"Thoughtlessly"? What, did they decide to rename Earth, too, to something beginning with the letter "T"?
I was discussing this last night with my wife, and I noted that I never used a mnemonic to learn the names of the planets. I just sung along to Schoolhouse Rock's "Interplanet Janet" in my head.
I'm confused by "Better" in your post title -- does Venus have an alternat appelation? Also -- a very nice feature of DEditrix's two acronyms is that they have an Asteroid belt -- we gotta get a "K" in at the end now somehow.
I've never before seen one that include an A for the asteroid belt.
From BoingBoing (although these are all far too relevant, it's much better to talk about Mel Gibson):
My! Very educated morons just screwed up numerous planetariums
Many Very Earnest Men Just Snubbed Unfortunate Ninth Planet
My vision, erased. Mercy! Just some underachiever now (as spoken by Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh)
Most vexing experience, mother just served us nothing!
But there are no planets starting with F, Y, or C, so you can't work "Fuck You, Clown" into any of the mnemonics. Maybe if you have a really good thesaurus.
Wolfson, don't be silly - Mary couldn't have "made" an "aquatic South American rodent resembling a small beaver; bred for its fur". She could, however, have made nougat.
33: Apo, what do you expect from a country that has purple potatoes? Next it will be llama steaks and from that only a short hop to lama sandwiches. Deli lama.
Speaking of Asia, fried crickets are yummier and more crunchy. And not cute and furry before they are cooked.
One of the best Travel Channel moments I've seen was when our intrepid host was in Peru, was offered a bite of a whole fried guinea pig and said, in the international language of head shakes and facial expressions, "No fucking way."
When I was in high school I spent summers working on a research farm involved in an effort to cross-breed the purple Peruvian potatoes with American/European varieties to raise their resistance to a potato blight threatening Peru at the time. Those potatoes are delicious.
That and salt. I used to go to places that had crispy locusts fried with soy sauce -- Japanese bar snack, basically -- and they were delish. Their little feetsies did tend to get stuck in one's teeth, though.
The first few times I ate soft-shelled crab, I peeled them. (Which is not easy). As you can guess, I was not raised well-cultured. Finally someone pointed out my error, and although I was skeeved at first, they're actually really good.
56 is unclear to me. Are you saying softshell crabs have no exoskeleton? Or just that you won't eat softshell crabs because they fall within your no exoskeleton rule?
Technically they do have an exoskeleton, it just hasn't hardened up yet.
Also, "No softshellcrab! No exoskeleton!" sounds like a rally chant.
"Thoughtlessly"? What, did they decide to rename Earth, too, to something beginning with the letter "T"?
I was discussing this last night with my wife, and I noted that I never used a mnemonic to learn the names of the planets. I just sung along to Schoolhouse Rock's "Interplanet Janet" in my head.
Posted by Brock | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 10:26 AM
"Terra" as in the GWOTerra. That one's going to be ugly.
Posted by LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 10:27 AM
I'm confused by "Better" in your post title -- does Venus have an alternat appelation? Also -- a very nice feature of DEditrix's two acronyms is that they have an Asteroid belt -- we gotta get a "K" in at the end now somehow.
Posted by Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 10:37 AM
I've never before seen one that include an A for the asteroid belt.
From BoingBoing (although these are all far too relevant, it's much better to talk about Mel Gibson):
My! Very educated morons just screwed up numerous planetariums
Many Very Earnest Men Just Snubbed Unfortunate Ninth Planet
My vision, erased. Mercy! Just some underachiever now (as spoken by Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh)
Most vexing experience, mother just served us nothing!
Posted by SP | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 10:40 AM
1 - Like I fact check my posts.
We have a creative bunch. I'm sure we can rock the mneumonics.
Posted by Becks | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 10:51 AM
Many Very Enterprising Madmen Just Suppressed Underdog Ninth Planet. (Those fuckers.)
Posted by Armsmasher | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 10:53 AM
Also the mnemonics.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 10:56 AM
But there are no planets starting with F, Y, or C, so you can't work "Fuck You, Clown" into any of the mnemonics. Maybe if you have a really good thesaurus.
