Did you know that one of the greatest practical jokes ever pulled beyond Earth belongs to astronaut Owen Garriott.
In 1973, Garriott was part of the crew aboard Skylab, America’s first space station. The prank he played on Mission Control officer Robert Crippen earned a permanent place in astronaut humor.
Before the mission, Garriott brought a tape recorder into space. On it, his wife had recorded several short lines. One day, when Robert Crippen made radio contact with Skylab from Houston, Garriott was ready with the recording.
The exchange went something like this:
“Skylab, this is Houston. Please respond.”
A cheerful woman’s voice came over the line.
“Good morning, Houston. This is Skylab.”
After a brief pause, Mission Control asked carefully:
“Who is speaking?”
“Hi, Robert,” the voice replied. “This is Helen, Owen’s wife.”
For a few seconds, Crippen tried to process what he had just heard. Then he finally managed to ask:
“What are you doing up there?”
“I just thought I’d bring the boys something to eat,” the voice answered from orbit. “Everything is fresh.”
Mission Control fell silent for nearly a full minute.
Then the connection was cut.
Apparently, even a trained flight controller needed a moment to recover from that one.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
P-51 Mustangs Strafe German Train (November 25, 1944) 🇺🇸
Restored WWII gun camera footage shows Capt. Tucker and Lt. Oliver of the 359th Squadron, Eighth Air Force, conducting a low-level strafing run on a German supply train.
Capt. Tucker rakes the locomotive with .50 caliber fire, while Lt. Oliver scores a direct hit on a carriage loaded with explosives. The resulting fireball erupts as Oliver flies straight through the blast.
By the final stages of the war, Allied fighter-bombers relentlessly hunted German rail networks to starve the enemy of reinforcements and supplies.
Deep inner suffering inevitably arises when the human person is reduced to performance, consumption, or a statistical datum. Many young people today live under the yoke of expectations to perform, immersed in an exasperated competitiveness that generates anxiety, fear of not measuring up, and disorientation.
I'm a connoisseur of dumb redneck shit and it's been years since something has impressed me. Don't let the flawlessness of its execution rob you of awe of its skill and danger.
Sergeant William Jasper c1750-79 is well known in South Carolina history for replacing the flag that had been shot down at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island in 1776. He was killed during the Siege of Savannah in 1779 and is buried somewhere near the city. Raise a glass to Jasper on this Memorial Day.
i was shocked to discover that there are some people who actually can't visualize images when reading a book coz for me, an entire movie is playing out in my head with the perfect cast
“The Norwegians thawed an alien thing and now it’s trying to kill us all.”
“Wow. That’s crazy.”
“You don’t seem that concerned.”
“A leopard seal just ate my entire family. I’ve got my own problems.”
We're building a Moon Base!
@NASAMoonBase will serve as a habitat where astronauts live and work during long-term science missions.
Join us at 2pm ET on Tuesday, May 26, for a live news event where we’ll share updates on our lunar exploration plans: https://t.co/IJXA7xYwju