Aries Moon

Going through old magazines, a 1994 contest to rename the Big Bang theory surfaced. 10,660 entries were submitted to Sky & Telescope magazine, but none of them won. As I scanned the list, I could see why. There's a couple I really like, but only for the hilarity factor:

Bursting Star Sack
Infinity Forever
It's a Universe
OK, Fine
Hot Hurl
Stupendous Space Spawning

It got me thinking about the whole naming scheme thing. Like particles, and quarks. They get really cool names. Of course, sometimes they're called really boring things like DsubSgamma^2 and so on, but it's much more fun than the other sciences, you gotta admit.

I've been fascinated with names since I was very young. When I was 4, I realized that my parents had given me the entirely wrong name. I hated it. It didn't fit me. It was like wearing slightly too-tight clothes. It made me feel squirmy and uncomfortable. They kept calling me by it, and when I demanded to know my middle name, their perfidy was revealed: I didn't have one! I was outraged. I determined right then that I would change my name someday. (I did, too; I wasn't given the name of Lucy at birth.)

Finding the right name for something is important. I spent my first babysitting money on a Name Your Baby book. I still have it, too. I use three of them to this day: for writing, for avatars, and for amusing my pregnant friends with outrageous suggestions. I think people should give their children one bland and one fantastic name, so they have a choice. Nothing is more tedious than naming your child David Michael or Anne Susan. Yuck. Much better for David to have Zontar as a middle name, and for Anne to be paired with Francesca.

But if Zontar or Francesca doesn't suit, may I suggest DsubSgamma^2, or possibly Infinity Forever? Or maybe you could hold a contest. There's at least 10,600 people with a few ideas for you.


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