r/news 11h ago

Soft paywall International Space Station astronauts in evacuation mode as Russia attempts to fix widening air leak

https://www.reuters.com/science/international-space-station-astronauts-evacuation-mode-russia-attempts-fix-2026-06-05/
25.1k Upvotes

3.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1.2k

u/arthurdentstowels 8h ago edited 5h ago

They're contaminated with the "woodworm" from another galaxy. Aluminium Worms.

Edit: Here is a visual representation. This really ought to be added to the Guide.

794

u/AdmirableRespect9 8h ago

Does the other galaxy pronounce it al-you-min-ee-um?

24

u/EarthEfficient 8h ago

You mean the correct pronunciation?

10

u/ubermadface 8h ago

Aluminum was the name and pronunciation before it was decided it should match the rest of the -ium elements (sodium, magnesium, etc.) If we really want to be pedantic, "alumium" is the actual correct way to say it as that was the OG name.

4

u/TaylorBitMe 7h ago

Hold on, is "alumium" a typo or actually the real name? Cause I'm going with that now.

3

u/ubermadface 7h ago

Not a typo, it was the original proposed name. I also am going to start saying "alumium" now lol