Mars
From RationalWiki
Mars is the name we have given to the fourth planet in our solar system. It is named after the Roman god of war, due to its reddish hue.
Mars has a diameter of 6790 kilometers which is roughly half the size of Earth. The atmosphere on Mars consists mostly of carbon dioxide with only one percent of the gas pressure of Earth's atmosphere. Dust in the Martian atmosphere gives it a light pink color during the day, and at sunset it turns a very lovely teal. It's cold as hell.[1] The average temperature on Mars is -46° C.
As a rocky planet similar to Earth, and massive enough to retain a thin atmosphere if gases were present, Mars has been a historical favorite of science fiction writers and others who speculate about extraterrestrial life. The great canyons on Mars were once thought to be canals that an intelligent race had dug in order to channel water from the poles. Serious scientists think life is more likely on the Jovian satellite Europa or Saturn's moon, Enceladus.
Mars was most recently examined "up close" by two tremendously successful robotic dune buggy landings called "Mars Rovers". These rovers phoned home a vast quantity of data and photographs from the surface of Mars. In a remarkable technological feat, they greatly exceeded their design lives and are still operational.
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[edit] Mars in Silly Love Songs
Venus, similarly, was named for the goddess of love, and has a yellowish cast. When the two planets are visible from the Earth in the same area of the sky, it is said that "Venus and Mars are alright tonight". In this case they can be reasonably represented by the 1 and 3 billiards balls, respectively.
[edit] Men
Apparently, it has been discovered by scientists, Creation Scientists, some loony nut jobs, that men do not actually come from Earth, but are in fact from Mars. Women, the smarter, wiser, and apparently less inclined to do anything but bake brownies, are themselves from Venus.
