The Solar System according to McDonald's.

[AFK]

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/10/05/2090088.aspx

How many planets do you want with your Happy Meal? At McDonald's restaurants in Britain, they're serving up a solar system with nine planets - which has thrown some hot sauce (plus a dash of hilarity) on a cosmic conundrum.

The planetary faux pas came to light last week in The Register, a British-based tech Web site that published what it said was the "fairly damning evidence of Ronald McDonald's opinion on the matter."

McDonald's UK made a deal with Planet Cook, a venture that tries to get kids into cooking, to produce a series of planet-themed boxes for the restaurant chain's Happy Meals - you know, the ones that come with a burger or Chicken McNuggets, plus other kid-size nibbles and drinks.

One of the fun facts printed on the box proclaims that "the solar system is made up of all the planets that orbit our sun," and that "there are 9 planets in total." That claim runs counter to the International Astronomical Union's controversial resolution setting the planet count at eight - including Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, but not Pluto.

With its figurative tongue firmly in cheek, The Register accused McDonald's of spreading "U.S. scientific propaganda." (The nationalism angle supposedly enters the picture because Pluto was discovered by an American, Clyde Tombaugh.)

"This is what happens when you get your degree in astronomy from Hamburger University," one commenter joked.

Over the weekend, Britain's Sunday Mirror picked up on the story. The Mirror quoted Cambridge astronomer Paul Murdin as saying that the restaurant chain had "got it wrong."

"It's a shame they didn't check their facts," Murdin said.

Meanwhile, McDonald's told the Mirror merely that "we are aware of the debate about Pluto."

Eight planets, nine, or more?
As someone who has spent the past year researching and writing a book stating the case for Pluto, I'd have to say that Murdin is correct and McDonald's is wrong - but probably not for the reason Murdin has in mind. If you're totally on board with the IAU definition, you might think revising the box to read "there are 8 planets in total" would do the trick. But can anyone honestly say the solar system is made up of four giant planets, four terrestrial planets, and that's it?

I would argue that an eight-planet view of the solar system is only slightly less nonsensical than a nine-planet view. Any perspective that doesn't include Pluto and the other dwarf planets, the asteroid belt and the Kuiper Belt, the Oort Cloud and all those crazy comets would be woefully incomplete.

One of the saddest things about the Happy Meal misstep is that it could leave kids with the impression that there's nothing more to be discovered in our solar system. That'd be particularly sad for the British: A pilot survey of more than 200 schoolchildren in English schools, published in the February 2007 issue of the journal Space Policy, indicated that discovering a new planet was the top thing kids would want to do if they were space scientists. (The same study rated Pluto as a runner-up behind Mars as the kids' favorite planet in space.)

The nine-planet view of our solar system is gone forever, thanks to the discovery of Eris in 2005. Now it's up to scientists, educators - and yes, even Ronald McDonald - to present a view of the solar system that reflects our widening planetary horizons and inspires the next generation of planet-hunters.

I agree with the author about how kids are educated on the Solar System.  Certainly when I was a kid I did learn about the, then, 9 planets and then there was a reference to the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars, and that was it.  Granted, we didn't know as much then as we do now.  If nothing else, expanding the concept of the Solar System in our educational system will help kids to have an expanded view of their surroundings in general.  To understand the concept that what you can see and learn about now doesn't mean that you are learning everything.  There is always more to see and discover. 

Also, how cool would it be if McDonald's had an Eris Happy Meal? 

[Richter]

They're going to an awful lot of trouble for a Happy Meal there.

RWHN: think of the ramifications of an Eris Happpy Meal:

"Billy ate the first four McNuggets, and read the happy meal box about rocky planets named after messenger gods, love gods, war gods, and gaia."

"Then Billy ate the next 5 nuggets and read about planets named gods of the underworld, sky, and sea.  They were mostly made of gas, and one no one could really say if it was a planet at all.

"Finally, Billy ate the tenth nugget.  He read about a planet named Eris.  He also read about how nothing was true, a weird "Prison" his mind was in, a weird word starting with f his mother told him never to say, and 23 strange things to do while he was waiting.  Billy was confused.  Billy grew up spreading these odd ideas, trying to make sense of them and get them out of his head.  He came up with more of his own and spread them to.  He couldn't shake the feelign that things were WRONG, and everyone had to know."

