... what you call a planet that is no longer a planet?

I know that this happened a little while ago. But you have to hate being a planet on the scale of other planets (even though your orbit was wacky), and then getting everything pulled out from underneath you! Now, just now, demoted planet Pluto is finally getting some respect.

According to a Jan. 7 Associated Press story, it may be off the official list of planets in our solar system, but "plutoed" has been named the 2006 Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society.

The story continues: "To 'pluto' is 'to demote or devalue someone or something,' which is exactly what happened to the former planet last year when the IAU (the International Astronomical Union) decided Pluto didn't meet the proper definition of a planet."

"Plutoed" won in a runoff against:

- "climate canary," defined as "an organism or species whose poor health or declining numbers hint at a larger environmental catastrophe on the horizon."
- "murse" (man's purse)
- "flog" (a fake blog that promotes products).

Oh well, I guess there's some redemption in that. Recognized for something that happened TO you as opposed to WHO YOU ARE. But somehow it falls short. It's like complementing someone after you just made a crack about how they look.

I just received my National Geographic and the map inside (I always look at that map first) is one of our galaxy. Pluto is not found in the place it occupied when I built the solar system thingy in third grade. You know, I think I want Pluto back as a planet!

Besides, this means teachers have to come up with a new jingle in order for their students to learn our Solar System!