MetaFilter posts tagged with nomenclature

Dora Viola G.I. de Orellana Plantagenet & Co.

Iridic — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 07:24:51 -0800

"In the records of the more or less illustrious dead, there are many who are remembered for only one thing - but there can be few whose sole claim to posthumous fame is the extravagantly bizarre naming of their children..."

Team Chicken or Team Egg?

amyms — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 23:06:11 -0800

Which came first: the chicken or the chicken egg? Nomenclature for the win! AsapSCIENCE featured on Metafilter previously.

Pitohui - Lesson and Garnot, 1827 (poisonous New Guinea bird) The name comes from a response to tasting it

bluefly — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 13:02:10 -0800

Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature. A collection of interesting scientific names. Examples (some scrolling required): "CATCH22 (chromosome 22q11.2 microdeletion) This name, from "cardiac anomaly, T-cell deficit, clefting and hypocalcaemia," was abandoned due to its no-win connotations. [J. Med. Genet. 36: 737-738 (1999); cited in Nature 439: 266 (2006).]" "Geragnostus waldorfstatleri Turvey 2005 (trilobite) The pygidium (tail) looks just like the heads of Waldorf and Statler of "The Muppet Show." [Trans. Royal Soc. Edinburgh: Earth Sci. 95: 527-542]" "Dinohyus hollandi Peterson (Miocene entelodont) Named after Carnegie Museum director W. J. Holland, who insisted that he be listed as senior author on every paper written by his staff. The name means "Holland's terrible pig." A Pittsburgh paper announced the discovery with the front-page headline, "Dinohyus hollandi, The World's Biggest Hog!."" The most recent entry? Eoabelisaurus mefi.

Welcome Sophophora melanogaster

jjray — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 15:47:39 -0800

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.

live from the custody suite!

parmanparman — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 07:41:25 -0800

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?

puerile adolescent snickering

longsleeves — Sat, 28 May 2005 14:58:25 -0800

Onancock Some towns just have bad names.

From Able Archer to Ultimate Quest

blahblahblah — Sat, 05 Mar 2005 21:05:57 -0800

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.

Zappa in nature

dhruva — Wed, 19 Jan 2005 19:48:30 -0800

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."

Are you an Asinus Petasatus? Then you'll love this...

taz — Tue, 18 May 2004 01:42:30 -0800

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.

my band name's better than your band name

nylon — Wed, 22 Jan 2003 09:52:57 -0800

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.

redhead — Sat, 08 Sep 2001 20:24:47 -0800

I don't remember chemistry being this interesting.

"e-mail" vs. "email" - Wired declares style guidelines (again)

kokogiak — Mon, 23 Oct 2000 10:46:22 -0800

"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.