As an amateur astronomer, I eventually ran into the name Betelgeuse. Only about 50 stars have proper names (rather than unique tags) and this was one of them. I tripped over this name when I first encountered it. Was it Bettell – geese? Bettell goose? I gave up and moved on.
When the movie Beetle Juice first came out, I actually made the connection. But I wasn’t sure so I also asked a professional astronomer how to pronounce it. They proved my guess was right when they said it’s Beetle Juice. Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse!
Well I was just wondering how on earth astronomers managed to stay out of Beetle Juice’s clutches, when they said Betelgeuse like it was no big thing. Sometimes three times. Is there a way that Beetle Juice can somehow sense the spelling of the name, too, although they are speaking and there is no phonetic difference?
Then I looked up this site and found that Beetle Juice can be banished if you say his name 3 times after he has shown up. So all those astronomers willy nilly saying Betelgeuse 3 times just have to say it three more times.
Since they’re wrapped up in their work, they might not even notice him when Beetle Juice first shows up. And in the meantime they’ve likely said Betelgeuse three more times.
But I’m a tad more paranoid than your average professional astronomer. As such I counted how many times I wrote Beetle Juice or Betelgeuse. Since for generally being free of mayhem, it must be in multiples of six. I write Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, to leave on a good footing.
