by Bill McLain
The first woman to become a shuttle commander is Eileen Collins, who commanded Space Shuttle Columbia (flight STS-93) in 1995. She was also the first woman pilot on a space shuttle mission.
The first black American astronaut was Guion S. Bluford, who flew on Space Shuttle Challenger (flight STS-8) as a mission specialist in 1983.
The first woman in space was the Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova, who piloted the spaceship Vostok 6 in 1963 (vostok means “east” in Russian). The first woman to perform a space walk was also a Russian, Svetlana Savitskaya, who performed the maneuver in 1984 while on Soyuz T12 (soyuz means “union” in Russian).
One of NASA’s goals is to help industry create new rocket systems that would eventually make space flight so simple and routine that many ordinary citizens could go into orbit in the future.
FACTOIDS
To remain in orbit, a space shuttle must maintain a speed of approximately 17,500 miles an hour.
Twenty-seven humans have flown to the moon and twelve have actually walked on its surface.
Rockets were used as long as 1,000 years ago by the Chinese as military weapons. In the fourteenth century, rockets were used as fireworks in Italy. In fact the word “rocket” comes from the Italian word rocchetta.
The first man-made object to leave our solar system was Pioneer 10, launched in 1972. Pioneer 10 has passed the orbits of all nine known planets and left our solar system with all of its systems still functioning properly. No one knows where it is today.
A centrifuge is used to help astronauts become accustomed to the G-forces they will encounter during liftoff of a space vehicle. Russian astronauts refer to their centrifuge as “the devil’s merry-go-round.”
Although it cannot be seen by the naked eye, the American flag is still on the moon. In fact it’s the only official American flag that is not taken down at night.
Each space shuttle mission costs around $450 million.
DID YOU KNOW?
While watching space shuttle flights on television, many viewers have seen astronauts work, eat, and exercise. But there is one aspect of space living that few people know about but often wonder about. How do astronauts keep clean and how do they go to the bathroom?
Astronauts brush their teeth in the same way they do on earth. Because there are no showers on a space shuttle, they must get by with sponge baths until they return home.
There is a toilet on the space shuttle. It’s designed to look as much as possible as those on earth. However, it uses flowing air instead of flowing water to move waste. Once through the system, solid waste is compressed and stored for disposal after landing. Waste water is vented into space. The space station Mir (mir means “peace” in Russian) recycles waste water.
All of the air is filtered to remove bacteria and odors and is then recycled into the space shuttle cabin.
If you truly want to be an astronaut, you may have to forget many of the comforts you now routinely enjoy at home.
What is the book that the Statue of Liberty is holding? (A symbol of two countries that each shed blood for freedom.)
The Statue of Liberty holds a torch in her right hand and in her left hand she carries a tablet with JULY 4, 1776 inscribed on it in Roman numerals. The statue is a symbol of American freedom and a beacon lighting the way for immigrants.
The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to commemorate the U.S. centennial. The torch represents “Liberty Enlightening the World,” which was the original name of the statue. The crown of 7 spokes represents the 7 seas and the 7 continents. The 25 windows in the crown represent the 25 gemstones found on earth. Broken chains symbolizing the overthrow of tyranny lie at the statue’s feet.
The statue consists of an iron framework covered with thin sheets of hammered copper. It is 151 feet high and weighs 225 tons. After it was completed, it was dismantled and sent to the United States in 214 packing cases.
When the sculptor, Frederick Auguste Bartholdi, came to this country to find a suitable site for the statue, he spotted Bedloe’s Island as he sailed into New York harbor and knew that was the spot for his statue. The 12-acre island was renamed Liberty Island and the statue replaced Fort Wood, an old fortification.
The cornerstone was laid on August 4, 1884. Two years later the Statue of Liberty was unveiled by President Grover Cleveland, who said, “We will not forget that liberty here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected.”
Nearby Ellis Island was an immigration station through which passed more than 12 million immigrants from 1892 to 1954. In 1903, the now famous words from a poem by Emma Lazarus were inscribed on the base of the statue:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
FACTOIDS
The statue’s metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel, who later built the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The statue was formally presented to the United States by Ferdinand de Lesseps, who built the Suez Canal.
All of the statue’s features are large: each fingernail is the size of a sheet of typing paper, the nose is 4½ feet long, index fingers are 2 feet taller than a man, and each arm is 42 feet long.
The sculptor’s mother was the model for Liberty’s face.
Eighty metric tons of copper cover the statue, an amount exceeded by only a few projects before or after. No historical records exist to indicate where the copper was mined but Bell Laboratories finally solved the mystery. The copper came from Norway.
Oxidation of the copper sheeting has turned the copper green. When first erected, the Statue of Liberty showed a rich copper color. It has never been painted green.
Although scheduled to be dedicated at the U.S. centennial in 1876, the dedication did not take place until 10 years later because it took longer to erect the statue than planned.
DID YOU KNOW?
