Irony and Hypocrisy Are My Eternal Humor
I've got to get my bloody hands on some bloody Rousseau one of these days... first Meiner telling me to, then Dan... Yikes!
I have discovered the greatest word in the world: plutocracy. It is a form of government governed by the wealthy. It comes from the Greek word "ploutos" meaning wealth, and the Latin root "-cratia" meaning government. Hence, wealth-government. However, the astute reader will note in the word "plutocracy" the prefix "pluto", which although literally derived from the Greek "ploutos", reminds one of the planet Pluto. Our modern word Pluto is derived from the Greek "Ploutōn", or god of the underworld. Now wait a second. "Ploutos"... "Ploutōn"... Awfully close. Superficially, they seem to originate from the same Greek root word. Those Greeks were a funny lot now weren't they. And yes for your information, I do look up definitions for new words and the origins of words almost daily. It's a great pleasure, you should try it sometime.
Well, as Pluto was the god of the Underworld, which is where all the gold and silver and precious gems are (underground), he was also the god of wealth to a certain extent, so it all makes sense.
But I thought Pluto was the Roman god.
Interesting thing about Pluto being a Roman god now that you mention it... I have that recollection too. My dictionary says Pluto originates from Greek. My guess is that the name got changed from Ploutōn to Pluto when the Romans stole all of the Greek gods, and that the planet Pluto is named after the Roman god. But it still originates from Greek.
Well I think it's messed up that they got the whole Greek/Roman (And since as Adam mentioned the Romans jacked the Greek Gods) thing going, and then they toss in Sedna. A Native American God. What? I'm all for political correctness, but come on people, we've got plenty more to go! And they just stop, and change the whole theme of things and call our 10th planet Sedna. Weak! What's the 11th going to be? Allah? Jesus?
Ah Maxwell. Sedna is not a planet, it is being classified as a new type of body: a sort of planetoid they're calling it. Although there aren't really any official guidlines, most scientists don't really consider Pluto a planet. If this new planetoid classification catches on, then Pluto will definately fall under that category. But nevertheless, the discovery of Sedna is pretty cool. I say we skip Mars, and send people straight to Sedna!
I think they should call the 11th planet/planetoid (if there is one) Allah, like you recommend. That would reduce anti-Western sentimate in the Middle East by showing that Western science and culture accepts Muslim tradition. Think of it! What brilliant politics!
Actually, calling it Allah would make things worse: as all the other planets have been named after gods which are no longer worshipped, and discounted as myth, then by naming some planetoid after Allah would suggest he's (or it's, I'm not too sure about their beliefs) just as fictional as Pluto or Mars, or Sedna.
And I thought the Greek name for Pluto was Hades. So why would the Romans name their jacked god after a Greek word? One can only wonder.