Tim Evans (Letters, 22 July) is bothered by the way some astronomers pronounce Charon, one of Pluto’s moons. The Wikipedia page for Charon explains that its discoverer, James Christy, initially named it after his wife Charlotte, nicknamed Char and pronounced Shar. So Sharon is a bit of an in-joke among English speakers, a knowing reference to the source. Most planets have been named after Roman gods, though not Earth and Uranus; the latter is Greek and has moons named after characters in Shakespeare and Pope, so there is some flexibility which will probably increase as the Kuiper belt yields more dwarf planets and moons.
Tim Searle
Dronfield, Derbyshire
• While we’re about it, Philae is not pronounced “fee-lay” but “file-ee”.
Sam Adams
Newport, Gwent
• The UK may be experimenting with chatty road safety signs (Someone loves you, drive carefully, 22 July), but India is streets ahead. Drive through the Indian Himalayas and you’ll see, “Driving is risky after whisky”, “Be gentle on my curves” and “Stop gossiping, let him drive”.
Craig Jeffrey
Oxford
• My new Ben Sherman shirt (Letters, 23 July), imported from India by way of Indonesia, and indeed made of a flimsy cloth, does not even have the benefit of a top pocket, a sorry omission.
David Bird
Luton
• My parents (who were anti-religious) used to give me breakfast in bed every Saturday (Letters, 23 July). Just to make sure presumably, they also delayed giving me my copy of the Eagle comic, which arrived during the week, and served it up on the tray. They didn’t produce me any siblings, though.
Jeremy Cushing
Exeter
• A former colleague of mine and her husband would bar their young children from the parental bedroom on Sunday mornings at 10.15 so they could enjoy an everyday story of country folk. Or, as she explained in song to a familiar tune, “Rumpy pumpy once a week, but only to the Archers”.
Nickie Witham
Manchester
