BS: Beautiful Names for Nasty Things

Subject: RE: BS: Beautiful Names for Nasty Things
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 06 Feb 05 - 02:15 PM

"Ebola" has a nice ring to it. And "influenza" is nice, though the abbreviated version "flu" sounds about as appealing as "grippe" or "gout".

Subject: RE: BS: Beautiful Names for Nasty Things
From: open mike
Date: 06 Feb 05 - 02:00 PM

Yersinia pestis.
Variola major
Mycobacterium leprae
Tabin
Sarin

so, Rap., what are they all?
the agent taht causes leprosy?
is sarin the gas that terrorists use in subways?

Subject: RE: BS: Beautiful Names for Nasty Things
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Feb 05 - 01:55 PM

pussy



I detest cats

Subject: RE: BS: Beautiful Names for Nasty Things
From: dianavan
Date: 06 Feb 05 - 01:52 PM

Bacteria

Subject: RE: BS: Beautiful Names for Nasty Things
From: Ebbie
Date: 06 Feb 05 - 01:21 PM

"And may I introduce my daughters, Diarrhea and Pestilence?

Subject: RE: BS: Beautiful Names for Nasty Things
From: Linda Kelly
Date: 06 Feb 05 - 01:19 PM

rubella and hemlock lovely words but....

Subject: RE: BS: Beautiful Names for Nasty Things
From: Rapparee
Date: 06 Feb 05 - 01:14 PM

Yersinia pestis. Such a lovely name, sound like a beautiful sort of tree or flowering shrub ("Yes, my yard is hedged with Yersinia Pestis -- isn't it lovely this Spring?". Variola major sounds like someone in charge of the variolas in a band, perhaps like a pipe major. Mycobacterium leprae sounds like something that changes grape juice into a truly great wine.

And Tabin and Sarin sound like artificial sweeteners.

Subject: RE: BS: Beautiful Names for Nasty Things
From: Com Seangan
Date: 06 Feb 05 - 01:11 PM

The President of America for George W. Bush.

Subject: BS: Beautiful Names for Nasty Things
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 06 Feb 05 - 12:55 PM

No, I don't have too much time on my hands. I've just been doing a lot of the type of dull, repetitive manual labor that leaves one's mind free to wonder about weird stuff. Specifically, I've been sawing up and burning trees that Hurricane Ivan knocked down back in September. So, it has occurred to me that, though hurricanes are one of my very least favorite things, the actual word "hurricane" is quite lovely. It has intrinsic beauty. If it didn't already mean what it does, it would make a very nice name for a flower. And "hurricane" isn't the only beautiful name for a natural disaster. "Tornado" and "tsunami" are beautiful words as well.   

Most nasty things seem to usually have either nasty short little clippy names or long unpronouncable things that require too much effort. "Cancer" is just an ugly word. And who could possibly ever think "infarction" is beautiful? But there are exceptions.

And, since I'm not feeling quite 100% this morning, the words "nausea" and "vertigo" have popped into mind and I've found that they resonate quite nicely if one can disassociate their sounds from their meanings.

Any other candidates? How about "fistula"?