Go Ahead, Fry it up in the Pan

I have said it before: Juliet was wrong. Names are important.

Case in point: our current influenza outbreak. Call it "swine flu," and hog futures tumble. Unfairly, I might add. The virus has nothing to do with eating pork.

In fact, you could say that "swine flu" is to pork as "9/11 terrorists' entrance to the U.S." is to Canada. Which is to say, unrelated.

I'm not being flip about the seriousness of the flu--or terrorism. But I do believe that in crisis, it's important to keep track of the facts.

So eat pork or don't eat it for whatever religious or ethical or personal reasons you want. Just don't let fear of "swine flu" be one of them.

Meanwhile, I wonder whether "H1N1 flu" has enough catchiness to take over as the new name, President Obama's use last night notwithstanding. While it has the advantage of accuracy, it lacks something--such as meaning to us non-virologists.

So stay tuned. I have heard musicians say that deciding on the name of their band was more difficult than they imagined. It will be interesting to see if naming the flu is equally difficult.