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Author
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Topic: Astronaut biographies: coincidences and trivia
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AstroAutos
Member Posts: 803
From: Co. Monaghan, Republic of Ireland
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 09-01-2009 09:33 PM
   
I was just browsing on the net today and completely by chance I realised that Ed Mitchell and Tom Stafford were born on the exact same day! (September 17th 1930.)I'm sure many of you guys already knew that, but it's news to me and I think it's really cool.  It leads me to the question - does anyone else know any interesting facts about astronauts or their lives that they could contribute to this forum? |
Delta7
Member Posts: 1505
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 09-01-2009 10:09 PM
Unusual or unlikely occupations held by future astronauts: - Gus Grissom: short-order cook.
- Stuart Roosa: Smoke Jumper.
- James van Hoften: Hot Tub salesman.
- Dave Brown: Circus acrobat.
- Donn Eisele: zoo keeper.
- Jim McDivitt: janitor.
- Sally Ride: tennis pro.
- Ed Mitchell: ranch hand.
- Pinky Nelson: baseball prospect.
- Leland Melvin: NFL football player
- Sonny Carter: professional soccer player.
- Dick Scobee: airplane mechanic.
- Mario Runco: State Trooper.
- Terry Wilcutt: school teacher.
- Drew Feustel: auto mechanic.
- Jose Hernandez: migrant worker.
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-01-2009 10:18 PM
Don't forget Leroy Chiao, whose first crew* assignment was at a McDonald's in Walnut Creek, California when he was 16 (which gives this poster added meaning). *McDonald's refers to its restaurant employees as crew members. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 09-01-2009 10:25 PM
...or Al Worden, who was a male cheerleader at West Point! |
328KF
Member Posts: 1234
From:
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 09-01-2009 10:37 PM
Colin, all you had to say was cheerleader... we could assume the rest.  |
KSCartist
Member Posts: 2896
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 09-02-2009 05:05 AM
Don't forget Pam Melroy - born on September 17, 1961. So that date has a trifecta. Also Tom Stafford was announced as an astronaut on his 32nd birthday in 1962.I know all this because I was born on 9/17 five years before Pam. |
spaced out
Member Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 09-02-2009 06:05 AM
quote:
Originally posted by AstroAutos:
I was just browsing on the net today and completely by chance I realised that Ed Mitchell and Tom Stafford were born on the exact same day! (September 17th 1930.)
Don't forget that if you take a random group of just 23 individuals there is a greater than 50% chance that two will share the same birthday.By the time group 5 came along you actually had 55 astronauts and a roughly 98% chance that at least two of those astronauts would share a birthday. Of course being born in the same year is an additional coincidence but given that they were mostly born between around 1930 and 1935 it's still highly likely that you'd get two with the exact same birth date. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 09-02-2009 11:17 PM
Of all the hundreds of people chosen to fly into space, the only one who shares my birthday of March 2nd also had the shortest NASA astronaut career of all - Duane Graveline.But then again, I also share my birthday with Tom Wolfe... |
davidcwagner
Member Posts: 799
From: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 09-03-2009 07:08 PM
Trivia: Lefties vs. Righties
How many Apollo/Gemini/Mercury astronauts are left handed? According to Alan Bean (a lefty) there is a much higher ratio of lefties in the astronaut corp than in the general population. |
MCroft04
Member Posts: 1634
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005
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posted 09-03-2009 07:22 PM
Same thing has been said about geologists, so I'm not sure that is necessarily a good thing!
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AJ
Member Posts: 511
From: Plattsburgh, NY, United States
Registered: Feb 2009
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posted 09-04-2009 12:23 AM
Is Beano ambidextrous, then? Because he signs autographs with his right hand. At least he has on several occasions I've seen him. |
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