This Day in History – 1st Woman in Space

Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space.

Valentina Tereshkova of Russia was the first woman to successfully complete a space mission, having been selected from more than four hundred applicants and five finalists to pilot Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963.  The 26-year-old returned to the stratosphere three days later on June 19.  At the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, she was a carrier of the Olympic flag.The former cosmonaut is now 81 years old.

The United States did not send a woman into space until 20 years later when Sally Ride joined the STS-7(7th Shuttle Mission-Challenger 2) mission on June 18, 1983.  Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978.

“Young girls need to see role models in whatever careers they may choose…you can’t be what you can’t see.” – Dr. Sally Ride

Ride was the third woman in space overall, after USSR cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova (1963) and Svetlana Savitskaya (1982).

Ride remains the youngest American astronaut to have traveled to space, having done so at the age of 32.

After flying twice on the Orbiter Challenger, she left NASA in 1987. She worked for two years at Stanford University‘s Center for International Security and Arms Control, then at the University of California, San Diego as a professor of physics, primarily researching nonlinear optics and Thomson scattering. She served on the committees that investigated the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters, the only person to participate in both.

Ride died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 61 on July 23, 2012.

In 1982 Svetlana Savitskaya became the second woman in the world to fly in space. In two years she became the first woman in the world to walk in space. She was in space for almost 4 hours. She did many experiments on the Salute 7 space station.

 

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Founding Fathers (and First Lady Dolley Madison) Favorite Dessert

Chef Walter Staib of A Taste of History shares this vanilla ice cream recipe.  According to Chef Staib the founding fathers were critical in bringing the dessert to America, even First Lady Dolley Madison was a fan.  One respected history of ice cream states that, as the wife of U.S. President James Madison she served ice cream at her husband’s Inaugural Ball in 1813.

Vanilla Ice Cream

This vanilla ice cream is pictured with sauce and almonds, which you may add or change to include your own toppings.

Yield: 1 1/2 quarts

Ingredients:

• 4 cups heavy cream
• 3 egg yolks
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds removed

Directions:

1. Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice water and setting a slightly smaller bowl atop.
2. In a medium sized sauce pot, bring the cream, half of the sugar, and the vanilla beans and pod to a simmer
3. Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl whisk together egg yolks and remaining sugar until light
4. Slowly add hot cream to egg mixture, ¼ cup at a time, whisking all the while.
5. Return the pot to the stove and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
6. Transfer the custard to the ice bath and cool it, stirring occasionally, until it is cool to the touch. Remove from ice bath, cover, and refrigerate until cold.
7. Spin in ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions.

 

 

DOLLY MADISON’S PEPPERMINT STICK ICE CREAM

Yield: 2 quarts
Ingredients:

20th century advertising co-opted Madison’s reputation for serving ice cream in the United States White House
Photo by Private Collection

• 3/4 c. sugar
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 3 c. whole milk
• 3/4 c. light corn syrup
• 2 whole eggs, beaten lightly
• 1 c. cream
• 4 drops natural peppermint extract
• 2 drops red food coloring
• 3/4 c. peppermint candy, crushed

 

Directions:

1. Mix the sugar and cornstarch in the top of a double boiler.
2. Stir in the milk, syrup and eggs.
3. Cook over boiling water, stirring all the time for 10 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. Chill.
4. Stir in cream, extract and coloring.
5. Freeze in a 2 quart ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
6. When partially frozen, add crushed peppermint and continue frequently.

 

America the Beautiful by Fozzie Bear

Fozzie Bear is filled with patriotic pride as he travels with his friends in “The Muppet Movie.”

Flag Day Trivia

ANSWERS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

1. From your memory, and without peeking, how many stripes on the American flag are red?

A. Six.
B. Seven.
C. Eight.

2. Where can you find the original Star Spangled Banner today?

A. In Donald Trump’s private collection.
B. At the Republican National Committee Headquarters.
C. At the Smithsonian Institution.

3. When did Francis Scott Key write the lyrics that became the National Anthem?

A. July 4, 1814.
B. The morning after the battle, September 14, 1814.
C. The night before the battle, September 13, 1814.

Betsy Ross sews the American Flag.

4. Why is the flag so much shorter today than when it was sewn?

A. The end of the flag was burned in the Battle of Baltimore.
B. Samples have been removed for conservation testing.
C. The family which preserved the Star Spangled Banner, gave small pieces away as souvenirs and gifts over

5. When did “The Star-Spangled Banner” officially become the United States’s national anthem?

A. 1931.
B. 1917.
C. 1814.

6. How was the American flag used before the War of 1812?

A. There was no American flag before the War of 1812.
B. As a symbol of the British Empire.
C. To identify ships and forts.

