https://xkcd.com/2908

Alt text:

Astronomers are a little unsure of the applicability of this index, but NASA’s Planetary Protection Officer is all in favor.

  • 342345@feddit.deEnglish
    29·
    4 months ago

    Putting on our moon armour could solve a lot of problems. It’s not my most favourite solution though.

    PS: Gonggong?!
    Edit: dwarf planet. Discovered in 2007 and named after a god in the chinese mythology:

    Gonggong was ashamed that he lost the fight with Zhurong, the Chinese god of fire, to claim the throne of Heaven. In a fit of rage, he smashed his head against Buzhou Mountain, one of eight pillars holding up the sky, greatly damaging it and causing the sky to tilt towards the northwest and the Earth to shift to the southeast, which caused great floods and suffering.

    🤷‍♀️

    • feedum_sneedson@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      4 months ago

      Ah, it is Chinese, interesting. I’m guessing it’s not the gonggong in 公共汽车, because that’s a bus.

      What, it almost literally is. It’s 共工, like “work together”… but not like, go to work together (on the bus).

      • 342345@feddit.deEnglish
        4·
        4 months ago

        umm.

        These characters have multiple entirely different meanings. How does one find out what the supposed meaning is? Or is it up to the reader to decide?

        • feedum_sneedson@lemmy.worldEnglish
          6·
          4 months ago

          Context, apparently the word “set” has 430 meanings in the Oxford dictionary. So there’s a lot of ambiguity. It’s very confusing but I think we give as good as we get in that regard.