"I know there IS a new planet. I know it because I don't perturbate for nothing" -- Mark Twain, 1909 1905 Lowell starts looking for another planet, generically named "Planet X." 1909 Twain publishes a new planet definitely exists, he feeling actual perturbations to this effect. 1916 Lowell dies, the search for the new planet stops, Planet X not found (yet). 1929, after a 13 year legal battle with Lowell's wife (who wanted all of the money from the estate for herself rather than adhere to the will --which stated some money was to be used to keep searching for "Planet X"), Lowell's family hires Tombaugh to continue Lowell's work (searching for "Planet X"). 1930 Using Lowell's postulation as well as his money, Tombaugh gets extraordinarily lucky and observes the new planet at the LOWELL Observatory. I checked with an expert at NASA, and indeed the alleged perturbations DID end up leading to the "discovery" of Pluto, it just took some time. If this weren't enough, Pluto ("Mark Twain's Planet") is the most scientifically mysterious of all the planets. As per usual, Twain was ahead of his time (21 years in this case), and in more ways than one. It seems likely he was also the first person to use the word "perturbate" in print. Perhaps someone with access to an up to date Oxford dictionary could check this out? Bob