No, not those kinds of Beatles!
We’re talking about insects and, according to the BBC, this is a huge honor:
Two US scientists have paid tribute to their favourite politicians by naming three species of beetles after them.President George Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld were all honoured.
One of the entomologists said he admired all three men for “having the courage of their convictions” and standing up for freedom and democracy.
The three beetles who now bear their names are among 65 newly discovered species which feed on mould.
The scientists, Quentin Wheeler and Kelly Miller, discovered the insects after collecting thousands of specimens for study and classification, according to a press release from Cornell University where Mr Wheeler used to work.
They also used really scientific names for the beetles while working in the names of the two-legged humans:
They named them Agathidium bushi, Agathidium cheneyi and Agathidium rumsfeldi.Others were named after the scientists’ wives, the Star Wars villain Darth Vader and the Greek words for “ugly” and “having prominent teeth”.
But Mr Wheeler, who is now head of entomology at London’s Natural History Museum, said the decision to name three beetles after politicians had nothing to do with physical features.
“One has to be creative with names,” he told the BBC news website.
“We are two of the only politically conservative scientists around, and we decided to stick our necks out.”
This is a GOOD IDEA — but we have two complaints about it:
- They used names that were too jargonish. They should have used everyday language in naming the beetles after the three leaders.
- Why stop THERE? Why not honor OTHERS? And why not be PC and go for an inclusive cross-section of people?
Here’s TMV’s list of insects, plants and animals that could be named after people we all know and love.
Tom DeLay Weasel
Hillary Clinton Shrew
Howard Dean Hyena
Bill Bennett Skunk
Michael Moore Dodo
Joe Lieberman Wandering Jew
Rush Limbaugh Parrot
Ted Kennedy Teddy Beer
Bill Clinton Flytrap
George W. Bush Man Of War
Arlen Specter Rhino
Rosie O’Donnell Elephant
Moderate Voice Jackass
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.