Between 1892 and 1954, immigrants to the United States were usually fleeing religious persecution, political oppression, or economic hardship. The first symbol they saw upon entering the United States through the New York harbor was the Statue of Liberty. But the first place they landed was Ellis Island, the site of an immigration station. There were other immigration ports in the United States but Ellis Island is the most famous.
Native Americans called it Kioshk, or Gull Island. Dutch settlers later named it Little Oyster Island because of the oysters found in its sand. Eventually it was owned by Samuel Ellis and has been called Ellis Island ever since.
During the peak immigration years, Ellis Island became a small city with an average staff of 500 to 850 people, including immigration officers, engineers, doctors, nurses, cooks, and guards. It had dormitories, kitchens, a bathhouse, and even a small hospital.
Although many immigrants were allowed to stay in the United States, many others failed some of the numerous medical, legal, and mental tests. They were rejected and sent home in tears. For them, the dream of freedom was shattered.
Today Ellis Island is a museum. Its two theaters often show a documentary film about the immigrants. The film’s simple title sums up both the hopes and broken dreams of the immigrants: Island of Hope, Island of Tears.
What caused the fire that destroyed San Francisco? (It wasn’t Mrs. O’Leary’s cow from Chicago.)
A major earthquake was the direct cause of the 1906 San Francisco fire. The magnitude is estimated to have been 7.7 to 7.9 on the Richter scale. During and after the earthquake many fires started all over the city, ignited by flames and pilot lights in furnaces and stoves, broken gas lines, shorting electrical lines, and ruptured storage tanks holding flammable materials.
Many buildings collapsed because of the earthquake and became much more vulnerable to fire. They were nothing more than a pile of kindling, the gaps in the roofs and walls acting as chimneys to
help fuel the fire.
Although the San Francisco firemen were thought to be the best in the nation, they were virtually helpless because the earthquake had also broken most of the water mains. Leaking gas lines ignited fires all over the city until the gas works blew up, finally stopping the flow of gas.
The fire destroyed almost 500 city blocks over 5 square miles. Over 28,000 buildings were destroyed or damaged so badly that they had to be demolished.
The fire burned for four days and nights. When it was over, 250,000 people were homeless, 500 were dead (some authorities claim the death toll was in the thousands), and hundreds were injured.
FACTOIDS
The San Francisco earthquake broke more than 270 miles of ground, with up to 21 feet of displacement in some areas.
The shaking lasted only 45 to 60 seconds but was enough to do catastrophic damage. To those in the earthquake, it seemed to last for an eternity.
Residents as far north as southern Oregon, as far south as Los Angeles, and as far inland as central Nevada felt the earthquake.
When the ground was displaced, it moved at a speed of about 3 mph, but the rupture itself propagated at a speed of 5,800 mph.
A telegraph station in San Diego, California, sent newspaper reports of the disaster to the U.S.S. Chicago anchored in San Diego harbor. The ship steamed at full speed to San Francisco to aid the stricken city. This was the first time that telegraphy was used in a major natural disaster.
One fire chief was killed when a chimney from a hotel crashed through the fire station where he was living.
The earthquake shock covered an area of about 375,000 square miles. About half of this area was in the Pacific Ocean. Damage occurred along a 400-mile north/south corridor, out to 30 miles on either side of the fault zone.
There were 135 aftershocks on the same day as the great quake. Many damaged buildings that had survived the main earthquake collapsed when hit by an aftershock.
DID YOU KNOW?
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, cities were overpopulated and buildings were constructed quickly and cheaply out of wood, which was a definite fire hazard. As a result, city after city had its downtown area destroyed by fire.
The three major cities destroyed by fire were Chicago in 1871, San Francisco in 1906, and more recently, Texas City, Texas, in 1947.
A fable states that Mrs. O’Leary’s cow knocked over a lantern in a barn and started the Chicago fire. However, it was neither a cow nor an earthquake that caused the destruction of Texas City, a busy port on the Gulf of Mexico. On April 15 a fire broke out in the hold of a French freighter loaded with over 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate (the same explosive used in the recent bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building). At 9:15 in the morning the ship exploded without warning.
The blast triggered other explosions at Texas City chemical plants near the docks and a surge of water added to the damage. Fires burned out of control for days until the last was extinguished a week later. When it was over, 600 people were known dead and many others were missing. Every person in the town of 16,000 people was affected in some way by the explosion and fires. The city was almost completely destroyed.
One Texas paper summed it up very well: “Texas City just blew up.”
Which place in the United States has the longest name? (Don’t get hooked on this one.)
The longest place name in the United States is that of a lake near Webster, Massachusetts. The 2-square-mile lake is called Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, which is a Nipmuck Indian word freely translated as “You fish on your side, I fish on my side, nobody fishes in the middle.” The name has 49 letters, of which 17 are the letter g.
The lake is sometimes spelled as Chargoggugoggmonchauggagoggchaubunagungamaug. However, to make it easier for everyone, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names has shortened it to Lake Chaubunagungamaug.
