Photo by Luis Felipe Alburquerque Briganti on Pexels.com
A young lad dreams of space travel as he enters grade school in the early 1960s. Images of astronauts and space capsules begin an adventure. Building models of the Apollo spacecraft tags along with “Star Trek” and more. As a mature adult, the journey continues.
This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing. You are invited to participate with the opening question.
Brain Teaser Question
Rearranging the letters MEANYRG would give you the name of:
(A) an animal
(B) a state
(C) a city
(D) an ocean
(E) a country
(answer found at the end of this post)
Featured Facts
On April 9, 1959, Americans met NASA’s original seven astronauts. Selected from a group of 32, all seven had served as military test pilots. They would take America’s fortunes forward with Project Mercury, the nation’s first attempts at manned space flight.
Here is a brief biographical sketch of each astronaut:
Alan Shepherd (1923-1998), native of New Hampshire. On May 5, 1961, he became the first American astronaut to complete a sub-orbital flight.
Virgil (Gus) Grissom (1926-1967), native of Indiana. On July 21, 1961, he completed another sub-orbital flight.
John Glenn (1921-2016), native of Ohio. On February 20, 1962, he successfully orbited three times around Earth.
Scott Carpenter (1925-2013), native of Colorado. On February 24, 1962, he successfully orbited Earth for five hours.
Walter (Wally) Schirra (1923-2007), native of New Jersey. On October 3, 1962, he completed six orbits in nine hours of flight along with completing a scientific mission.
Gordon Cooper (1927-2004), native of Oklahoma. On May 15, 1963, he completed the final and longest Project Mercury mission with a duration of 34 hours spent in space.
Donald (Deke) Slayton (1924-1993), native of Wisconsin. He was grounded due to a medical condition, but he would be cleared to complete a mission in the 1970s.
Of the seven original astronauts, only Shepherd, Schirra, Grissom, and Cooper would carry out missions in the two-man Gemini flights or three-man Apollo flights.
Grissom would lose his life aboard Apollo 1 in 1967 during a training exercise accident in Florida. Glenn would later be tapped to fly on the Space Shuttle in 1998 aboard Discovery.
This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing. You are invited to participate with the opening question.
Brain Teaser Question
What’s the answer when you divide 40 by 1/2 and add 20? Try it without a calculator if you dare!
(answer found at the end of this post)
Featured Facts
The American bison once roamed the Great Plains and prairies of North America in unbelievable numbers. Estimates run between 40 and 60 million bison. Today, approximately 350,000 bison inhabit the region.
Bison are frequently called buffaloes, but this term is meant for bovines inhabiting Africa and Asia. With a height of 5-6 feet, length of 7-11 feet, and weight up 2,000 pounds for bulls, they are the largest land mammal in North America.
Here are a few more interesting details about bison:
Sheds its thick, shaggy mantle in the spring.
Due to nearsightedness, vision is poor, but retains keen senses of smell and hearing.
Average life span runs between 12 and 20 years.
Today, nearly 30,000 wild bison are located on national parks and wildlife reserves. Yellowstone National Park is home to nearly 5,500 in two large, migrating herds. Ranches contain over 300,000 animals, who are treated more like livestock.
Both photographs were taken in Yellowstone National Park (courtesy of Pinterest).
Answer to Brain Teaser Question
100
Watch what you are dividing. You’re not dividing by 2, you are dividing by 1/2. Remember your basic skills. Dividing by 1/2 is like multiplying by 2.
This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing. You are invited to participate with the opening question.
Brain Teaser Question
Complete the analogy: HELMET is to HEAD as . . .
a) SWORD is to WARRIOR
b) UMBRELLA is to CLOTHING
c) SHOE is to SOCK
d) WATCH is to WRIST
e) THIMBLE is to FINGER
(answer found at the end of this post)
Featured Facts
Astronauts have been called the sailors of the stars. For as long as people have gazed up into the heavens, they have dreamed of traveling in space.
In 1961, the first people journeyed from Earth’s atmosphere into outer space. The space race between the United States and the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) was on.
The following list offers “firsts” in terms of space travel:
First man in space: Yuri Gagarin (USSR), 1961.
First American in space: Alan Shepard, 1961.
First to orbit Earth: John Glenn (USA), 1962.
First woman in space: Valentina Tereshkova (USSR), 1963.
First walk in space: Alexei Leonov (USSR), 1965.
First to orbit the Moon: Frank Borman, James Lovell, William Anders (USA), 1968.
First walk on the Moon: Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin (USA), 1969.
First American woman in space: Sally Ride, 1983.
Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and astronaut Alan Shephard. (Courtesy of Pinterest)
Answer to Brain Teaser Question
E
A helmet is worn on the head to protect the head, just as a thimble is worn on a finger to protect the finger.
This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing. You are invited to participate with the opening question.
Brain Teaser Question
There are four people in a line. Sarah is between Barry and Mary. Mary is in front of two other people, and John is directly in front of Mary. Who is first in line, second, third, and fourth?
(answer found at the end of this post)
Featured Facts
The American space program is looking toward future manned flights to the moon after nearly 50 years since the last NASA mission.
Many people can recall when the first time human steps touched the lunar surface. On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 was launched with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins aboard.
Days later, Armstrong and Aldrin landed the lunar module, named “Eagle,” on the moon’s surface. The landing did not go quite according to plan, but the two astronauts made manual adjustments as they descended.
Both of the moon walkers left footprints on the lunar surface. These will remain visible indefinitely because of the moon’s lack of wind.
Astronauts Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin prepare to board Apollo 11 and make history. (courtesy of Pinterest)
Answer to Brain Teaser Question
From first to last: John, Mary, Sarah, Barry, Hint: Look at the statement that gives the most direct information. It is the last statement: “John is directly in front of Mary.”
Big Sky Buckeye 