UC San Diego Triton
This week Ferrebeekeeper has been all about Tritons: we published posts on 1) The retrograde ice moon of Neptune; 2) the giant starfish-eating gastropod; and 3) the Greek merman god. The only major definition of triton left is the nucleus of a tritium atom which has one proton and two neutrons (as opposed to a normal hydrogen atom which has one proton and NO neutrons). Tritium is very important in nuclear engineering and could be critical to the development of nuclear fusion reactors—an effort which I regard as being of paramount importance to getting humankind moving forward. Unfortunately, I am no nuclear engineer, so you will have to research tritium elsewhere.
Although the concept of deuterium-tritium fusion is succinctly explained by this necktie…
What I did discover is that, for some reason, Triton is incredibly popular as a mascot. Numerous semi-professional and school teams have a triton (a merman) as a mascot. Is it because the figure is solemn and powerful? Is this a last breath of Greek polytheism blowing through America’s high schools and colleges? Do people simply love mermen? I have no idea, but for a lighthearted Friday post, here is a gallery of Triton mascots.
Edmond Community College Tritons
A homemade Triton outfit
The Triton College Seal
“Tryton the Laker King” (it beats me)
The University of Guam Triton
The University of Missouri–Saint Louis (their “tritons” are devilish red water monsters)
Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, Florida) weird anonymous triton mascot
San Clemente High School (San Clemente, California) Tritons
And, once again, the UCSD King Triton mascot…
Enjoy the mermen, stay warm, and I’ll see you next week!
ferrebeekeeper 
3 comments
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January 11, 2014 at 3:06 PM
monarda
THE world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not.–Great God! I’d rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
Wordsworth, 1806.
January 12, 2014 at 4:12 PM
Wayne
Thanks for the wonderful poem! I need to read some more Wordsworth…
May 17, 2017 at 12:44 AM
Polar Badgerbeest
I remember in our local university where Triton was their mascot, during one of their basketball games the cheerleading team had a shirtless dude wearing a mermaid tail in the court, and since he couldn’t walk in the tail he had to hop around everywhere as if he was in a sack race or something…