The U.S. Board on Geographic Names also lists the longest place name in the world in its annals which is a hill in New Zealand. It might be difficult to say the 83-letter name in a single breath. The hill is simply called Taumatawhakatangihangakoauotamateaturipu-kakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanataha. It is a Maori word meaning “The brow of the hill where Tamatea who sailed all round the land played his nose flute to his lady love.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a nickname.
FACTOIDS
The Nipmuc Indians seem to be associated with water. Their name comes from the Algonquin word nipnet, which means “a small pond place” or “freshwater people.” The name for the tribe of peoples is also spelled as Nipnet, Neepmuck, Neepnet, Neetmock, Neipnett, and Nipmug.
No Nipmuc tribe ever existed. The name simply classifies a geographical region where small bands and villages were located. These groups of peoples lived along rivers or lakes, and their ancestors occupied the area for at least 12,000 years.
The Nipmuc bands are not recognized as a tribe by the federal government although they are seeking recognition. One criterion they must follow is that of a political organization. Because the Nipmuc were a peaceful people, they never had problems that needed to be solved by a complex political body.
The Nipmuc occupied a territory of 2,500 square miles which is now part of the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
Before the arrival of the Europeans in the 1600s there were 3,000 Nipmuc Indians. Following King Philip’s War in 1680, less than 1,000 survived and were confined to villages along with remnants of other tribes. Today there are about 1,400 descendants.
Of the estimated 100,000 Native Americans living in New England in 1614, by 1680 only 4,000 were left. Because of contact with Europeans, 96 percent of the New England Native Americans had died within the span of a normal lifetime.
DID YOU KNOW?
The term “powwow” is often associated with Native Americans. It brings to mind feasting, socializing, and trading. However, that is not how it began.
In the northeastern part of the United States, a powwow was a shaman who could cure the ill or seek advice from the spirit world. The Natick word pauwau is often translated as “wizard” or “magician” but that is not a good translation. A better translation is “wise speaker,” such as the Narragansett word taupowaw.
The powwow was held in high regard by the tribe. He would cure the sick, promote success in battle, interpret dreams and visions, and give advice to the tribe and to individuals. During ceremonies, the powwows would pray, sing, dance, and beat drums. They sang to give praise to the creator and drummed to represent the heartbeat of the people.
Because tribal members participated in the powwow’s ceremonies, over time the ceremony was followed by social events. Eventually powwow became the name for social celebrations.
Today all over the United States various Native American tribes hold powwows and the public is usually invited. If you should attend one, look beyond the social aspects and see if you can discover the deep spiritual meaning behind the ceremonies. It is well worth the effort.
How many political parties can be represented in a presidential election? (You could join the party of the Kingdom of Talossa.)
There is no limit to the number of political parties that can have a nominee in a presidential election. Usually, however, there are only three or four parties with nominees on ballots in all 50 states because each state has certain ballot access rules and deadlines. Therefore, some of the smaller parties are often on only one or two state ballots because they lack organization, money, or both.
The two major parties, Democratic and Republican, as well as the Libertarian Party, are always on the presidential ballot in all 50 states. Sometimes a new party, such as the Reform Party formed by Ross Perot in 1992, will also appear on all state ballots.
Here are just some of the many political parties in the United States: Democratic Party, Republican Party, American Party, American Independent Party, American Reform Party, Conservative Party, Communist Party USA, Creator’s Rights Party, Democratic Socialists of America,
Grassroots Party, The Greens/Green Party USA, Labor Party, Libertarian Party, National Patriot Party, Natural Law Party, New Party, Peace and Freedom Party, Prohibition Party, Reform Party, Socialist Party USA, Socialist Equality Party, Socialist Labor Party, Socialist Worker’s Party, U.S. Pacifist Party, U.S. Taxpayer’s Party, Worker’s World Party.
Some of these parties were founded for a specific reason that may not be relevant today. For example, the Prohibition Party was founded in 1869 to stop the sale of liquor, and the Peace and Freedom Party was founded in the 1960s to oppose the Vietnam War.
With over 30 recognized political parties in the United States, it’s obvious that our country still believes very strongly in the democratic process.
FACTOIDS
In 1828 Andrew Jackson was running for president when an opponent called him a “jackass.” Jackson turned the insult around by using a donkey on a campaign poster to stress his stubborn refusal to bow to big business interests. In 1840, New York cartoonist Thomas Nast began using the donkey in political cartoons and the donkey has been the symbol of the Democratic Party ever since.
The Democratic Party became the “party of the common man” in 1798. At that time it was called the Democratic Republicans.
In 1912 the Democrats feared that Republican president Theodore Roosevelt might win a third term and become a dictator like Caesar. Thomas Nast (who had created the donkey symbol for the Democratic Party) drew a cartoon showing a donkey scaring away all the other animals. One of them was an elephant, which Nast labeled “the Republican Vote.” After Roosevelt lost the election, Nast drew a cartoon showing an elephant walking into a Democratic trap. Other cartoonists started using an elephant as a symbol for the Republican Party and it has been the symbol of that party ever since.
