You may not recognize the difference between Sophophora melanogaster and the common fruit fly. That's because there isn't. The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature is proposing a name change from Drosophila melanogaster on scientific grounds, but it's ruffling the antennae of some scientists.
posted by jjray on Apr 10, 2010 - 31 comments

Got Playdar? Have you been seagulled lately? Find some great new words to insert into your work, family and friendly conversation. Have you seen that new bitcom?
posted by parmanparman on Apr 4, 2007 - 23 comments

Onancock Some towns just have bad names.
posted by longsleeves on May 28, 2005 - 97 comments

When Luzon was SALUBRIOUS. Names in the military are interesting things. How we got from Operation Blue Spoon to Operation Just Cause (many others or make your own!). Ship names are another matter, whether the Royal Navy, the US Navy, Japan, or the Federation.
posted by blahblahblah on Mar 5, 2005 - 5 comments

Natural phenomena named after Frank Zappa "This series of articles describes a variety of Natural Phenomena - marine, terrestrial and extra-terrestrial - which have been named in honour of Frank Zappa, the smallest being a gene belonging to a bacterium, the largest being an entire planet."
posted by dhruva on Jan 19, 2005 - 13 comments

Arsole? Putrescine? Dickite? Moronic Acid? This list of Molecules with Silly or Unusual Names (one NSFW image) proves that scientists can be funny, as does this Stuffy Scientists page, and Mark Isaak's terribly thorough Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature (see, especially, Puns). If you are tempted to wonder what the Father of Taxonomy might have thought of the irreverence of those last two collections, keep in mind that Linnaeus himself named this plant "Clitoria Mariana" in honor of an 'acquaintance', according to this page.
posted by taz on May 18, 2004 - 10 comments

Meanwhile, Back in Communist Russia... BBC Radio1 clowns/idiots Mark and Lard have an ongoing quest to find the worst band name ever. Personally I think some of the bands in the poll have the best names. What makes a crap band name? Something unimaginative like The Michael Schenker Group? Something crass like Speculum Fight or Alien Porno Midgets? What, for that matter, makes a good name? Do tell.
posted by nylon on Jan 22, 2003 - 84 comments

I don't remember chemistry being this interesting.
posted by redhead on Sep 8, 2001 - 7 comments

"e-mail" vs. "email" - Wired declares style guidelines (again) - so in today's Wired News (lycos.wired.com, not wired magazine), there's a long explanatory article about a change in Wired News' style standards. A) do declarations from Wired News matter much anymore? B) is "e-mail" really 'more proper' than "email". To me, the hyphen looks amateurish and silly, but I'm too close to this to be objective.
posted by kokogiak on Oct 23, 2000 - 43 comments