The Daily Dose/July 24, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
Some random numbers from Apollo 11, which returned to Earth 51 years ago today. This item originally ran on July 22 last year:
2.5
Amount of time, in hours, Apollo 11 spent on the moon.
3.7
Age, in billions of years, of the moon rocks returned from lunar surface
5
Number of alarms the lunar module’s computer set off on descent to the lunar surface. These alarms were eventually disregarded.
12
Number of lunar orbits Apollo 11 took before the lunar module (LM) separated from the command module (CM).
21
Number of days the Apollo 11 crew, and their physician and a technician, were quarantined. The quarantine actually began when they lifted off from the moon
25.4
Cost, in billions of dollars, of the entire Apollo program. That is about $176 billion in today’s money.
27, 51
Length of time, in hours and minutes, the LM spent undocked from the CM.
31
Total number of times Columbia orbited the moon.
33.31
Amount, in dollars and cents, that Buzz Aldrin jokingly filed for on his Apollo 11 travel claim.
45
Approximate amount of fuel, in seconds, that the LM had remaining at landing. The 60 and 30 seconds mission control referred to in the descent to the lunar surface were the number of seconds of fuel remaining until Commander Neil Armstrong had to decide whether to land or abort.
47.51
Number, in pounds, of moon rocks Armstrong and Aldrin brought back from the moon.
100
Approximate number of items Apollo 11 left on the moon. This includes experiments, mementos and trash.
180
Weight, in pounds, of the Apollo 11 spacesuit.
200
Farthest distance, in feet, that either Armstrong or Aldrin, ventured from the LM.
233
Length, in words, of the speech President Nixon would have given had Armstrong and Aldrin been stranded on the lunar surface. The speech was written by William Safire.
363
Height, in feet, of the Saturn V rocket that propelled Apollo 11 to the moon.
500
Number of feet above the lunar surface that Neil Armstrong took manual control of Eagle.
2,983
Length of time, in days, from the time President Kennedy committed America to putting a man on the moon on May, 25, 1961 to July 20, 1969.
238,900
Number of miles between Earth and the moon at the time of Apollo 11.
400,000
Approximate number of people who worked in some capacity on the mission.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow is too lazy to do anything. Today’s Diary.
This meant I missed the usual trip to the Mexican joint…Instead, I got two microwavable sandwiches from the convenience store: a burger and a fried chicken sandwich…This is really lousy nutrition, especially with the amount of mayonnaise put on, but the usual from the Mexican joint is hardly straight out of the Nutrition Handbook, either…We’d had some rain, too, so the grass didn’t even need to be watered…The day was spent reading, completely at leisure.
Backstairs at the Monte Carlo: Gaylon needs some backup in the hotel.
So I trot down the hall and yell “HEY!” in my most authoritative voice, the one that would have Hitler snapping to attention.
It didn’t even register. They are face to face and going at it and looking back I’m glad it didn’t register because it occurred to me I may not want their complete and undivided attention.
Get in on the laughs for only $2.99. Click on the button for 4Ever & Ever access to The Diary of a Nobody and Backstairs at the Monte Carlo.
On This Date
History’s long march to today.
In 1915 – The SS Eastland, a passenger ship tied to a dock on the Chicago River in Chicago, rolls over onto her port side, killing 844 passengers and crew. The ship had over 2,500 passengers on board when a large number went to the port side, causing the rollover. Eastland was raised in August and sold to the Illinois National Naval Reserve, serving in a variety of capacities into the `1940s. Former Chicago Bears owner and NFL founder George Halas was initially listed among the dead, however, he was running late and never boarded Eastland. The disaster remains the largest loss of life in a maritime accident on the Great Lakes.
In 1965 – Casey Stengel of the New York Mets manages his final major league game, a 5-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in New York. Later that night Stengel, 75, falls and breaks his hip. Stengel finishes his career with a 1,905-1,842 record and ten American League pennants and seven World Series titles, both major league records he shares with Joe McCarthy. As a player, Stengel batted .284 with 60 home runs and 535 RBIs between 1912 and 1925.
In 1971 – Paul Revere and the Raiders are at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the only week with Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian). It was the 14th and penultimate Top 40 hit for the group, remains their only #1 song and was Billboard’s sixth-biggest song of the year. In 1968 a version by Don Fardon had peaked at #20, making Indian Reservation one of the few songs to go to #1 in a following chart appearance. The song was written by John D Loudermilk and the story that the inspiration came after he had been stranded in his car and taken captive by Cherokee Indians is false.
Quotebook
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
…the cards don’t play themselves. – Deng Ming-Dao
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
It’s not who you know, but what you know.
Barry Manilow’s biggest in Great Britain was I Wanna Do It With You, which reached #8 in 1982, a song that was not released as a single in the United States.
Today’s Stumper
Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar.
Which teams did Casey Stengel manage in his major league career? – Answer next time!
