@ Danny Day: Since WASP-17 is in another solar system, it's over 4.5 light-years away from us and has absolutely no effect on Earth.
If you're wondering what would happen to Earth if we started orbiting in reverse... Look at the first paragraph of my very long response to ETA's questions for my answer. In addition, since it would take something very cataclysmic to change our orbit, we wouldn't be around to enjoy our backward ride. The stronger tidal forces would probably slow Earth's rotation, making the days longer. WASP-17's orbit is also much more elliptical than Earth's; if our orbit became that elliptical, we'd probably be subjected to lethal temperature extremes. On the other hand, as long as Earth's rotation continued as it is, anyone who managed to survive would notice that the sun still rose in the east & set in the west, but the constellations would appear in reverse order. The apparent movement of planets in our solar system would change, too, as their positions in our sky partly depend on our position around the sun.
@ ETA: Orbiting backwards might subject it to very high tidal forces, but I must confess that I don't know enough about the mechanics of these things to do more than speculate on that point. Its orbit is highly elliptical, too, which I'm sure would cause temperature extremes and would stretch it out of shape.
Of course it would have a gravitational field - all objects do. In the case of WASP-17, it would probably be twice as powerful as Jupiter's, which is many times stronger than Earth's. Assuming it had a surface you could land on, you'd not be able to stand up, or even breathe. And we don't have any rockets powerful enough to get you off the planet. So if you're planning to visit it, stay a safe distance!
As for life-forms, it's anyone's guess. For a very long time I believed that the "water is a requirement for life" statement was rather short-sighted and based on the fact that this is true for organisms on Earth (That is, if Jupiter had life, it would breathe gaseous ammonia, etc.) However, a few years ago a chemist explained hydrocarbons to me. I don't remember the details, but the upshot of it was that hydrogen is the only element that bonds readily with almost anything, is the most abundant element in the universe, and when it bonds with carbon it forms a solid "platform" for more complex chemical combinations, such as proteins, etc. An ammonia atmosphere would not yield enough chemical variety to result in something as complex as organic life. Therefore, while I'm not saying that WASP-17 has no life, I think the odds against it are pretty steep.
WASP-17 appears to be a gas giant --- a very thick envelope of gases surrounding a hot core that might be liquid or solid. This core might be twice the size of Earth --- very tiny in relation to the gas envelope. It may also, like Jupiter and Saturn, generate powerful radiation belts that would be quite lethal to any human visitors who came near it. I'm not sure we have adequate protection to make a "2001: A Space Odyssey" trip to Jupiter or Saturn feasible yet.
Is there a discount because of the visible battle damage? I see some carbon scoring on the starboard hull and engine tube. Looks like the guy's seen a lot of action.
As Willo the Wisp pointed out, due to the long & tangled histories of folk tales, "original" is a rather meaningless term here. Earliest dates of publication are usually quite recent; by then, many stories had gotten around and branched off into different variants. But I do agree that the darker versions of stories are often more substantial & satisfying! I never liked the Disneyfied versions. (Well, "Aladdin" works well - but that's really "The Thief of Baghdad," a modern tribute to Arabian Nights tales.)
Someone on the listverse.com site wondered WHY these stories would be considered suitable for children. There are several things to keep in mind here: 1. They were usually meant to be cautionary tales; 2. Adults enjoyed them, too; and 3. People were generally much more closely acquainted with death & disease, and often as a matter of routine. They didn't go to the store and buy a frozen tray of stuff called "chicken"; they grabbed the bird, chopped its head off with an axe --- basically supervised the entire transformation from living thing to pile of greasy bones on the kitchen floor.
I don't think anyone was traumatized by these stories at all. For a great collection of Grimm tales with surprisingly spooky illustrations by Maurice Sendak, check out a book called "The Juniper Tree" in the Folklore section. The title story contains the delightfully morbid line (during a scene in which a mother opens a wooden chest full of apples so her son can select one) "But then the Evil One whispered in her ear, and she dropped the lid. The boy's head flew off and rolled among the apples."
Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini was shot & killed in front of his home, possibly by someone upset about his film "Salo," about the Marquis de Sade.
Re: Kalel - I haven't yet read "Teacher Man," but I imagine we're only getting the beginning of the story. Having piqued his students' interest, the next logical step after they complete this assignment would be something more ambitious.
Re: Bonnie & Clyde - A number of years ago, when the movie (starring Warren Beatty & Faye Dunaway) was going to be shown on TV, the schedule ran the best wire synopsis ever: "1930s bank robbers Bonnie & Clyde live fast, die in slow-motion."
Horrible, horrible idea. I thought "Moonvertising" was going to consist of ads projected by laser onto the lunar surface (The phase of the Moon would be somewhat irrelevant) --- and, although this would do no permanent damage, even that seemed like a pretty stoopit idea.
Sigh... I remember a time when it was considered un-gentlemanly to strike a naked man. Of course, such situations usually centered around infidelity or other affronts to one's honor, rather than some random stranger hopped-up on psychotropic substances.
