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The 19th-century phonautograph, which captured sounds visually but did not play them back
French inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville used his phonautograph, the earliest known sound recording device, to capture himself singing the French folk song “Au clair de la lune”. Scott’s 1860 phonautogram was made 17 years before Edison received a patent for the phonograph and 28 years before an Edison associate captured a snippet of a Handel oratorio on a wax cylinder, a recording that until now was widely regarded by experts as the oldest that could be played back. Read more
2005 - Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles
Charles was formerly married to Diana, Princess of Wales. His second marriage to Camilla made him the first member of the British Royal Family to have a civil wedding.
1967 - The first Boeing 737 takes off on its maiden flight
The short-to-medium range plane is the best-selling airplane in history.
1952 - The Bolivian National Revolution overthrows Hugo Ballivián's government
The nationalist movement initiated radical reforms, including universal suffrage, the nationalization of tin mines, and the inclusion of previously marginalized ethnicities into national life.
1940 - Germany invades Denmark and Norway
The rationale of Operation Weserübung was to secure access to Swedish iron ore. In Norway, a resistance group around Max Manus and Gunnar Sønsteby successfully sabotaged the German war effort.
Historic Trivia pick - The Apollo 14 Moon Trees That Traversed The Galaxy
In 1953, the Oklahoma native first worked as a U.S. Forest Service smokejumper, parachuting out of airplanes to fight forest fires. He moved to Oregon in the mid-1960s, where he worked as an Air Force test pilot and fell in love with the state’s thick forests.
Roosa landed a coveted seat aboard Apollo 14. Actually, he landed about 500 seats—he brought with him hundreds of various plant seeds!
But he did so for science. There were many questions regarding the seeds. Would they sprout when they returned to Earth? What would happen to them if they went to the Moon?
In 1971, Apollo 14 launched, and Roosa took with him about 500 different kinds of tree seeds. While he did not walk on the Moon—he commanded the orbiting space module—his seeds orbited the Moon 34 times. When they returned, many of the seeds were planted for the country’s bicentennial, including a Loblolly Pine at the White House.
Some of the seeds were also given as gifts to other countries like Brazil, Switzerland, and Japan.
The problem, of course, was that records of the trees were not properly kept, so only 50 of the trees are officially accounted for around the world.
Six of the 50 known trees are in Oregon, known as The Apollo 14 Moon Trees; Roosa claimed the town of Coos Bay, Oregon, as his adopted hometown.
Douglas Firs are located at the State Capitol Building in Salem, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, the Veteran’s Hospital in Roseburg, and two more at a private residence in Salem. Governor Bob Straub planted the state capitol tree on Arbor Day, April 30, 1976, and now, the Fir is a State Heritage Tree.
In 2011, NASA Astronomer David Williams told Wired Magazine that “no one knew for sure whether being exposed to weightlessness or radiation would do something to the seeds. They grew control trees right next to each other to see if they grew differently. But they didn’t find anything.”
Still, the legend of the trees lives on.
“Sadly, Stuart Roosa passed away in December 1994,” reports NASA. “The Moon Trees continue to flourish, a living monument to our first visits to the Moon and a fitting memorial to Stuart Roosa. No list was ever kept nor any systematic tracking made of the disposition of all the trees.”
1860 - The world's first recording of the human voice is created
The 19th-century phonautograph, which captured sounds visually but did not play them back
French inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville used his phonautograph, the earliest known sound recording device, to capture himself singing the French folk song “Au clair de la lune”. Scott’s 1860 phonautogram was made 17 years before Edison received a patent for the phonograph and 28 years before an Edison associate captured a snippet of a Handel oratorio on a wax cylinder, a recording that until now was widely regarded by experts as the oldest that could be played back. Read more
2005 - Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles
Charles was formerly married to Diana, Princess of Wales. His second marriage to Camilla made him the first member of the British Royal Family to have a civil wedding.
1967 - The first Boeing 737 takes off on its maiden flight
The short-to-medium range plane is the best-selling airplane in history.
1952 - The Bolivian National Revolution overthrows Hugo Ballivián's government
The nationalist movement initiated radical reforms, including universal suffrage, the nationalization of tin mines, and the inclusion of previously marginalized ethnicities into national life.
1940 - Germany invades Denmark and Norway
The rationale of Operation Weserübung was to secure access to Swedish iron ore. In Norway, a resistance group around Max Manus and Gunnar Sønsteby successfully sabotaged the German war effort.
Historic Trivia pick - The Apollo 14 Moon Trees That Traversed The GalaxyIn 1971, hundreds of tree seeds orbited the moon aboard Apollo 14!
Stuart Roosa was destined to become an astronaut.In 1953, the Oklahoma native first worked as a U.S. Forest Service smokejumper, parachuting out of airplanes to fight forest fires. He moved to Oregon in the mid-1960s, where he worked as an Air Force test pilot and fell in love with the state’s thick forests.
Roosa landed a coveted seat aboard Apollo 14. Actually, he landed about 500 seats—he brought with him hundreds of various plant seeds!
Around the Moon in 34 Orbits
“In those days every Apollo astronaut was permitted to take a few small personal things into space with them,” reads the Oregon Travel Information website. “What they chose varied greatly. Alan Shepard chose golf balls. John Young, on Gemini 3, took a corned beef sandwich. Stuart Roosa took tree seeds.”But he did so for science. There were many questions regarding the seeds. Would they sprout when they returned to Earth? What would happen to them if they went to the Moon?
In 1971, Apollo 14 launched, and Roosa took with him about 500 different kinds of tree seeds. While he did not walk on the Moon—he commanded the orbiting space module—his seeds orbited the Moon 34 times. When they returned, many of the seeds were planted for the country’s bicentennial, including a Loblolly Pine at the White House.
Some of the seeds were also given as gifts to other countries like Brazil, Switzerland, and Japan.
The problem, of course, was that records of the trees were not properly kept, so only 50 of the trees are officially accounted for around the world.
Six of the 50 known trees are in Oregon, known as The Apollo 14 Moon Trees; Roosa claimed the town of Coos Bay, Oregon, as his adopted hometown.
Douglas Firs are located at the State Capitol Building in Salem, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, the Veteran’s Hospital in Roseburg, and two more at a private residence in Salem. Governor Bob Straub planted the state capitol tree on Arbor Day, April 30, 1976, and now, the Fir is a State Heritage Tree.
Space Seeds
Surprisingly, the trees never exhibited any special qualities from being in space.In 2011, NASA Astronomer David Williams told Wired Magazine that “no one knew for sure whether being exposed to weightlessness or radiation would do something to the seeds. They grew control trees right next to each other to see if they grew differently. But they didn’t find anything.”
Still, the legend of the trees lives on.
“Sadly, Stuart Roosa passed away in December 1994,” reports NASA. “The Moon Trees continue to flourish, a living monument to our first visits to the Moon and a fitting memorial to Stuart Roosa. No list was ever kept nor any systematic tracking made of the disposition of all the trees.”
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61-BLUES
