was closest; I always pictured Mercury’s winged feet with flames shooting out.
2) Earth was third. I knew this from an obscure Hendrix track, “Third Stone from the Sun.” The sitcom with John Lithgow didn’t come along until much later.
3) I always got Jupiter and Saturn’s order confused.
4) Pluto was last, and Neptune second-to-last, and I only knew that because I had to do a report on Neptune in fourth grade. It’s a very boring planet.
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Mark Harrod said on September 4, 2006 at 9:18 am
We need a mnemonic that refers to missing Pluto. Here’s some poor segestions:
My very easy memory jogger sits undone now.
Most very early maps justified such unknown numbers.
My very early map just slammed Underworld nemesis.
John said on August 24, 2006 at 3:48 pm
Clyde William Tombaugh is spinning in his grave today.
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mary said on August 24, 2006 at 4:02 pm
They should have got rid of Uranus instead because there is no way to pronounce the name to a classroom full of fifth graders without making them laugh.
And what about the cartoon dog? Where does this leave him?
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Danny said on August 24, 2006 at 4:18 pm
I still laugh at that. But I think everyone here understands that about me.
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brian stouder said on August 24, 2006 at 5:04 pm
And what about the cartoon dog? Where does this leave him?
Yes – see, and that’s the joke! Not only does Pluto get demoted – but NOW Pluto is designated as a ‘dwarf’!!!
I just saw a report where people can name more of the Seven Dwarfs than the nine Supreme Court justices (insert joke here) -and now even THAT will get fouled up!! (Sleepy, Dopey and Doc are the only ones I can come up with….but the Evil Queen is a dish, eh?)
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Karen said on August 24, 2006 at 6:10 pm
My mother teaches at Tombaugh Elementary School. No word yet on what they’ve told the children!
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alex said on August 24, 2006 at 10:38 pm
Tombaugh. Is that a girls’ ROTC academy in Alabama?
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Mindy said on August 25, 2006 at 7:13 am
I heard it as “my very eager mother…” But educated is better. She can explain Pluto’s pink slip and answer questions about it.
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Danny said on August 25, 2006 at 9:59 am
Pluto’s pink slip? Now I know that, on occassion, Bugs Bunny dressed in drag, but I never saw a Disney cartoon where Pluto did so.
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John said on August 25, 2006 at 11:12 am
Why did Goofy wear pants while Pluto didn’t? They were both dogs even though Goofy could talk. And if talking were the requirement for pants, why did Donald Duck not wear them?
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Adrianne said on August 25, 2006 at 11:18 am
Our editor in the Borchst Belt imagined Pluto as a cranky Catskill comedian. Oy, vey, why don’t you pick on someone else, already?
Here’s the link: http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060825/NEWS/608250344/-1/NEWS
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bruce said on August 25, 2006 at 2:05 pm
It makes my kid that much smarter since he can’t remember 9 names put I think he is ok with 8
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Connie said on August 26, 2006 at 9:27 am
I was puzzled. I didn’t have a clue. What did your very educated mother have to do with Pluto?
This morning the same sentence occurred in my local newspaper’s editorial. Ah ha! Light bulb! A mnemonic! Now I get it. I feel smarter already.
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Danny said on August 26, 2006 at 4:00 pm
Connie, I did not either. I somehow just thought that Nancy’s mom was an astronomy buff. Too much work of late, LOL!
It also never occured to me that someone would need a mnemonic for the order of the planets. I have been such a geek all of my life that I had them completely memorized from a very young age. And I used to play with a set of monsters that supposedly came from the different planets.
Anyway, I just google the mnemonic and found there is another one that is quite funny:
“Men Very Easily Make Jugs Serve Useful Nocturnal Purposes”
Why, yes. Yes we do. 🙂
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nancy said on August 26, 2006 at 4:35 pm
Not only did I *not* know the order of planets, reliably, until Kate brought that mnemonic home — it ended “nine pickles,” by the way — this is what I did know, for sure.
1) Mercury was closest; I always pictured Mercury’s winged feet with flames shooting out.
2) Earth was third. I knew this from an obscure Hendrix track, “Third Stone from the Sun.” The sitcom with John Lithgow didn’t come along until much later.
3) I always got Jupiter and Saturn’s order confused.
4) Pluto was last, and Neptune second-to-last, and I only knew that because I had to do a report on Neptune in fourth grade. It’s a very boring planet.
636 chars
Mark Harrod said on September 4, 2006 at 9:18 am
We need a mnemonic that refers to missing Pluto. Here’s some poor segestions:
My very easy memory jogger sits undone now.
Most very early maps justified such unknown numbers.
My very early map just slammed Underworld nemesis.
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