May 9, 2012
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Bill Nye Boo’d In Texas For Saying The Moon Reflects The Sun
Bill Nye, the harmless children’s edu-tainer known as “The Science Guy,” managed to offend a select group of adults in Waco, Texas at a presentation, when he suggested that the moon does not emit light, but instead reflects the light of the sun.
As even most elementary-school graduates know, the moon reflects the light of the sun but produces no light of its own.
But don’t tell that to the good people of Waco, who were “visibly angered by what some perceived as irreverence,” according to the Waco Tribune.
Nye was in town to participate in McLennan Community College’s Distinguished Lecture Series. He gave two lectures on such unfunny and adult topics as global warming, Mars exploration, and energy consumption.
But nothing got people as riled as when he brought up Genesis 1:16, which reads: “God made two great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.”
The lesser light, he pointed out, is not a light at all, but only a reflector.
At this point, several people in the audience stormed out in fury. One woman yelled “We believe in God!” and left with three children, thus ensuring that people across America would read about the incident and conclude that Waco is as nutty as they’d always suspected.
This story originally appeared in the Waco Tribune, but the newspaper has mysteriously pulled its story from the online version, presumably to avoid further embarrassment.
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/04/06/04062006wacbillnye.html
Comments (46)
@Unstoppable_Inner_Strength - Just ask any British person here on Xanga. They’ll assure you of that fact. We are excellent at exporting entertainment and horrible at importing knowledge.
Oh, ‘merica! North Carolina just voted to ban gay marriage, and now this? *sigh* We must be the laughingstock of most other civilized nations.
P.S. Your link doesn’t seem to be working. But, a google search for “Bill Nye Texas” turns up several other links that recount this same event.
P.P.S. I see you’re putting it up to confirm it’s broken. But why not add a working one also?
Sometimes, I wish Texas does secede, but only after my sane friends move out of it.
@Unstoppable_Inner_Strength - Voting to deprive fellow Americans of rights at the ballot box is (as the North Carolinans had) so much worse than being retardedly sensitive in private (as the Texans are here).
What the fuck is wrong with people in Texas?
WTF? I’m a Christian and I think these people are nuts.
Wait, he’s still alive?
Wow.
Dear NASA Space Center, Please advise your fellow Texans about the moon.
also, BILL NYE IS AWESOME!
@Celestial_Teapot - Well, yes, and no. I agree with you in that the gay marriage ban is definitely worse. It means that people went out in droves and made an effort to deprive many thousands of their fellow citizens of equal rights. A few people walking away offended at a scientific fact, pales miserably in comparison. So, in a way, you’re right.
My point was that what happened to Nye is another thing that signals that the US is WAY behind the times. In the case of the banning of gay marriage, we’re behind the times in terms of equality and civil rights. In the case of believing in myths instead of demonstrable scientific truths, it’s a sign that we’re way behind on education, and that religion plays a big part in holding us back from understanding the universe.
So, when you look at what happened to Nye in the broader context of education, and how the steadfast adherence to myths in the face of contrary evidence keeps us in a loop of ignorance, the ramifications become much more alarming. Add on top of that the fact that many people don’t really realize these implications, and hence dismiss the whole thing as “it’s their preference as to what to believe.” No, it’s not! Facts are facts. The stubborn refusal to accept anything that contradicts what’s in a book written by goat herders is merely a sympton of a much broader problem, with horrible implications for our present and future.
My two cents.
It looks like the anencephaly outbreak is moving northward.
@Unstoppable_Inner_Strength - I don’t believe that the Texan audience actually believed that the moon emits light. To me, their protest and walk-out was in direct response to Nye’s irrevent tone and percieved attack on the legitimacy of the Bible. They could believe in the reflective nature of the moon and still be offended by Nye.
what the fuck?
is this…a joke? was it staged? please tell me it was…
That aint right.
@Celestial_Teapot - I don’t know much about the guy, so I can’t speak about his “tone.” I guess I’ll watch some of his videos. But, check this out:
http://jonathanturley.org/2009/04/23/report-bill-nye-the-science-guy-revealed-as-godless-soulless-blasphemer-in-texas/
^ Ok, the guy is poking fun at the fundies.
They’re TEXANS, man. Nothing is ever too ridiculous that no one will believe it to be literally true. Isn’t that what fundies are? You know: “The bible says it. I believe it. End of story.” They do exist, and Texas is not known for its forward-thinking population.
[I don't believe that the Texan audience actually believed that the moon emits light.]
I think you’re being WAY too kind, and giving them way too much credit. Come on.
@Unstoppable_Inner_Strength - Man, I don’t know. Following the past year’s political news, I might put Arizonians a few notches below Texans on the reasonability chart. =P
@Saridactyl - That’s a pretty generalized statement, don’t you think? There are a handful of crazies in every state, not just TX.
