Infinite Monkeys

These killjoys will put an end to limbo dancing jokes.

Next they'll revisit the name of the seventh planet too.

And it's about time, Steve. As someone who teaches science to 6th and 7th graders, I would prefer that they change it to something like Urintrouble. Oh, wait. Then it would start with what sounds like "urine." The incontinent planet!

My fifth grade son came to me recently and explained that he had checked my recommended pronunciation of UR'-en-us in a dictionary. He found that it was really ur-A"-nus. Great. I had to hunt a while for a dictionary that offered both as proper.

I'm not a prude by any means. In fact, I often go for a laugh when I over-emphasize my alternative pronunciation preference. But just imagine how hard it is to get anything done in a class full of adolescents who are busting up over saying "your anus." It doesn't help at all that Uranus is a gas planet. Or that it has a ring around it. Or that it's the one planet that rotates on its side. When Voyager 2 passed by, Uranus's "south pole" was pointed directly at the Sun. And the more scientists study Uranus, they keep seeing more and more moons.

We should just call it Planet Giggle.

Sadly, I had exactly the same reaction when I saw that story. I, too, clicked through the headline expecting to see a story about the new position of the Catholic church with regard to dancing under increasingly lowered poles.

Imagine my surprise. I was doubly disappointed because the headline referenced "abandoning" limbo - and I was looking forward to seeing the explanation of the previous use of Limbo in Catholic ritual. Disappointed doesn't even begin to describe it.