7. True or False, the rules and codes of etiquette spelled out in the Flag Code can be legally enforced.

A. True.
B. False.

8. When are new stars added to the flag?

A. On the Fourth of July following the admission of new states to the Union.
B. On the First of January following the admission of new states to the Union.
C. Upon order of Congress.

9. Who has the authority to order American flags to be flown at half-staff?

A. Congress and the Supreme Court.
B. The president, state governors, mayor of Washington DC.
C. The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense.

10. How many American flags are on the moon?

A. One.
B. Three.
C. Six.

By: WPTV Web Team

Answers: 1.B  2.C  3.B  4.C  5.A  6.C  7.B  8.A  9.B  10.C

More Flag Day Trivia

Celebrated every June 14th in the USA, millions of Americans observe Flag Day by waving Old Glory outside their homes and businesses. Veteran’s groups and sometimes whole communities also arrange civic functions and special ceremonies in honor of Flag Day.

This year, get ready to join millions of American coast to coast who will celebrate Flag Day on Saturday, June 14, 2013.

As the legend goes, it was George Washington and two other members of the Continental Congress who asked Betsy Ross to sew the first American flag sometime in the late spring of 1776. The young widow was only in her early 20’s when she completed the first flag with thirteen stars arranged in a circle.

A year later, the Continental Congress officially adopted the design for the national flag, and henceforward the Stars and Stripes symbolized the U.S. around the world.

The first Flag Day was celebrated in 1877 – the flag’s centennial. In 1916, a grass roots movement resulted in President Woodrow Wilson issuing a proclamation that called for a nationwide observance of Flag Day on June 14. Although still not an official holiday, Flag Day was made a permanent observance in America in 1949 by Congress who resolved “That the 14th day of June of each year is hereby designated as Flag Day.”

Flag Day fun facts

Learn American flag etiquette.

Why thirteen stars and stripes? They represented the thirteen American colonies which rallied around the new flag in their fight against the British for self-governance.

Why red, white and blue? To the original members of the Continental Congress, red stood for hardiness and courage, white for purity and innocence, and blue for vigilance and justice.

The thirteen colonies included Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia.

To this day, thirteen stripes still commemorate the original colonies. Instead of thirteen stars, today the number of stars on the US flag has grown to 50, representing every state in the Union.

How to celebrate Flag Day

Wave Old Glory from the front porch, apartment balcony or window, or attend Flag Day parades or festivities sponsored by local organizations.

Hold an open house or a backyard barbecue. Decorate the backyard in red, white, and blue. A Flag Day menu might include lots of American favorites like hamburgers, hot dogs and, for dessert, how about an American flag cake?

Washington Monument in Washington D.C., USA

The Washington Monument is an obelisk-shaped building in Washington, D.C.that was built to honor the first President of the United States of America George Washington. This 555-foot-tall obelisk is the tallest building in the District of Columbia.  By law, no other building in D.C. is allowed to be taller.

The Washington Monument honors the first American President.

Pierre Charles L’Enfant (the architect who designed Washington, D.C.) planned in 1783 to have a prominent statue honoring George Washington near the White House and Capitol. But exactly how to honor the first President of the United States was not an easy decision.  In 1833 the Washington National Monument Society was formed with the purpose of deciding upon an appropriate memorial. This group had a design competition with architect Robert Mills‘ design winning the contest in 1836.

Work on the stone monument to George Washington did not begin until July 4, 1848 due to lack of funds. Work on the monument was stopped in 1854 when the monument was only 152 feet tall, once again.  This time it was because donations dropped off.  The project was almost abandoned but work finally started again in 1876.

Sharp-eyed tourists can see the slight difference in color of the marble on the bottom third and the upper two-thirds of the monument.

The Army Corps of Engineers, who started working on the monument after the Civil War, determined that the foundation was not sufficient for the 600-foot-tall obelisk that was originally planned, so a 550-foot-monument was built.

The exterior of the Washington Monument was completed on Dec. 6, 1884. After the interior was completed, the monument was opened to the public.  Inside the Washington Monument is an elevator and a 897-step stairway. There is an observation deck at 500 feet.

The giant obelisk contains 36,491 blocks and weighs 90,854 tons. Lightning rods at the top protect the monument from lightning strikes.

At the time the monument was built, aluminum was newly discovered, scarce and very expensive. Therefore there is a nine-inch-tall aluminum pyramid at the top of the Washington monument.

 

Facts and Figures about the Washington Monument:

Height from ground to top	555 feet 5 1/8 inches = 169.29 meters
Width at base of monument	55 feet 1 1/2 inches = 16.80 meters
Thickness of monument walls at base	15 feet = 4.57 meters
Number of blocks in monument	36,491
Cornerstone laid	July 4, 1848
Capstone set	December 6, 1884
Officially opened to the public	October 9, 1888
Cost of monument	$1,187,710
Designed by	Robert Mills

 

Information provided by Enchanted Learning.com