So, how do they name tropical storms when there are more than 26 of them in a season?
According to my lab-neighbor, they go on to Greek letters, starting with alpha.
"What, like Agamemnon?" asked someone at the Fellows' Pizza Hour. (Okay, it was me.)
"Or Archemides," said lab-mate J/, who along with me is part of the J/Continuum.*
"Or Aristophanes," said I.
"Aristotle!" "Anaxagoras!" "Anaximenes!" "Anaximander!"
"Wait, but now we need some Greeks who start with beta." That was much more difficult. We couldn't think of any, and quickly moved on.
"Gamma . . . " Crap. We couldn't think of any Greeks who start with gamma, either. They mostly start with A, E, and P.
"What about Ptolemy? Was he Greek?" asked J/.
"Yeah, but he was Egyptian," I replied.
"What letter does Ptolemy start with?"
"P-tah," I said. "What about Ganymede? Was he Greek or Roman?"
"I think all the planets are named after Romans, and Ganymede is a moon of Jupiter, so he must be Roman."
"It sounds Greek, though."
"There's one exception to the planets. There's one moon with a Greek name."
"Titan. I'm pretty sure the Titans were Greek."
Grasping at straws someone else tried Agamemnon.
"Right, 'cause his friends called him 'Gmemnon'."
Maybe you had to be there . . . there was also free pizza. And the Indian mafia was there, with their matching moustaches, which are moustaches only Indian men can wear without looking like big gay cops.
Later that same day:
From: Joolya
Reply-To:
To: J/
Date: Sep 15, 2005 5:55 PM
Subject: greek Gs
Beta:
There are also Bellerophon (who slew the Chimera), Briareus (a Titan), and Boreas (the north wind, as in Aurora Borealis) in myth and Boethius, a late pagan writer who authored "Consolation of Philosophy" 1500 years before Alain de Botton.
Gamma:
Gaia!
Gorgias, a prominant Sophist. In fact, the "Father of All Sophists".
Delta:
Deadalus, Demeter, Dionysis, Democritus, Damon, Diogenes, and my personal favorite Demonax the Cynic.
later,
j/
*Our boss once wrote an email to J/ and I that said, "J/ You both should read the paper by . . ." Thus we are the J/ Continuum. That is in reference to something which
brookburg will understand. If you get this you are a big nerd and I give you mad props.
According to my lab-neighbor, they go on to Greek letters, starting with alpha.
"What, like Agamemnon?" asked someone at the Fellows' Pizza Hour. (Okay, it was me.)
"Or Archemides," said lab-mate J/, who along with me is part of the J/Continuum.*
"Or Aristophanes," said I.
"Aristotle!" "Anaxagoras!" "Anaximenes!" "Anaximander!"
"Wait, but now we need some Greeks who start with beta." That was much more difficult. We couldn't think of any, and quickly moved on.
"Gamma . . . " Crap. We couldn't think of any Greeks who start with gamma, either. They mostly start with A, E, and P.
"What about Ptolemy? Was he Greek?" asked J/.
"Yeah, but he was Egyptian," I replied.
"What letter does Ptolemy start with?"
"P-tah," I said. "What about Ganymede? Was he Greek or Roman?"
"I think all the planets are named after Romans, and Ganymede is a moon of Jupiter, so he must be Roman."
"It sounds Greek, though."
"There's one exception to the planets. There's one moon with a Greek name."
"Titan. I'm pretty sure the Titans were Greek."
Grasping at straws someone else tried Agamemnon.
"Right, 'cause his friends called him 'Gmemnon'."
Maybe you had to be there . . . there was also free pizza. And the Indian mafia was there, with their matching moustaches, which are moustaches only Indian men can wear without looking like big gay cops.
Later that same day:
From: Joolya
Reply-To:
To: J/
Date: Sep 15, 2005 5:55 PM
Subject: greek Gs
Beta:
There are also Bellerophon (who slew the Chimera), Briareus (a Titan), and Boreas (the north wind, as in Aurora Borealis) in myth and Boethius, a late pagan writer who authored "Consolation of Philosophy" 1500 years before Alain de Botton.
Gamma:
Gaia!
Gorgias, a prominant Sophist. In fact, the "Father of All Sophists".
Delta:
Deadalus, Demeter, Dionysis, Democritus, Damon, Diogenes, and my personal favorite Demonax the Cynic.
later,
j/
*Our boss once wrote an email to J/ and I that said, "J/ You both should read the paper by . . ." Thus we are the J/ Continuum. That is in reference to something which
brookburg will understand. If you get this you are a big nerd and I give you mad props.
posted by Joolya at
9:21 PM
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