Would you like to own a piece of the moon? The New Scientist is sponsoring a competition for “lunatics,” with a piece of lunar meteorite as the prize. The competition celebrates the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing, and the competition is simple to enter: “You will doubtless know the words spoken by Neil Armstrong when he stepped off Apollo 11’s lunar module and onto the moon itself: ‘One small step for [a] man – one giant leap for mankind.’ Can you think of something else he might have said instead – something equally memorable, or perhaps something funny? Your entry should be no more than 75 characters long (including spaces).”
The competition closes on 29 June, and the results will be published in the 18 July issue of New Scientist, in anticipation of the anniversary of the landing. Entry terms and conditions, as well as the provenance and specifications of the meteorite, can be found at www.newscientist.com/article/dn17213. Thanks to Mark Probert for bringing this opportunity to our attention!
Editor’s note: According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the adjective “lunatic” dates back to c.1290 (“affected with periodic insanity, dependent on the changes of the moon,” from O.Fr. lunatique “insane,” from L. lunaticus “moon-struck,” from luna “moon.” Cf. O.E. monseoc “lunatic,” lit. “moon-sick;” M.H.G. lune “humor, temper, mood, whim, fancy” (Ger. Laune), from L. luna. Cf. also N.T. Gk. seleniazomai “be epileptic,” from selene “moon”). The noun meaning “lunatic person” is first recorded 1377. Lunatic fringe (1913) was apparently coined by U.S. politician Theodore Roosevelt. Lunatic soup (1933) was Australian slang for “alcoholic drink.”
moonrock.jpg<|>300<|>The moon rock weighs almost 1.4 grams; specimens are worth around $1000 per gram.{|}moonrock_site.jpg<|>300<|>The piece of moon rock is part of a lunar meteorite found by French collector Luc Labenne, in the Dhofar region of Southern Oman, on the eastern border of Yemen.{|}moon.jpg<|>1734<|>
