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40 Far-Out Bits of Trivia About Outer Space

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40 Far-Out Bits of Trivia About Outer Space

October 05, 2024

Someone's space lunch ended up in a museum.

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40

CRACKED.COM NASA astronaut Frank Culbertson was the only American not on Earth during 9/11 Не watched the Twin Towers collapse from space. — Source

39

Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke left a family photo behind on the moon. CRACKED.COM The back of the photo says: This is the fami- ly of Astronaut Duke from Planet Earth, who landed on the Moon on the twentieth of April 1972. — Source

38

Japanese woman pays for "Russian astronaut" to return to Earth in alleged scam.

A Japanese woman fell victim to a scam asking for money to return an astronaut to Earth. CRACKED.COM She sent $30,000 to a person who claimed to be a Russian astronaut work- ing at the International Space Station in need of money to return to Earth to marry her. — Kyodo News / Wikipedia

37

Isn't it graceful how everyone moves so slowly, in space? It's actually nothing at all like waltz music. Objects in zero gravity move faster than normal, if anything, because they don't have atmosphere and gravity slowing them down. If you see an actual astronaut moving slowly, it means he's being careful. If you see a sci-fi astronaut moving slowly, it means he's got space confused with the ocean. CRACKED.COM http://www.space.com/23406-enders-game-film-astronaut-greg-chamitoff.html — Source: 23 Facts That Challenge Accepted Beliefs About Outer Space

36

There was a female astronaut training program in the '60s. The Mercury 13 program was run by William Randolph Lovelace I, the doctor who also ran the — Source: Cnet

35

Someone smuggled a corned beef sandwich into space. The astronaut got in trouble, but the sandwich is now in a museum. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED COM — Source: Smithsonian Mag

34

Buzz Aldrin

COMEDY NERD At one point, they got an astronaut to cameo on The Big Bang Theory. It was Buzz Aldrin himself-he was in The Holographic Excitation, and he was actually the second ever astronaut to appear on the show (the first was, of course, Mike Massimino). CRACKED.COM — Source

33

CRACKED COM THEODORE C FREEMAN When he learned that astronaut Ted Freeman had been killed in a plane crash, Houston Chronicle reporter James Schefter

32

ASTRONAUT CHRIS HADFIELD IS SHARING TIPS FOR HOW TO THRIVE IN SELF-ISOLATION. u nlan It boils to down, he says, to this. You need to identify the actu — Source: YouTube

31

Astronaut ice cream is a lie

CRACKED.COM Astronaut ice cream has never been to space Although created with NASA funding, the freeze-dried ice cream has never made it on a spaceship ... it's too crumbly to be practical. — Source: 12 Out-Of-This-World NASA Facts

30

Lightning can actually be much hotter than the surface of the sun, somehow. A bolt of lightning coming up from the ground (a return stroke) can get as hot as 50,000 degrees F, and the surface of the sun is about 11,000 degrees F. CRACKED.COM — Source

29

The South Pole

At the South Pole, you can see a dramatic green rim on the sun during sunset. The sun sets once every six months, and for about 5 hours during that sunset, you can see a unique fringe of green around the sun itself. CRACKED.COM — Source: Antarctic Logistics

28

NASA: "Trust us." Paul Cox: "No."

CRACKED THERE'S A SECOND SUN IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM PAUL COX Paul Cox, an astronomer, believes that NASA is not telling us the whole story, and there's a second sun in our solar system. Sure, man. — HuffPo / Republic World

27

CRACKED CO THE SUN IS ABOUT 20 YEARS OLD. 20 galactic years, that is. In 4.6 billion years, the Sun Sun has only gone 20 times around 20 years the Mil

26

CRACKED.COM Mercury has a fickle sun Because of Mercury's eccentric orbit and slow rotation, sometimes the sun reverses direction in the sky. If you were standing on the planet's surface, you could see the sun rise, then set on the same spot, then rise again. — 20 Mind-Blowing Facts That Seem Like Bullsh#t (But Aren't)

25

The Earth’s Distance from the Sun

The Earth is farthest from the Sun in July Low density of incident rays (northern winter) Earth Night Day Sun Equator High density of incident rays leouthorn cummer In the Northern Hemisphere, we have summer in July because of the tilt of the Earth's axis, not because of the Earth's general proximity to the Sun. CRACKED.COM — Source: Earthsky

24

GRACKED.COM The Sun may be older than Earth, but the water we drink is older than the Sun. — Source

23

The Sun is warping space around Mercury.