"Why are you doing this?", his teachers and counselors asked.

"I have to!"  Billy said, "The Discordians did this to my mind, wherever they are, I need to get back at them."

"But Billy," they said, "you ARE the Discordians."

And Billy was a Discordian.

[Cramulus]

this is [part of] what's wrong with capitalism


negotiating with McDonalds about our children's education

[Kai]

 

Neil D. Tyson wrote a whole book about the Pluto debacle. The major argument is the term planet was never really defined in science, and it was causing problems with classification of all these newly discovered objects in the solar system. So the AU defined 'planet' as an object orbiting a star thats large enough to clear its ellipse of debris but too small to reach core fusion temperature. This means the Kuiper belt objects which are not large enough to clear their ellipse are not scientifically considered planets, including Pluto. These object, however, are large enough to have a rounded surface due to epistatic tensions, so they were classified as dwarf planets; this includes Pluto, Eris, other Kuiper objects and transneptunian objects, as well as a few asteroids between mars and jupiter.

Naturally, people are stupid and made a ruckus of this. There are many awesome and strange orbiting rocks in the solar system. Only a dogmatist would want to define it as a number, completely missing the point.

I think people just assume Astronomy isn't science. More of that muddleheaded thinking these days.

[Iason Ouabache]

They're going to an awful lot of trouble for a Happy Meal there.

RWHN: think of the ramifications of an Eris Happpy Meal:

"Billy ate the first four McNuggets, and read the happy meal box about rocky planets named after messenger gods, love gods, war gods, and gaia."

"Then Billy ate the next 5 nuggets and read about planets named gods of the underworld, sky, and sea.  They were mostly made of gas, and one no one could really say if it was a planet at all.

"Finally, Billy ate the tenth nugget.  He read about a planet named Eris.  He also read about how nothing was true, a weird "Prison" his mind was in, a weird word starting with f his mother told him never to say, and 23 strange things to do while he was waiting.  Billy was confused.  Billy grew up spreading these odd ideas, trying to make sense of them and get them out of his head.  He came up with more of his own and spread them to.  He couldn't shake the feelign that things were WRONG, and everyone had to know."

"Why are you doing this?", his teachers and counselors asked.

"I have to!"  Billy said, "The Discordians did this to my mind, wherever they are, I need to get back at them."

"But Billy," they said, "you ARE the Discordians."

And Billy was a Discordian.

[Rococo Modem Basilisk]

Meanwhile, McDonald's told the Mirror merely that "we are aware of the debate about Pluto."

TEACH THE CONTROVERSY! 

[Richter]

this is [part of] what's wrong with capitalism


negotiating with McDonalds about our children's education

It also says something that we're taking them seriously.

I feel like I'm watching a  fantasy world where everyone believes everything written is absolute truth and ought to be taken as such immediately.

[Cramulus]

totally. well it's all very important because it's kids.


now that I think of it --

before the age of 10, I have more memories of being at McD's than of being in church.

[Thurnez Isa]

Big Macks at church!

Keeps everyone happy

[Daego]

Mother
Very
Easily
Made a
Jam
Sandwich
Using
No
Peanuts
Mayonaise or
Glue

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

LOL Labels.

and an extra LOL for "McDonalds should be scientifically accurate on their Happy Meals?" For fucks sake if their box was accurate it would be called the "Eat crappy B grade meat with fried potatoes, get fat and addicted to our food" meals (for $4.99).

And I am never Happy after eating their food.

[Jasper]

"Short Term Complacency" Meals didn't do so well in the focus groups.

[Requia ☣]

I see nothing wrong with McDonalds including Pluto, the IAU doesn't have a monopoly on the term 'planet' and a lot of astronomers who study planets specifically are upset that the decision was made primarily by people who study other things.

But if you're going to include Pluto, hit up the other Kuiper Belt 'planets' dammit.

[Cain]

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Mother
Very
Easily
Made a
Jam
Sandwich
Using
No
Peanuts
Mayonaise or
Glue

Thanks.  Nobody here has ever read RAW.  No, really.