F-LIST, I NEED YOUR HELP

[esmenet]

What sort of things would a bunch of geeky scientists (and possibly sociologists, surveyors, politicians, etc) name towns, prefectures, and that -- basically place names -- on the moon and Mars? I know the US had some pretty awesome and hilarious place names, although some of those are gone now (you would not believe the amount of hills once called 'Two Tits'), so I'm looking for what you would get if you asked a bunch of geeky awesome people to name something anything they liked, be it after their favourite author, period in history, or bad joke. I am, for instance, dead set on having both a Watanabe-ville and a Byzantium.


I'M BASICALLY ASKING YOU TO GIVE ME YOUR FAVOURITE HISTORY/SCIENCE AND SCI-FI IN-JOKES (THAT COULD PLAUSIBLY BE PLACE NAMES ON MARS. AND THE MOON.) THIS CANNOT GO WRONG.

Comments

[halomaschine.livejournal.com]

u_u a smart people post, how can I possibly contribute to this??? I cannot :( /fail

I have a vague memory of astronomy class (a few days ago...) where the professor mentioned stupid constellation names but it was too early in the morning and I can't even remember what they were ;-; cry moar

[agent-tomato.livejournal.com]

Something named after John Carter (from Edgar Rice Burroughs's "John Carter of Mars" series) would be appropriate. Maybe a few things named after Bradbury, who wrote the Martian Chronicles. Asimov, Clarke, Wells, and the other sci-fi greats would be viable choices as well.

If I were naming things on the moon and Mars, I would name something after Leonard Nimoy. Possibly also after the other original Star Trek cast members. And I envision a series of places named after Doctor Who actors--the town of Hartnell, in the county of Pertwee, under the shadow of Mount McCoy and on the edge of the Baker Desert...that would be cool.

For more historical references, something named after Telemachus (the son of Odysseus). If there are any grammar ninjas among your namers, Aldus Manutius is the inventor of the semi-colon and has been unfairly ignored by history. A girl geek with a penchant for sarcasm might like the chance to name something for Dorothy Parker.

[ojuzu.livejournal.com]

Oooh, thank you! Hadn't thought of Bradbury. And I'm not terribly familiar with either Star Trek or Doctor Who, so although I knew there would have to be something named after them I wasn't sure what to use without sounding silly. :D

I always forget Manutius' name. *sadface* But it sounds like a good name for a Martian town.

(Oh, I just remembered -- I have to shove Vesto Slipher in somewhere. He had the most space-faring name ever.)

[japanesebread.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry T.T