a brief history of early space travel...

[phishbreath]

The first monkey astronaut was Albert, a rhesus monkey, who on June 11, 1948 rode to over 63 km (39 miles) on a V2 rocket. Albert died of suffocation during the flight

Comments

[1_peach_2_peach]

Wow. Lots of mistakes. That's troubling. But what about Bonny? What a wuss.

apes in orbit

[gurghi]

Any chance you listened to the Gervais/Merchant podcasts? They talk about this, albeit irreverently.

Re: apes in orbit

[phishbreath]

indeed, very funny podcast, actually - with them making up facts about monkeys in space - which sent me searching Wikipedia.

While not as funny as Gervais/Merchant podcast, the sheer number of monkey deaths on Wikipedia made me chuckle.

banana dispenser

[gurghi]

The 2nd one is a little more scattered, but has its moments.

How fond a memory I have of Project X, which Jason & I saw on its release. Matthew Broderick, Elizabeth Shue (I believe), and science chimps.

Monkeys are, by definition, a riot. Why does my wife not understand this?

Re: banana dispenser

[phishbreath]

Project X: Broderick saves trained test-pilot monkeys from getting exposed to radiation in this Cold War drama... classic.