By Katelyn Needham/ managing editor
“Hey, baby, what’s your sign?”
One of the most iconic cheesy pickup lines has just gotten a little bit more confusing, seeing as everyone’s sign has been a lie.
NASA announced in a January blog post a 13th zodiac sign, Ophiuchus, that the Babylonians kicked out long before horoscope apps and pickup lines were common.
When the Babylonians first assigned the zodiac, they already had a 12-month calendar. It made sense for them to divvy it up evenly and get rid of Ophiuchus, which fell between Nov. 29 and Dec. 17.
With the discovery of this long lost “extra” sign, everyone’s zodiac has been bumped to the one before it. For instance, an emotional Cancer would now be considered the split personality that is Gemini.
For die-hard horoscope fanatics, this news has turned their world off its axis. NASA, however, points out that the sun is in a different alignment than it was 3,000 years ago, so the signs would be different anyway.
Other cultures even recognize as many as 24 zodiac signs, so this revelation isn’t even that earth-shattering.
Not many astrologists have recognized the change thus far, and maybe it should stay that way. The world of astrology has been the way it is since the Babylonian people created it 3,000 years ago.
Why go shaking things up now?
Let the Libras stay social diplomats. Let the Tauruses stay reliable and stubborn, and let the Capricorns stay know-it-alls. This other zodiac has existed this whole time, and everyone has gotten along just fine without it.
To be scientifically correct, it would be wrong to continue to leave Ophiuchus out even after we have rediscovered it.
But as NASA points out in its blog post, astrology is separate from astronomy and not a science in and of itself.
So leave the signs as they are, so cheesy bar pickup lines and phone apps don’t get more complicated than they need to be.
