Earth and Mars
There are two meanings of the word ‘earth’. First, ‘Earth’ is the proper name of our planet. Second, ‘earth’ is a word we use to describe soil or dirt. Farmers say they “work the earth”. They might pick up handfuls of soil, rub it in their hands to determine its quality and say, “The earth is rich in minerals here.”
Assume we eventually colonize Mars. Would we adopt a lowercase usage of ‘mars’ in the same way we do for ‘earth’? Would farmers on Mars say they “work the mars”. Would they say to one another, “Feel this mars. It’s very dry.”?
We also tend to put “this” before Earth too in some contexts. If there’s a territorial or political dispute on Mars would peace-minded colonists say, “We all have share this Mars.”
Just thinking out loud here. Maybe not such a great idea.
