With more than a week left until what many North Americans consider as official start of winter, a nasty winter blast moved through the Midwest yesterday. Thanks to this weather emergency, our office closed, and most employees spent the day shoveling snow.
Snowed in, I caught up on web browsing. My search began at Yahoo, where I noticed a prominent listing for the Geminids. How great is that? One of the world’s top search engines devotes a prime spot for an astronomical event. Although avid skywatchers are aware of the meteor shower, the general public probably has no idea. Thanks to Yahoo’s high-visibility listing, more folks are likely to see this great display, even if some have to sit in below freezing temperatures to do so.
Unfortunately, Yahoo did commit a mortal sin: When mentioning something astronomical, they tied it to “astrology.” Whether you’re a professional astronomer or backyard observer, you’ve probably encountered this. When discussing your passion for the sky, some dolt labels your topic astrology. You’ve probably politely corrected them, “Um no, that’s astro-NO-MY, not astro-LO-GY.” This is especially frustrating because most of the people who interchange astronomy and astrology can somehow memorize idiotic items, like the contestants’ names on I Love New York.
Maybe Yahoo’s editors didn’t make a mistake. Perhaps they realized that many people mistake astronomy with astrology. Successful marketing means you never have to say you’re sorry.
How often do you run into this? Have you experienced this at a recent holiday party? How do you respond?