# 3rd grade science--how did I miss this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 28, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3rd-grade-science-how-did-i-miss-this/346460 "2006-02-28T15:15:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3rd-grade-science-how-did-i-miss-this/346460/21 "2006-02-28T22:41:09Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > This discussion reminds me of when I was in ninth grade and took a class titled “History of the Earth”. The teacher was talking about the Cambrian Period and explained that _Cambria_ was an old word for Wales. However, many students heard “whales”, and thus assumed that the arrival of cetaceans was an event significant enough to be commemorated in the nomenclature of the geological record. … and to be commemorated 470 million years before it occurred, it must have been pretty amazing! I guess they though _Cambrian Explosion_ described what happened to waistlines at the time? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3rd-grade-science-how-did-i-miss-this/346460/22 "2006-02-28T23:19:26Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > **VS9YO** : “It says here ‘Uranus is a \*gas giant’ \* !!!” It’s a good thing that that [other sense of “Uranian”](http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/Uranianism.html) has fallen out of common parlance, or nine-year-olds everywhere would giggle until they injured themselves. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3rd-grade-science-how-did-i-miss-this/346460/23 "2006-02-28T23:21:52Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > It’s a good thing that that [other sense of “Uranian”](http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/Uranianism.html) has fallen out of common parlance, or nine-year-olds everywhere would giggle until they injured themselves. I learn the strangest stuff here. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3rd-grade-science-how-did-i-miss-this/346460/24 "2006-03-01T00:47:35Z")
You could always do what I did back when I was learning it from written sources w/o benefit of actually having heard the word before – make up my own English pronunciation by mangling it into “you- RAN-nus” ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3rd-grade-science-how-did-i-miss-this/346460/25 "2006-03-01T02:55:04Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > Why is the starship Enterprise like toilet paper? > > They both circle Uranus and wipe out Klingons. Bravo! Never heard that one… ---
**Author:** ![JustAnotherGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58f4c7/32.png) [@JustAnotherGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustAnotherGeek)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3rd-grade-science-how-did-i-miss-this/346460/26 "2006-03-01T04:28:26Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > I got a million of 'em. You are getting the best ones. I was going to say “I don’t know if I would admit to that, if I were you…” But then I realized, I _would_ admit to that (and probably have with my previous post…). My mantra: Puns aren’t supposed to be funny to anyone other than the teller. For best results, they should be downright painful to the the reciever. If they are so bad as to cause cerebral hemmorage, all the better! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3rd-grade-science-how-did-i-miss-this/346460/27 "2006-03-01T05:34:03Z")
> [@Martiju](#): > > And a nitpick - we Brits tend to say Yoor-anus - I always thought it was you Yanks that went for the Urine-us pronunciation. No, we say “Your anus” too. From MST3K: “We dedicate this day to Uranus!” Crow: Well, thank you, I- ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3rd-grade-science-how-did-i-miss-this/346460/28 "2006-03-01T07:49:08Z")
Ah yes, Uranus. A few years ago, The Highwayman and I were just going back to school and took Astronomy together (we usually called it Ass-tronomy. We’re so mature). Anyways, the prof is describing the orbit and rotation of Uranus. “You see, Uranus is actually _corkscrewing_.” We about died laughing, but were the only ones in the lecture hall to dare to do so. I am so never going to grow up. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3rd-grade-science-how-did-i-miss-this/346460/29 "2006-03-01T08:31:40Z")
How about “Caelus”? Isn’t that the Roman deity equated with Uranus/Ouranos? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3rd-grade-science-how-did-i-miss-this/346460/30 "2006-04-07T18:33:56Z")
And more about [Uranus](http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/04/06/rings.of.uranus.ap/index.html). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3rd-grade-science-how-did-i-miss-this/346460.md?page=1)