Not so much a hoax, but a scam:

Name an asteroid

This has absolutely no official status. Official asteroid names are established by the Committee on Small Body Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union. Asteroid names are not for sale.

That any name bought through this website has no status at all, is buried deep in their website:

Is the IAD an official organization?
The global body in charge of giving asteroids their official designations is the Minor Planet Center, which is subordinate to the International Asttronomical Union. The International Asteroid Database is not affiliated with either of these organizations.

In other words: they are well aware that they are scamming people out of their money!

It’s the same routine as the International Star Registry. Yes, your name will be added to their ‘official’ registry, for all time. Never mind that nobody but them ever use it. Working in the framing shop, we used to get people who would bring in the certificates for those things. Of course, we also got Kinkade ‘originals’, too..

Incidentally, they’ve got a new product out. Little stuffed animals that have a link and code so you can register online to name a star after your stuffed animal.

Infinite product, minimal costs, add a dash of marketing.. I rather liked the take the comic strip Pearls Before Swine had, with one of the characters starting up the International Sand Registry, where you could get one of the grains of sand in the jar next to him named after yourself.

I guess this is kinda like that acre of land on the Moon my kids got me about 8 years ago.

gray - 05 June 2009 02:29 PM

I guess this is kinda like that acre of land on the Moon my kids got me about 8 years ago.

Have you tried growing crops on it yet?

gray - 05 June 2009 09:29 AM
I guess this is kinda like that acre of land on the Moon my kids got me about 8 years ago.

Have you tried growing crops on it yet?

 

I’m still working on building the outhouse.

gray - 05 June 2009 10:34 PM

gray - 05 June 2009 09:29 AM
I guess this is kinda like that acre of land on the Moon my kids got me about 8 years ago.

Have you tried growing crops on it yet?

 

I’m still working on building the outhouse.

I suppose an atmosphere would be out of the question?

ZeldaQueen - 06 June 2009 12:52 AM

I suppose an atmosphere would be out of the question?

Not if he’s building a night club.  The right atmosphere is really important for night clubs.

A very similar thing exists for “Become a Scottish laird”. Once, ownership of land allowed a person to assume the title of Laird over that piece of land. As only the gentry could actually own land, it all sort of worked out.

So these people sell a square foot of land and claim by owning it you can legitimately become a ‘Laird’. Of course, they neglect to mention that mere ownership of land didn’t entitle anyone to the title of ‘Laird’ for a loooooong time (in fact there’s a statute from the 70s that makes the title purely herediatry. There is no way to ‘become’ a Laird unless your father was one and dies).

Which really annoys me because it borders on fraudulent (saying that by buying this you’re a Laird when legally and socially that’s bullshit).

Yep. Additionally, they sell to US citizens, who aren’t able to hold foreign title or rank.

Exactly.

So it’s bullsh*t on two counts for the Yanks. Plus Scots Law doesn’t allow anyone to inherit if they hold US citizenship, out of principle.

Nah, kidding. But it’d be fun.