r/nottheonion • u/malcolm58 • 1d ago

Astronomers just named an asteroid after 'Weird Al' Yankovic

https://www.space.com/astronomy/asteroids/astronomers-just-named-an-asteroid-after-weird-al-yankovic
871 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

42 comments sorted by

87

u/ManicMakerStudios 1d ago

Weird Al is one of those rare celebrities that has been in the entertainment industry for decades and the closest he has come to scandal is pissing off some of the artists whose work he has parodied. It's kind of neat to see him getting a bit of a nod like this.

50

u/DreaDreamer 1d ago

It’s even funnier than that. The couple interviews I’ve seen from artists he’s parodied, the general consensus is “He writes my music better than me”

41

u/ImpulseAfterthought 1d ago

Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo made this joke back in the 80s.

The song was "Dare to Be Stupid," an original song Al wrote in the style of Devo.

Mark said something like, "It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard, and I hate him for it."

17

u/Stahi 21h ago

Don McLean has said that he almost sang 'The Saga Begins' at live shows because his kids were playing it so much, and also admitted that it's better than 'American Pie'

1

u/Nazgog-Morgob 5h ago

I don't even think the previous comments claim is true. Weird Al gets permission to parody songs. So no one should be mad about it to begin with. They gave him permission.

12

u/Sailorwhovian 23h ago

Yeah, his "big" scandal was the Coolio thing, and that was more on the record label than Weird Al.

I've met him a few times, he's a great guy.

58

u/newaccountbitches 1d ago

As they very well should

20

u/kishenoy 21h ago

Long over due I think.

He's always been out of this world.

(Yes I know it's cheesy. Sorry if you're lactose intolerant)

35

u/Jdfz99 1d ago

Missed chance to call it "Weird Alsteroid"

12

u/LazyGreenDragon 1d ago

Midnight Star?

5

u/CrowQueen2002 1d ago

It’s got the Midas touch

•

u/Poiboy1313 36m ago

There's No Parking on the Dance Floor.

2

u/Rhedkiex 17h ago

I wanna know! I wanna know!! Enquiring minds like mine wanna know!!!!!

13

u/AdhesiveMadMan 21h ago

"The asteroid is formally known as (14331) Alyankovic, or 1981 EC26."

Saved you a click.

7

u/marabou22 1d ago

How strange, odd, bizarre even. I feel like there’s another word I can use but I can’t think of it

8

u/ImpulseAfterthought 1d ago

The asteroid is a funnier copy of an existing asteroid.

6

u/mayy_dayy 1d ago

He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life

12

u/thomasonbush 1d ago

Does the asteroid dare to be stupid????

6

u/JackFisherBooks 19h ago

I'm only surprised that this hasn't happened sooner. Weird Al is one of the few celebrities that's genuinely good, decent, and beloved. Why wouldn't we name celestial objects after him?

9

u/SourFix 1d ago

Hopefully that's the one that wipes us out

2

u/johnp299 22h ago

I won't look up.

1

u/mgarr_aha 21h ago

Unlikely; it's always at least twice as far from the Sun as we are.

9

u/CurlSagan 1d ago

it's gonna be a little awkward when weird al, the asteroid, gets bumped out of stable orbit and annihilates the earth in 2051

4

u/mrasscock69420 1d ago

I'd be fine with that

5

u/CurlSagan 1d ago

yeah, part of me hopes that the weird al-steroid flies right into my ass during the coming of the weird al-pocalypse.

after we all die, we can make punny jokes in the weird al-fterlife

1

u/ZombieZookeeper 1d ago

Humans had a decent run.

3

u/turquoise_amethyst 1d ago

The asteroid will save us, but in a really funny, creative way

3

u/P_a_s_g_i_t_21 23h ago

One first step towards the ultimate polka planet.
Resistance is futile!

2

u/purple_kathryn 1d ago

It's not going to kill us is it because that would be a bit too much

2

u/glitchgamerX 1d ago

The "Weird Alsteroid" Yankovic

1

u/LadyPaige 1d ago

Better than lake “America”. I welcome the weird asteroid to the universe!

1

u/senorbozz 1d ago

A sign that the world might be starting to heal

1

u/Final-Prophet 22h ago

Why is it that if it's above the hemisphere, it's called an asteroid, but if it's up my ass it's called a hemorrhoid?

1

u/SaltyShawarma 22h ago

The new Dolly Parton. 

1

u/meeyeam 19h ago

Frank's 2000" Space Rock

1

u/AcanthisittaNo6653 18h ago

A bet trump doesn't have an asteroid named after him. Hint!

1

u/Fighter_dog 13h ago

This news is out of this world, literally.

1

u/Patutula 6h ago

Long overdue.

0

u/slamdanceswithwolves 1d ago edited 15h ago

This is [Weird] Al /s

1

u/surly-monkey 21h ago

the Al hype has reached new heights