Reinstate PLUTO as a planet

[skippy]

Sat, August 26, 2006

Sellers won't Plu-toe line

UPDATED: 2006-08-26 01:40:24 MST

Internet merchants create flood of items to support demoted former planet

By AP

LOS ANGELES -- Not long after puny Pluto was stripped of its planethood, Janis Robinson started selling $25 US PLUTO IS A PLANET T-shirts on the Internet.

Robinson, who said she "rolled her eyes" after Pluto got the boot, hopes her buyers will send a message that kicking out the far-out rock is downright goofy.

"I'm always going to think of Pluto as a planet," said the 45-year-old semi-retiree from San Jose, who insists she's not peddling shirts on Craigslist for the money.

"People who buy this can make a statement that we still believe in Pluto."
Robinson is hardly alone. Scores of web-savvy sellers hoping to support -- and cash in -- on Pluto's demotion to a "dwarf planet" bombarded the Internet hawking Pluto memorabilia worthy of a presidential candidate, from T-shirts and mugs to bumper stickers and mouse pads.

The International Astronomical Union shook up the solar system Thursday when it declared Pluto was no longer part of the cosmic club -- the first time the solar system was altered since Pluto was spotted in 1930.

Under new guidelines, Pluto was downgraded to a "dwarf planet," a new category that also includes the asteroid Ceres, the newly discovered object 2003 UB313, and possibly dozens of others.

On Cafepress.com, a San Francisco-area Internet company that prints T-shirts and other merchandise, an explosion of Pluto inventory popped up within 24 hours of the news. By yesterday morning, the site featured 200 designs on more than 1,500 products.

Many items and slogans fretted Pluto's demise and pined for the return of the obsolete nine-planet solar system. T-shirts screamed "Save Pluto" and "Stop Planetary Discrimination" while bumper stickers rallied "PLUTO 2006: Running as an Independent Candidate" and "Vote for Pluto."

Others were more wistful. "Pluto, we hardly knew ye ... 1930-2006" was available in adult and kids' apparel, as well as caps and bags.

Los Angeles-based web programmer Chris Spurgeon took 15 minutes to design a bumper sticker on the site featuring a Hubble Space Telescope image and the slogan Honk if Pluto is still a planet. He has received 100 orders for the $4 US stickers.

"I'm not burning with anger about the Pluto decision, but it has touched a nerve with a lot of people," said Spurgeon, 51.

[The Illuminati]

new facts and finding make science what it is.....and Xena and Pluto can be seen closer and that means we can see even further past these bodies.....

props to astro men and women....

peace

[Bobtheicon]

What a waste of money.

[Jimmy K]

pluto is a planet