Humor and Astronomy: A Resource Guide
Humor and Astronomy: A Resource Guide
by Andrew Fraknoi (Fromm Institute, U of San Francisco)
Version 3.0; Apr. 2019
© copyright 2019 Andrew Fraknoi. The right to distribute for any non-profit educational purpose, such as a class, is hereby granted. For any other use, or to suggest additions,
contact the author at: fraknoi {at} fhda {dot} edu
1. Articles and Books___________________________________________________________
Chaple, Glenn “LOL Astronomy” in Astronomy, Apr. 2010, p. 56. Has a nice list of web sites for astronomical jokes and humor
Fraknoi, Andrew “A Short List of Astronomical Daffy-nitions” in Mercury (the magazine of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific), Nov/Dec. 2005, p. 47. Humorous redefinitions of astronomical terms. A slightly updated version reprinted in The Planetarian. See: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320099739_Andrew_Fraknoi's_Decidedly_Demented_Definitions
Fraknoi, Andrew “Stellar Types Mnemonic Competition Results” in Mercury, Jul/Aug. 1977, p. 21. (See also “OBAFGKM” in Mercury, Mar/Apr. 1995, p. 38.) Fred Walter’s class competition is described here: http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/fwalter/AST101/mnemonic.html
Goldman, Stuart “Some Funny Stuff” in Sky & Telescope, July 2001, p. 70. Suggestions for astronomical humor on the web.
Goran, Morris A Treasury of Science Jokes. 1986, Lincoln-Herndon Press.
Grice, Noreen “A Shopper’s Guide to Astronomy” in The Griffith Observer, March 1998, p.2. Common products with astronomical names.
Mendillo, Michael & Hart, Richard “Total Solar Eclipses, Extraterrestrial Life, and the Existence of God” in Physics Today, Feb. 1974, p. 73. A tongue in cheek proof from the fact that total eclipses are visible only from Earth. (The Aug. 1974 issue had humorous letters in response.)
Munves, James “Black Holes” in The New Yorker, Apr. 11, 1977. A two-page humor piece.
Pasachoff, Jay & Weart, Spencer “A Modest Proposal: A Supplemental Grant for the Creation of the Universe” in Mercury, Jul/Aug. 1977, p. 22.
2. Web Sites and Articles________________________________________________________
“A Call for More Scientific Truth in Product Labels” (a funny article by Susan Hewitt and Edward Subitzky from the Journal of Irreproducible Results, the science humor magazine, calling for warning labels with real physics on them): http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/91q1/prodwarn.html
Amateur Astronomy Humor (long single page with dozens of examples, some esoteric, some clear to students): http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Jokes.html
AstroBob (Bob King) has a collection of astronomical jokes here: https://astrobob.areavoices.com/2014/01/14/hey-whats-so-funny-31-dubious-astronomy-jokes/
William Keel’s site: “Astronomy Students Say the Strangest Things” (with an appendix “And So Do Professionals”): http://www.astr.ua.edu/keel/sayings.html
John Scalzi “Pluto Tells All” (a humorous piece by a popular science fiction writer, after Pluto was “demoted” to dwarf planet): https://subterraneanpress.com/magazine/spring_2007/fiction_pluto_tells_all_by_john_scalzi/
Some astronomical bumper stickers, formerly available from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific: http://www.fraknoi.com/galleries/bumper-stickers-for-astronomy/
Each April 1, the Astronomy Picture of the Day web site has a joke image; see their calendar at: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
Understanding Research Papers (what common phrases really mean): http://www.oeffner.net/researchpapers.htm
Palen, Melanie: Compilation of Physics Jokes: https://letterpile.com/humor/Physics-Jokes
3. Astronomical Cartoons________________________________________________________
There is now a Facebook group devoted to this subject: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1116922998321463/
Sidney Harris is arguably the best science cartoonist in the world. His cartoons are organized by subject at: http://www.sciencecartoonsplus.com/index.php
Astronomy cartoons on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/starlogborg/astronomy-cartoons/
Astronomy cartoons for sale at CartoonStock or The Cartoonists Group: https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/a/astronomy.asp or https://www.cartoonistgroup.com/subject/The-Astronomy-Comics-and-Cartoons.php
Astronomy and astronaut humor and souvenirs (by an amateur astronomer): https://www.astronomyastronauthumor.com/
NASA Cartoon: Dark Matter Cereal