“I loved Spock.” With those three words, President Obama reflected the feelings of millions who just found out that Leonard Nimoy had died. But who decides when a death is worth presidential notice?

+ WaPo: The politics of releasing a White House statement when influential people die, explained in charts.

+ While you might aspire to be a person who’s mentioned by the president when you die, the truth is, you probably have a better chance of getting the president to read your mean tweet about him on Jimmy Kimmel’s show.