Word: pluto
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Astronomers are cosily familiar with stars quadrillions of miles from the earth, and with galaxies much more distant. But Pluto, a member of the sun's own planetary family, and only 3½ billion miles away, has little personality for them. The outermost member of the solar system, it shines only feebly by reflected sunlight. Even in the biggest telescopes it looks like a faint star; only its motion among the real stars and a slight fuzziness prove it to be a planet. Astronomers are not sure how big it is (probably midway between Mercury and Mars), but recently...
French Lick, Ind. (pop. 2,000), a quiet spa, has a special place in the nostalgia of the Democratic Party. There the pre-F.D.R. generation of Democratic leaders were wont to gather before and after election-time, consuming mint juleps, Pluto water ("If nature won't, Pluto will") and the salty wisdom of Indiana's late boss, Tom Taggart. Last week the Democrats, their blood up, went back to French Lick to consider how their party might be reinvigorated for 1956. "There is no question but what we will focus our guns on the President himself...
...editions (from 25? to $2.95) have been bought since 1935. Songs from Disney pictures sell $250,000 worth of records and sheet music annually. Since 1933 more than $750 million worth of merchandise featuring the Disney characters-740 companies currently make 2,928 items, from Mickey Mouse weathervanes to Pluto paper slotties to Donald Duck toidy seats-has crossed the counters of the world...
...grow they did. Hands grew more skillful and inventions multiplied.* So Pluto fell off a cliff-what next? His ears whirled around like propellers, his front legs spread like wings, and back he roared to safety. In Disney's hands the laws of physics turned to taffy. Shadows walked away from bodies. Men got so angry they split in two. Trains ate cookies. Autos flirted. People stretched like rubber bands. But it became harder and harder to outwit the public. Disney gags got downright erudite. In one cartoon Donald Duck might walk over the edge of a cliff...
Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, who spotted the planet Pluto (1930), is looking for a nearer and even more elusive object: a second satellite of the earth. Since he refuses to give details and refers questioners to Army Ordnance-in Washington, it is fair to assume that the famous rocket-men who work for Army Ordnance are interested in the project. They may want merely to know what opposition from nature their rockets are apt to encounter when they climb deep into space. Or they may have a more ambitious interest: a nearby, natural satellite might be a more convenient base...