Stephen Colbert leaves his name in science after all
Published 07 May, 2009, 11:53
Popular US comedian Stephen Colbert gets to see his name acknowledged by the scientific community after all. Entomologists named a new species of bugs after the honor-hungry anchor.
The diving beetle from Venezuela was named Agaporomorphus colberti by entomologists Quentin Wheeler of Arizona State University, and Kelly Miller of the University of New Mexico, as their press-release reports. They say it’s a birthday gift, which “has six legs, and is way cooler than a spider,” for the host of Comedy Central’s show, who will turn 45 on May 13.
Wheeler and Miller’s stunt puts Colbert in the good company of rock ‘n' roll legend Roy Orbison, fictional villain from the “Star Wars” universe Darth Vader, former US president George W. Bush, and his cabinet colleagues Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. All of them have beetles named after them.
Stephen Colbert made headlines worldwide when he asked his fans to help put his name in first place at a poll on NASA’s website. The space agency was choosing a name for the new module of the International Space Station, and “Colbert” easily beat other variants.
The module however was named “Tranquillity” after the Sea of Tranquillity on the Moon, where the Apollo 11 mission landed 40 years ago. C.O.L.B.E.R.T. – meaning “Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill” – was chosen as the name of a gym machine, which will be delivered into orbit along with the Tranquillity.
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