Photo credit: Anthony Smedile/The Press of Atlantic City via Associated Press
Actually, if you click on the title you will know why. And if you're too lazy to do that, all you need to know is that this is the full list of approved hurricane names for this season:
• Ana
• Bill
• Claudette
• Danny
• Erika
• Fred
• Grace
• Henri
• Ida
• Joaquin
• Kate
• Larry
• Mindy
• Nicholas
• Odette
• Peter
• Rose
• Sam
• Teresa
• Victor
• Wanda
Astute readers will note the alphabetical order, the choice of one name from nearly every letter of the alphabet and the fact that these names are generally short. You may also have noticed the alternance between typically male and female names. I can't help but notice that these names are pretty - um - not fashionable. I get the distinct feeling that the organization responsible for The Names is not at all interested in recent child naming trends. Two of my favorite girl names are on the list, and they are very old-fashioned names. Rose and Grace. But they'll come back into fashion, just you wait. All it may take is a hurricane or two.
In the comments section to an article about Hurricane Bill, a poster named jiminy cricket made this comment: "Can you lengthen the name to Hurricane Bill O'Reilly? You know, lots of noise and commotion, huffing and puffing, with its greatest influence being in the South with waning impact as its influence moves north."
