Martian Hop

The Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 25, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Aliens, Fads, Music, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Science Fiction, 1960s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Miss Space

April 1959: Suzanne Adams was awarded the title of 'Miss Space' at the World Congress of Flight in Las Vegas, Nevada.

source: reddit

source: facebook

Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Apr 12, 1959

Posted By: Alex - Sat Mar 27, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, 1950s

Clair de Lune Espagno

A trip to the moon teaches a lovesick suitor a lesson.

Creator's Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Feb 16, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Aliens, Costumes and Masks, Dreams and Nightmares, Movies, Special Effects, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Foreign Customs, 1900s, Love & Romance

Space Race

This is what the passengers would see on a 1990s amusement park ride dubbed "Space Race." It's intriguing to compare state-of-the-art then to now.




Contemporary article on the ride here.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 30, 2020 - Comments (2)
Category: Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Special Effects, 1990s

I Took a Trip (On a Gemini Spaceship)

The creator's Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 02, 2020 - Comments (2)
Category: Eccentrics, Music, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Outsider Art, 1960s

Music Beamed to Astronauts

This NPR feature describes how Mission Control had a tradition of waking up orbiting astronauts with music. But as you can see in the second piece, the playlist was even more extensive at one time.









Source of text.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 16, 2020 - Comments (0)
Category: Music, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, 1960s

The Big Book of Mars

Friend of WU Marc Hartzman recently came out with The Big Book of Mars (published by Quirk Books, a division of Penguin Random House), and I was lucky enough to get a copy.



For anyone who's a Mars buff, the book is a must-have. Marc has collected together a smorgasbord of Martian-related weirdness. For instance, I was wondering if he'd cover the Martian beavers that I posted about a few weeks ago. And sure enough, the beavers are in there!

I've also been intrigued by his account of weirdo scientist Francis Galton, back in 1896, studying what he believed to be flashing light signals from Mars. Galton claimed to have decoded words such as 'brackets', 'circumference', and 'Jupiter'. Scientists now believe Galton was seeing sun flashing off the Martian polar ice.

Really, anyone who's at all curious about Mars, or just likes weird history, will enjoy the book. Plus, it's the kind of book that would look great on a coffee table as almost every page contains gorgeous, full-color illustrations.

Definitely recommended!

Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Marc's website

Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 18, 2020 - Comments (3)
Category: Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Books

Apollo 11 Cuisine

I'm formally a day late with this entry--but yet, the Apollo 11 astronauts were still on the Moon 51 years ago today! Eating their ham-salad sandwiches.

Source.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 21, 2020 - Comments (2)
Category: Anniversary, Food, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, 1960s

Lunar Striptease

Edited to stop short of bare bosoms.

Posted By: Paul - Fri May 22, 2020 - Comments (0)
Category: Aliens, Body, Entertainment, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Performance Art

Miss Sputnik

Posted By: Paul - Sat May 02, 2020 - Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, 1950s