Posted by SP | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 11:02 AM
Mnemonic Versifying Exacerbates Malcolm's Jealousy Side, Unless Nugatorily Practiced.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 11:04 AM
That is, "Jealous Side".
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 11:06 AM
My verse encompasses many jokes: screw u 'n' Pierrot.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 11:10 AM
As LB said, T = Terra. The original mnemonic was from a Heinlein story, as I recall. [Have Spacesuit, Will Travel?]
"Fuck you, clown" may not work, but, in keeping with my previous theme, "Many Very Terrifying Manic Aliens Just Scanned Unfogged Now" does.
Posted by DominEditrix | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 11:12 AM
11 rocks hard.
Posted by Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 11:13 AM
Munis, Veriloquents, Enclear Misosophists Judging Sciolists Ultracrepidarian Nebulochaotics
Posted by Michael | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 11:33 AM
My Very Enormous Meat Just Swelled Up Nicely.
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 11:44 AM
Mary very energetically made jelly; scented unguents; nutria.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 11:55 AM
Add "knishes" to the end of 16
Posted by M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:00 PM
Wolfson, don't be silly - Mary couldn't have "made" an "aquatic South American rodent resembling a small beaver; bred for its fur". She could, however, have made nougat.
Posted by DominEditrix | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:00 PM
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
Posted by eb | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:01 PM
18 -- see 17. Mary could certainly have made knishes containing nutria meat -- it would indeed be a boldly decisive step in culinary science.
Posted by Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:03 PM
(And nougat knishes would suck.)
Posted by Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:04 PM
Indeed, I meant "made" in the sense of "prepared as for consumption".
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:05 PM
22 - That's even worse. Rodents, unlike lagomorphs, taste dreadful, no matter how much unguent and jelly one puts in them.
Manga Visitations Torment Many Already Jangled Sentients, Unsettling Nervous Kangaroos
Posted by DominEditrix | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:16 PM
in them = on them.
Never stuff a nutria.
Manga = monster.
Posted by DominEditrix | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:17 PM
Fuck, "monstrous"
Posted by DominEditrix | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:18 PM
Also -- a very nice feature of DEditrix's two acronyms is that they have an Asteroid belt -- we gotta get a "K" in at the end now somehow.
Mel Very Thoughtlessly Made A Jewish Slur. Unwanted Now, Klan-Boy.
Posted by Felix | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:21 PM
Mustachioed Vixens Erratically Marketed a Jeweled Scepter Useless for Nude Kickball.
Posted by Cryptic Ned | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:28 PM
The "F" between Uranus and Neptune stands for "former location of Oort Cloud".
Posted by Cryptic Ned | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:29 PM
Marbled Venison—Eat Meat Au Jus—Sirlion's Undercooked—Fish? Never, Kate!
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:32 PM
Yeah, me too. Teach me unthinkingly to imitate those above me.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:33 PM
30 does not work as a planetary acronym. Is it content?
Posted by Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:36 PM
Ah now I understand.
Posted by Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 12:37 PM
Rodents, unlike lagomorphs, taste dreadful
The Peruvians beg to differ.
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 1:01 PM
33: Apo, what do you expect from a country that has purple potatoes? Next it will be llama steaks and from that only a short hop to lama sandwiches. Deli lama.
Speaking of Asia, fried crickets are yummier and more crunchy. And not cute and furry before they are cooked.
Posted by DominEditrix | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 1:30 PM
Where did the K come from?
Posted by mcmc | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 2:04 PM
Kuiper (plus I think we can have an optional B for Belt).
Posted by Felix | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 2:05 PM
Kuiper belt
Posted by DominEditrix | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 2:06 PM
36 - or even "KBO" for Kuiper belt objects
Posted by DominEditrix | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 2:07 PM
38: Mel Very Thoughtlessly Made A Jewish Slur. Unwanted Now, Klanboy. Bugger Off!
Posted by Felix | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 2:13 PM
Nutria are fish - the pope said so!
Posted by Ukko | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 2:37 PM
My Very Emaciated Mother Just Shot Up Narcotics.
Posted by standpipe b | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 2:46 PM
SB, if you're not going to be using your ridgeplate, could I borrow it for a little while?