/facepalm
@SimpleCrazyLove - Did I say otherwise? I live in Florida, and a lot of people here are insane, too. This post deals specifically with a group of people in Texas. I mean, really, we’re talking about a state that tried to remove evolution from textbooks because most of them are manufactured there. You really should not read so far into comments that are obviously meant to be taken with a grain of salt.
@SimpleCrazyLove - [That's a pretty generalized statement, don't you think? There are a handful of crazies in every state, not just TX. ]
True, but Texans tend to be louder about it. And those crazies tend to get elected to office in Texas.
@GodlessLiberal - @Saridactyl - Sorry but there’s no way for me to know not to take that comment seriously, seeing as there’s no special font to make that obvious (and I can’t ignore a jab aimed at people of the state I live in). There’s no denying that TX has it’s fair share of crazies. I just find it a little bit funny that this story warrants the harsh question of, “What the fuck is wrong with people in TX?” when in other states people are opening fire in front of supermarkets and court houses. I’m not saying those things don’t get their own “WTF?” questioning, it’s just funny that people who took offense (likely) for religious reasons get looked down upon so harshly.
@Saridactyl - Okay, for one, I never asked how I was taking it too seriously, so please stop telling me that I’m taking something too seriously when you really have no idea how I’m taking it. That’s your opinion. And just because they stormed out does NOT mean they are rejecting the fact. Sure they may reject it, but you don’t know whether they do. It could be that they just felt insulted by the way Bill Nye stated the fact.
@SimpleCrazyLove - It’s a comment from someone you don’t know on the internet and you’re reading too much into it. That’s how you know not to take it seriously. Also, rejecting something that is a proven fact, to me, cannot be excused by religious objections and deserves to be picked apart and pointed out. If it’s any consolation, I’m pretty sure people in Florida are just as crazy as people in Texas, if not more. I really did not mean any offense by that.
@SimpleCrazyLove - - “- Sorry but there’s no way for me to know not to take that comment seriously,”
My comment was supposed to say why you shouldn’t take it seriously. Not how you took it seriously. i.e. You should take something someone you don’t know on the internet randomly says with a grain of salt. I’ve since fixed it.
How can someone feel insulted by a fact, a fact that most people learn in the 3rd grade?
You know what, never mind, I’m tired of talking about something that happened 6 years ago.
@Saridactyl - I don’t even know if this is how the people felt, but if it is it’s likely not the fact that they are insulted by. It’s the way the topic was approached, or the tone taken by the person talking about the fact. Anyway, I’m done because I don’t know that you can ever understand that.
Go science!
Bill Nye must’ve questioned his own sanity after having people walk out on him for stating a well known, well documented, and widely accepted fact.
I worry for humanity.
woah O.o.
I wonder if they would have stormed out ig he hand’t put it in that bible context though. Still, it’s sort of crazy that people start getting into “fights” ove things like that.
[America would read about the incident and conclude that Waco is as nutty as they'd always suspected.]
Oh Krisko, when will you ever learn that its not the people of Waco who are crazy. They’re just Americans using their God-given common sense! No. It’s the SCIENTISTS who are crazy. Them and their notions of finding answers independant of God, disproving his existance and telling us the moon aint’t light when the Bible clearly says so.
Fuck them, I believe in NYE!
This is as sad as the news about North Carolina. is there a way to force states out of the Union?
It turns out that this is a sensationalized version of the event.
Interview with the story’s reporter
lol. Bill Nye apparently likes to make jabs at religious views in his talks. When he came to my college campus he pointed out something similar. However, the difference was that people sat quietly in their seats and enjoyed the fact that BILL NYE was at our school instead of becoming all defensive. *facepalm*
@McScarry - Your comment initially made me go, “another nutty fundie.” But, after glancing at your page, I breathed a sigh of relief.
@In_Reason_I_Trust - Nah, I’ve met him in real life, he’s a good guy (if a bit of a drunk and a poon hound… although we’ve only met at parties…)
So now we’re back to wanting to burn Galileo?
Clue one…he’s dead.
Clue two…he was RIGHT.
SHEESH people…get over yourselves.
The bible had it WRONG…and your “righteous beliefs” do not change gravity, or science.
Look, I know Texas is crazy. I know Waco is crazy. But this article is from 2006 and he wasn’t even booed. More here: http://www.examiner.com/article/reporter-of-bill-nye-moonbat-story-speaks
@GodlessLiberal - ”Poon hound?” Wow. Never heard that one before.
Yeah, like I said, once I looked at his site, it seemed kinda obvious he was being sarcastic.
religion vs. science. they NEVER been good friends.
@GodlessLiberal - I am a British person here on xanga. I assure you of this fact.
And I’m sorry you are so often branded guilty by association.
@In_Reason_I_Trust - Good. That means I blend in with them. A wolf amongst the sheep, shall we say?
@rosethorn6 - OOO!! A fact checker. Nice!
@McScarry - Hah, thanks. Habit from grad school. Plus, if I’m going to get upset about something, I want it to be legitimate. Otherwise I’d look super foolish.
I… wow. Those southern states are really doing the U.S. proud these days.