78 Days and counting...

Now, either Boots is displaying the chemical structure of its shower gel as some manner of educational device...



...or it's quickest off the mark with Christmas! (Again!)

My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming... Damn!!!

This is all very bizarre.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Pluto loses status as a planet

I somehow feel cheated out of a bit of my general knowledge, something I've known since primary school and which isn't right anymore.



It almost seems like science should always be forging ahead and today it unexpectedly lurched back.

Another branch of science leapt forward at the same time though, 'cos the BBC report is timed 13:34 today and it was documented gospel on Wikipedia by 13:36...

Pluto is the ninth and smallest of the traditional planets of the Solar System, though its status as a planet has been disputed in recent years. It qualified as a planet under the draft definition but it failed to qualify under the final draft, voted by the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union on August 24th, 2006. (Wikipedia).

So, there are now only 8 planets in the Solar System and a few irregular lumps of rock. It still keeps its name, but it's now just a pub quiz question for 50 years time and a dog.

And what of the mnemonics?

Earlier in the week when the draft proposed keeping Pluto and a few other newly discovered rocks, they were getting longer...

Most Victorian Euphoniums Make Cats Jump Suddenly Unless Neighbours Play Calming Xylophones. (The Times).

...but now they can be shorter. My favourite is...

Make Vanessa Eat Massive Jam Sandwiches Until November...



I clearly have too much time on my hands...