What were the first musical instruments ever played in space?

Sometimes I say too much for my own good, and other times I don’t say enough.

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned the Lewis and Clark expedition and how only one member died.  I had a line which said, “Despite the unknown territory, hostile Natives, and questionable food and lodging…” and it turns out I made a rather egregious omission.

When the expedition emerged from the Bitterroot Mountains in very bad shape, they were taken in by friendly Nez Perce and given a feast, shown hospitality and given help with tools to continue their journey.

Not all of the natives were hostile; the Nez Perce were a godsend to the expedition.

I stand corrected, and I thank my dear friend who pointed it out to me.  Now, for this week!

Did you know …

… the famous mascot of Notre Dame University was a little different when it was created? When the school decided to use a leprechaun as its emblem for the “Fighting Irish,” an artist named Ted Drake (1907-2000) was commissioned to create the image. Drake’s original depiction is used today, except for one thing – the artist included a bottle of whiskey at the leprechaun’s feet. The school asked that the booze be removed, and it was. (That’s why the leprechaun is so fighting mad, you see.)

… baseball card photos are taken during spring training? For most of the companies that produce such collectibles, photos of players are taken with caps on, and with caps off – just in case the player is traded to another team. (The card printers are also wizards with the airbrush, taking out team logos from shirts as needed.)

… an animal rights group really takes itself seriously? PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) once asked the musical group Pet Shop Boys to change their name to Rescue Shelter Boys. (I’ll let you guess what the group’s answer was.)

… three out of every four products available in a supermarket contain corn? (I could say the same thing about my jokes, you know. I might as well. Everybody else says it.)

… stores take advantage of you during the Christmas holidays? While you probably already knew that, you may not have known this: retailers have been known to use aromas linked with Christmas to make you buy more. For example, some stores are known to use the smell of roasting chestnuts in their stores and offer free samples of Christmas cookies.  The aroma stimulates the salivary glands and makes shoppers hungry … and you buy more of everything, not just food. (Now that’s a dirty trick. Clever, but dirty.)

… the first musical instruments played in space were a harmonica and bells? During the flight of Gemini 6 in December of 1965, command pilot Wally Schirra (1923-2007) told Mission Control that he spotted “an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south in a polar orbit.”  Then the delighted people at Mission Control heard the song “Jingle Bells” being played on a harmonica with bell accompaniment. Schirra and his co-pilot, Tom Stafford (born 1930) smuggled the instruments aboard their ship before liftoff and played for the upcoming Christmas holiday. The instruments are now in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. (And in case you were wondering, the “satellite” Schirra was talking about was driven by a little old man with eight tiny reindeer.)

… the world came close to being sent back to the 19th Century in 2012?  A coronal mass ejection, or an output of tremendous waves of radiation from the Sun, missed Earth by just nine days. The event happened on the Sun on July 23, but because Earth was not in the direct path of the material, it did no real damage. Had that coronal mass ejection interacted with our planet, the entire satellite system would have gone out, significant damage would have been done to the world’s electrical systems, and one researcher said the total damages done could have had a $2.6 trillion price tag. (And that, my friends, would have been a very bad day.)

… it is possible to walk from Delaware to California?  A coast-to-coast hiking trail called the American Discovery Trail runs a total of 6,800 miles beginning in Cape Henlopen, Delaware, and running across the continental United States to its end near San Francisco, California.  The trail passes through Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah and Nevada.  (It’s possible to walk, but it will take you a while.)

… the first automobile sold with a closed-in body was marketed in 1905?  It was a car known as the Osceola, the first to offer solid protection from outside elements. The car was designed by Henry Leland (1843-1932), who later went on to establish both the Lincoln Motor Company and the Cadillac Automobile Company. (On those rainy or very cold mornings, now you know who you have to thank for a closed-in car.)

… the Germans have developed a tool which breaks eggs perfectly? It’s called an (take a deep breath before you try to say it) Eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher. (Which is German for, “It’s easier and cheaper to break the egg on the side of the frying pan.”)

… only two nations in the Western Hemisphere have French as their official language? One is Canada, where the language shares “official” billing with English. The other is Haiti. Additional trivia note: French Guiana, on the coast of South America, does indeed use French – but it is not a nation. It is a colony of France. (Thought you had me there, didn’t you?)

… the least common day on which to be born is May 22? By comparison, the most common day is September 16. In fact, more people are born in September than any other month. (Your humble correspondent being amongst them.)

Now … you know!

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