Another lame & stupid law, which places more importance on cultural constructs with little or no basis in reality (religion, "race") than those constructs warrant. If the Israeli government wants to drag Judaism through the mud, permit me to cite the Book of Proverbs as I challenge the law: "Criticize a fool, and he will hate you; criticize a wise man, and he will thank you." Here's hoping that the law will be discarded, rather than defended by idiots.
Love is regarded as supreme. Legend has it that a rabbinical council met to decide which books belonged in the Torah and which should be removed. The Song of Solomon was the subject of much debate. Its dubious pedigree and "racy" subject matter (It's a love poem) nearly doomed it, until a rabbi whose opinion the others all respected finally spoke up. "The whole of Creation," he said, "is not worth the day the Song of Solomon was given to us." The book stayed in, and it is a delightful hymn to love.
I love the Engrish in the manufacturer's write-up that Kev shared with us (2nd from the top)!
And who could mock such a cute kid in such a sporty outfit? (Besides jealous kids who lack similarly sporty outfits, of course)
If you're wondering what would happen to Earth if we started orbiting in reverse... Look at the first paragraph of my very long response to ETA's questions for my answer. In addition, since it would take something very cataclysmic to change our orbit, we wouldn't be around to enjoy our backward ride. The stronger tidal forces would probably slow Earth's rotation, making the days longer. WASP-17's orbit is also much more elliptical than Earth's; if our orbit became that elliptical, we'd probably be subjected to lethal temperature extremes. On the other hand, as long as Earth's rotation continued as it is, anyone who managed to survive would notice that the sun still rose in the east & set in the west, but the constellations would appear in reverse order. The apparent movement of planets in our solar system would change, too, as their positions in our sky partly depend on our position around the sun.
Of course it would have a gravitational field - all objects do. In the case of WASP-17, it would probably be twice as powerful as Jupiter's, which is many times stronger than Earth's. Assuming it had a surface you could land on, you'd not be able to stand up, or even breathe. And we don't have any rockets powerful enough to get you off the planet. So if you're planning to visit it, stay a safe distance!
As for life-forms, it's anyone's guess. For a very long time I believed that the "water is a requirement for life" statement was rather short-sighted and based on the fact that this is true for organisms on Earth (That is, if Jupiter had life, it would breathe gaseous ammonia, etc.) However, a few years ago a chemist explained hydrocarbons to me. I don't remember the details, but the upshot of it was that hydrogen is the only element that bonds readily with almost anything, is the most abundant element in the universe, and when it bonds with carbon it forms a solid "platform" for more complex chemical combinations, such as proteins, etc. An ammonia atmosphere would not yield enough chemical variety to result in something as complex as organic life. Therefore, while I'm not saying that WASP-17 has no life, I think the odds against it are pretty steep.
WASP-17 appears to be a gas giant --- a very thick envelope of gases surrounding a hot core that might be liquid or solid. This core might be twice the size of Earth --- very tiny in relation to the gas envelope. It may also, like Jupiter and Saturn, generate powerful radiation belts that would be quite lethal to any human visitors who came near it. I'm not sure we have adequate protection to make a "2001: A Space Odyssey" trip to Jupiter or Saturn feasible yet.
Someone on the listverse.com site wondered WHY these stories would be considered suitable for children. There are several things to keep in mind here: 1. They were usually meant to be cautionary tales; 2. Adults enjoyed them, too; and 3. People were generally much more closely acquainted with death & disease, and often as a matter of routine. They didn't go to the store and buy a frozen tray of stuff called "chicken"; they grabbed the bird, chopped its head off with an axe --- basically supervised the entire transformation from living thing to pile of greasy bones on the kitchen floor.
I don't think anyone was traumatized by these stories at all. For a great collection of Grimm tales with surprisingly spooky illustrations by Maurice Sendak, check out a book called "The Juniper Tree" in the Folklore section. The title story contains the delightfully morbid line (during a scene in which a mother opens a wooden chest full of apples so her son can select one) "But then the Evil One whispered in her ear, and she dropped the lid. The boy's head flew off and rolled among the apples."
Pleasant dreams!
Ow! I'm getting pelted by tiny clear bricks! And I'm not getting any cleaner!
Another lame & stupid law, which places more importance on cultural constructs with little or no basis in reality (religion, "race") than those constructs warrant. If the Israeli government wants to drag Judaism through the mud, permit me to cite the Book of Proverbs as I challenge the law: "Criticize a fool, and he will hate you; criticize a wise man, and he will thank you." Here's hoping that the law will be discarded, rather than defended by idiots.
Love is regarded as supreme. Legend has it that a rabbinical council met to decide which books belonged in the Torah and which should be removed. The Song of Solomon was the subject of much debate. Its dubious pedigree and "racy" subject matter (It's a love poem) nearly doomed it, until a rabbi whose opinion the others all respected finally spoke up. "The whole of Creation," he said, "is not worth the day the Song of Solomon was given to us." The book stayed in, and it is a delightful hymn to love.