So, some friends of ours have learned about "Planet X" in school...

[Desdichado]

We were over at a friends house for dinner the other night; these friends recently moved a little bit farther away from them, and we don't see them all the time. As our conversation went on, I mentioned this whole "what is a planet" debacle with 2003 UB₃₁₃ and whotnot.

To my surprise, they said that their 9 year old daughter was taught in school a couple of years ago that there were ten planets already: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and "Planet X." I don't know what kind of crasy curriculum they've got in them thar Ypsilanti schools (or maybe she was still in Canton schools when she learned that) but I was shocked and appalled that such ridiculous things were being taught to children.

I mean, yeah, you could make a case that maybe it'll be justified if 2003 UB₃₁₃ is ruled to be a planet after all, but I think that's pretty weak. You teach what's there, you explain what might be there, but you don't teach what might be as if it is already proven fact.

 

[Teflon Billy]

A little sidetrack here...

I would love if they wound up naming it "Planet X"

I would run for office ona platform of declaring it an Enemy Planet.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

I would run for office ona platform of declaring it an Enemy Planet.

I would so vote for you to be Supreme Ruler of Earth if you declare war on Planet X.

 

[Ambrus]

I would run for office ona platform of declaring it an Enemy Planet.

You could simply claim to have already single-handedly destroyed the evil alien civilization of Planet X with your supreme mental powers and present all the evidence that it is nothing more than a lifeless ball of rock as proof of a fait-accompli. You'll probably be dead long before scientists can prove conclusively that you're lying.

In fact, this is a pretty good idea.

Attention world! I DESTROYED THE EVIL INHABITANTS OF PLANET X WITH MY SUPREME MENTAL POWERS!

Ambrus, Supreme mentalist, destroyer of worlds and hero of Earth.

 

[tarchon]

Marvel Comics would sue for trademark infringement.

 

[Ambrus]

Marvel Comics would sue for trademark infringement.

Hmm. You're probably right. In that case; IT WAS TEFLON BILLY THAT DID IT!

 

[Aeric]

The name "Planet X" is a bit older than Marvel Comics, actually. It was originally coined by Percival Lowell during the search for Pluto in the early 20th century.

Personally, I think they should call it Marduk.

 

[Desdichado]

Has Marvel Comics sued Toho Studios for trademark infringement?

Anyway, all this talk about 2003 UB₃₁₃ is beside the point; my whole reason for pointing this out was that they were teaching them that there was a "Planet X" before the discovery of 2003 UB₃₁₃ was announced, or even suspected beyond the small discovery team that was trying to gather as much information on it as they could before they came forward.

 

[Aeric]

Were they teaching it as a scientific fact or as a theory? Not that they should be teaching theories like that to grade-school children. Better to get the basics down first before worrying about theories, IMO.

 

[Desdichado]

They were teaching it as fact. It was just the 10th planet to rattle off on the list of planets.

Yeah, I wouldn't have too much problem them teaching that there's a whole belt of objects similar to Pluto (but mostly smaller) out there beyond the orbit of Nepture, and among them may be objects that are discovered to be planets, but that's not what they were teaching. They were teaching that there was a 10th planet out there; just nobody knew any details about it.