Posted by My Alter Ego | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 2:48 PM
The Peruvians beg to differ.
One of the best Travel Channel moments I've seen was when our intrepid host was in Peru, was offered a bite of a whole fried guinea pig and said, in the international language of head shakes and facial expressions, "No fucking way."
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 2:52 PM
Magazine: Very Thoughtless Men Are Jealous; Salaries Unbalance Nuptials
Posted by Robust McManlyPants | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 3:03 PM
When I was in high school I spent summers working on a research farm involved in an effort to cross-breed the purple Peruvian potatoes with American/European varieties to raise their resistance to a potato blight threatening Peru at the time. Those potatoes are delicious.
Posted by Robust McManlyPants | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 3:07 PM
Bravo 44!
Posted by Felix | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 3:09 PM
fried crickets are yummier and more crunchy
I don't have many food rules, but don't chew exoskeleton is one of them.
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 3:26 PM
Oh, you're missing out, apo. At least, the fried shrimp heads you can get at sushi places are delicious.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 3:32 PM
48: Although that may just be another instance of the Escargot Principle, i.e., anything tastes good if cooked in enough fat.
Posted by DaveL | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 3:34 PM
That and salt. I used to go to places that had crispy locusts fried with soy sauce -- Japanese bar snack, basically -- and they were delish. Their little feetsies did tend to get stuck in one's teeth, though.
Posted by jmcq | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 3:40 PM
I don't have many food rules, but don't chew exoskeleton is one of them.
What if the pot-crapping wine-emitting bacon-shedding Nastassia Kinski asked you to, just for her?
Posted by M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 3:41 PM
47 - No soft shell crab?
Posted by Becks | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 3:42 PM
You know, I have tried and tried, and I'm just not a fan of the soft-shelled crab. I realize this is totally my problem, but there it is.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 3:44 PM
The first few times I ate soft-shelled crab, I peeled them. (Which is not easy). As you can guess, I was not raised well-cultured. Finally someone pointed out my error, and although I was skeeved at first, they're actually really good.
Posted by Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 3:48 PM
Mango velour ecru magpies jesuit suckas unsurly nehru
Reads like spam, tastes like mmm delicious.
Posted by tweedledopey | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 3:59 PM
No soft shell crab?
No exoskeleton.
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 4:20 PM
56 is unclear to me. Are you saying softshell crabs have no exoskeleton? Or just that you won't eat softshell crabs because they fall within your no exoskeleton rule?
Technically they do have an exoskeleton, it just hasn't hardened up yet.
Also, "No softshellcrab! No exoskeleton!" sounds like a rally chant.
Posted by M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 4:22 PM
The latter. Though to be honest, I haven't tasted softshell crab in at least 20 years, so it's possible that it may fall in some acceptable gray area.
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 4:55 PM
They're really really really good, if that's a gray area.
Posted by LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 5:00 PM
45: We use purple potatoes. They make a pleasant jot of colour on a plate. The Kid makes a purple potato salad to die for.
Posted by DominEditrix | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 7:56 PM
I had purple potatoes for dinner tonight! Yummy and pretty.
Posted by mrh | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 8:09 PM
Airport security is no laughing matter:
Make veiled threats, make alarming jokes, spend night under key, bawling.
S.O.A.P.:
Many vipers terrorize mighty airship, Jackson saves night, unabashedly killing before offloading.
Posted by minneapolitan | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 9:14 PM
Also, "No softshellcrab! No exoskeleton!" sounds like a rally chant.
Or a reggæ tune.
Posted by Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 9:25 PM
Filipino restaurants serve lots of yummy purple pastries but they are made from yam, not potato.
Posted by Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 9:26 PM
64: The better rule for Filipino food is don't ask, don't tell.
Posted by DaveL | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 10:07 PM
The better rule for Filipino food is don't ask, don't tell.
I'd say that's a good rule for Southeast Asia in general.
Posted by gswift | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 10:43 PM
62b totally gets my vote.
Posted by Robust McManlyPants | Link to this comment | 08-25-06 11:21 PM
Shrimp shells/tails are good; apo's on crack.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 08-26-06 4:35 AM
Believe me, all my crack money is being spent on daycare.
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 08-26-06 8:20 AM