Mercury has an unusual orbit because the Sun is warping space. CRACKED.COM Newton's law of motion explains the orbit of all the planets, except for Mercury. It wasn't until Einstein's theory of relativity that the answer became clear: the enormous mass of our Sun is warping the space around it. — Gizmodo

22

EARTH SUN SUN NML CYGNI CRACKED.COM — 38 Real Size Comparisons That Will Make Your Head Explode

21

IN SPACE MOVIES, THE SUN IS YELLOW OR ORANGE BUT IN SPACE, THE SUn ACTUALLY LOOKS WHITE The Sun looks yellow to us because the atmosphere scatters the

20

Rogue planets (planets that don't rotate stars) could outnumber the stars in our galaxy They are hard for astronomers to spot as they don't emit light or much heat. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: CNN

19

Taking a dump In space tisn't so bad, once you master the suction toilets. And figure out when you have to go. Gravity plays a surprisingly large role

18

Helium

A helium balloon on the moon would plunge to the ground Without air to rise above, the helium might as well be lead. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: PopSci

17

The first and only cat to successfully be sent to space survived Felicette was launched into space in 1963 as part of the French space program. Her mission lasted 13 minutes. CRACKED.COM — Source: 14 Cat Facts To Make Your Brain Purr

16

Very, very few astronauts actually died in space the total - number is 3. About 550 people went into space, and about 30 died on a space mission or training for one, but only 3 died beyond the Karman line (where space starts). CRACKED.COM — Source: Astronomy.com

15

WHAT'S THE DEAL: BEZOS IN SPACE What did it cost Bezos? the NONEMARK Don IDD PR 10008679 CRACKEDo .COM Bezos hasn't stated spending pre-2017, but Blue Origin utilized approximately a billion dollars a year in funding from 2017-nov Which has sparked questions about its... necessity. Especially during a global pandemic. — Source: NYTimes

14

RADIATION HITS YOUR RETINAS IN SPACE. THAT'S EVEN WHEN YOU CLOSE YOUREYES. This tricks your brain into thinking you're seeing lights, which goes from — For details, read 6 Reasons Life in Space Sucks (That Sci-Fi Doesn't Show You)

13

The planet Uranus was discovered before the continent of Antarctica. Antarctica was discovered in 1820, but Uranus was the first planet discovered via telescope in 1781. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: NASA and National Geographic

12

Source: MTV

11

Ground Control

THE FIRST MUSIC VIDEO RECORDED IN SPACE IS COMMANDER CHRIS HADFIELD'S COVER OF DAVID BOWIE'S SPACE ODDITY. TIDITEE It's also the first remote musica

10

YOUR HEART WEAKENS IN SPACE. OVHD TIPO YOUR ONL Y REMEDY? CONSTANT EXERCISE. You have to exercise a good 2.5 hours a day, every day, as long as you're out there. You'll spend those hours strapped into one of the three exercise contraptions available, forever grinding in a tiny room that's filled with cables and presumably smells like jock straps. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

EVERY SPARE INCH IS USED FOR STORAGE. FUEL, FOOD, PARTS, MED SUPPLIES... Those are the systems whose sharp corners you will continually be banging against every time you make a sudden movement. Designers can't throw in extra head room just to make you comfortable. Every extra bit of ship is going to cost somebody millions. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

IN SPACE, GERMS CHANGE WEIRDL Y. YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM, MEANWHILE, CRUMBLES. Meds and vaccines also lose potency in space. Oh, you didn't want to go through quarantine? Congratulations! You're now sitting in the space toilet of your luxurious vessel, your weakened body torn apart by a ravenous strand of mutant salmonella. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

Rocket Countdowns

NASA uses the T-minus countdown because of the movie Woman in the Moon Before NASA existed, the 1929 sci-fi silent film used a countdown clock before launching a rocket. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

NASA

NASA forgot to convert units from English to metric. HOUSTON, TEXAS CRACKED.COM The avoidable mistake meant Mars Climate Orbiter burned up in space, costing NASA $125 million in 1999.

5

CRACKED.COM DreamWorks hired nearly a dozen former NASA employees DreamWorks has a team of 120 people members with master's and doctoral degrees to create technology within the animation industry. — Source: Sydney Morning Herald

4

NASA

Source: LA Times

3

Memory Foam

MEMORY FOAM Originally developed for the shock absorption and comfort of airplane seats, memory foam is used in everything from helmets to mattresses — Source: Mental Floss

2

INSULIN PUMP ACT The technology for these pumps, which eliminate the need for daily insulin injections, was first used on the Mars Viking spacecraft. — Source: NASA

1

BABY FORMULA NASA contracted Marietta Laboratories to create a space food with microalgae. Instead, they ended 270 .lllb'l''li'! up making 240 technol — Source: WIRED

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