Pluto's Real Victims

The demotion of Pluto to a non-planet didn't just affect the self-esteem of the 9th rock from the Sun, but is also affecting businesses right here on Earth:

Now that astronomers have booted Pluto from the ranks of official planets, what's a planetarium gift shop to do?

It's not often that the solar system loses a whole planet, but it did just that Thursday, when the International Astronomical Union meeting in Prague changed the definition of a planet to exclude Pluto, dropping the count of official planets from nine to eight.

And while it was the scientific community that had to deal with the impact of the change in their view of the cosmos, some Earth-bound businesses began toting up the dollars-and-cents implications of Pluto's expulsion.

Affected by the move are stacks of school textbooks, diner place mats, bedroom posters, computer software, glow-in-the-dark mobiles, encyclopedias and entire museum exhibits depicting the now-obsolete nine-planet solar system.

Door-to-door planetarium salesman have been devastated, and FEMA has done absolutely nothing to help. Had Pluto come from a "lighter" part of the solar system, I'm sure the Feds would have rushed aid to the victims.

I think there may be some "planetism" going on here.