Thursday, August 24, 2006

Planets

How many planets are in the solar system?

Well, everyone knows the answer to that, right? Nine.

Well, we're wrong.

Under new guidelines, Pluto is no longer a planet. In the words of Donald Trump (or Vince McMahon), Pluto, you're fired!

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/08/24/pluto.ap/

I guess the mnemonic device we used to remember planets has to be changed:
I was always taught to remember the planet order with the sentence:
My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us New Peas
(representing the order of the planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto)

I wonder if some smart company will get in on sponsorship of this:
My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nabisco!
My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nestea!
My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nestle!

Brand recognition at it's finest! Companies pay to sponsor stadiums, why not mnemonic devices!