Words for snow on Mars?

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NASA is reporting that the Mars lander has observed snow falling, though it vaporizes before it reaches the ground. NASA is silent about how many words the Martians have for snow.



9 Comments

  1. kellen said,

    September 30, 2008 @ 3:09 am

    they actually only have one word, but they forget it before they have a chance to actually say it.

  2. MattF said,

    September 30, 2008 @ 8:05 am

    One word for snow, 378 words for sand.

  3. Lazar said,

    September 30, 2008 @ 12:06 pm

    I've heard from authoritative sources that the Martians have 86 words for various shades of red.

  4. AndyDan said,

    September 30, 2008 @ 12:57 pm

    And I think they're up to 17 words for extra-planetary rover vehicles.

  5. Paul Wilkins said,

    September 30, 2008 @ 3:15 pm

    I grok there's no need.

  6. Sili said,

    September 30, 2008 @ 4:06 pm

    Well, at least two, since they have both water and carbondioxide condensing out of the atmosphere.

    I guess we could ask his planetary Marsjesty, Arthur J.P. Krone, Graf von Hubris.

    I've heard from authoritative sources that the Martians have 86 words for various shades of red.
    Lazar ,September 30, 2008 @ 12:06 pm

    We have a winner!

  7. Brandon said,

    September 30, 2008 @ 7:36 pm

    The real question is, are they able to observe more natural shades of red in their environment based on this lexical diversity?

  8. Rubrick said,

    October 1, 2008 @ 2:35 am

    Wasn't that very question addressed in H.G. Wells's classic, Whorf of the Worlds?

  9. Ray Girvan said,

    October 2, 2008 @ 6:04 pm

    "We [Martian colonists] have as many words for sand and dust as the Inuit have for snow," Charles said.

    Moving Mars: A Novel, Greg Bear, 1995.

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