Chinese on the hunt for new nickname for Beijing's gross smog

PM 2.5 is a measure of air pollution, indicating particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers (about 0.0001 inches) in diameter — considered the most hazardous because they are small enough to enter the bloodstream and damage your lungs. Unfortunately, it's the term used to describe the heavy, gross smog that hangs over Beijing. This week, China's National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technology met to determine a Chinese term for PM 2.5 to replace the English one. Local netizens came up with some brilliant possibilites (among them "Breathing Pain," "Toxic Dust" and the ironic "Harmony Particle"), along with suggesting that the government might want to quit focusing on what to call the smog and start getting rid of it instead. [Source]

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