1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 1: Lauren Bogelbaum. Here, on any successful space mission, the cruise 3 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: morale is at the top of the list of priorities. 4 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:20,920 Speaker 1: After all, the final frontier can be one high stress workplace, 5 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,320 Speaker 1: so it's no wonder that NASA has seen a small 6 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: army of passionate pranksters over the years. We're not talking 7 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: about anything too wild, of course, that could get dangerous, 8 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:38,839 Speaker 1: because space is absolutely willing and able to kill you. Still, 9 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:42,839 Speaker 1: these serious and seriously well trained crew people need to 10 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:45,200 Speaker 1: blow off steam as much as any of us, perhaps 11 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: even more so because not all of us have jobs 12 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: that involve being launched out of Earth's atmosphere at seventeen 13 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: five hundred miles an hour. That's twenty eight thousand kilometers 14 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 1: per hour, which is fast either way. So in no 15 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: particular order, today, here are a few of our favorite 16 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: NASA pranks. Let's start off with the tale of the 17 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:13,119 Speaker 1: disappearing reappearing cockroach. Okay, back in November of nineteen sixty nine, 18 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 1: a six legged squatter caused a bit of unrest in 19 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: the days leading up to NASA's Apollo twelve mission following 20 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:23,480 Speaker 1: a test run at the Kennedy Space Center, a cockroach 21 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: was seen hiding out in the command module that was 22 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 1: to function as the crew's living space. It would also 23 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:32,960 Speaker 1: deliver them back to Earth after re entering the atmosphere. 24 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: Not wanting any insect stowaways on the vessel, the launch 25 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,320 Speaker 1: director used all sorts of tricks to try to capture 26 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 1: the intruder, but, to the amusement of money, his quarry 27 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: eluded him. Apollo twelve took off on November fourteenth, with 28 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: three astronauts on board, including Commander Charles or Pete Conrad Junior. 29 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: Five days later, Conrad became the third man to ever 30 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: walk on the Moon. During the journey home, Conrad took 31 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: part in an in flight televised press conference. As the 32 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: broadcast wound down, he held up a strip of white cardboard. 33 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: On its surface stood what very much appeared to be 34 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: a cockroach. Oh. One of Conrad's colleagues at NASA said, Oh, 35 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: you found them. Huh, We sure did, replied the astronaut. 36 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: He was in the food locker. Is he fat? Asked 37 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: the colleague. He's very fat. Conrad answered, alas it was 38 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: a practical joke. A Conrad later admitted that the roach 39 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 1: he showed off was just a plastic toy he had 40 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: smuggled aboard. To this day, the real bug's fate remains unknown. 41 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: Speaking of unauthorized crew members, let's talk about the first 42 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: time that a woman transmitted a voice message from a 43 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: space station, A decade before the first woman astronaut even 44 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: went to space. In nineteen seventy three, Owen K. Garrett 45 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 1: spent just less than sixty full days orbiting Earth on 46 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: the Skylab space station. The flight's earth bound support crew 47 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 1: included communications specialist Bob Crippen and astronaut himself among its ranks. 48 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: One day, the space station sent Crippen a weird message, 49 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: Hello Houston, this is Skylab. Someone said, are you reading 50 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: me down there? The voice sounded distinctly feminine. It didn't 51 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,359 Speaker 1: belong to any of the three men aboard the vessel. 52 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 1: When Crippen asked who was on the line, the caller 53 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:34,080 Speaker 1: identified herself as Helen Garriot, Owen's wife. Naturally, Crippen asked 54 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: her what she was doing up there. She said, well, 55 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: we just came up to bring the boys a fresh meal, 56 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 1: a hot cooked meal. They haven't had one for quite 57 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: a while. Oh, we thought they might enjoy that. Helen 58 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: then nonchalantly said she had flown out to the skylab 59 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: and talked about how California looked from space. By now 60 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: a bewildered crowd had gathered around Crippen's speakers. Finally, Helen 61 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: signed off, saying, well, I see the boys are floating 62 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: in my direction. I've got to get off the line. 63 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: I'm not supposed to be talking to you. See you later, Bob. 64 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 1: It didn't take Houston long to figure out that this 65 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: entire exchange must have been a practical joke, a one 66 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: Owen was undoubtedly in on. But how did he pull 67 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:23,040 Speaker 1: it off? The answer was well, very carefully. Before the mission, 68 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: Owen and Helen had written and recorded a few lines 69 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 1: of dialogue, making sure to punctuate her lines with pauses 70 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,159 Speaker 1: in the audio. This gave Crippen, who'd agreed to help out, 71 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 1: enough time to offer scripted replies to Helen's statements. This 72 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,359 Speaker 1: was actually a mystery to NASA until Owen revealed his 73 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:46,359 Speaker 1: methods in nineteen ninety nine. This next one I connect 74 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: with personally as a human with the last name that 75 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 1: some people find difficult. Let's talk about Pierre Thwitt, whose 76 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 1: last name is spelled for the record Tuot. Before NASA 77 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: recruited him in nineteen eighty five, the Connecticut native had 78 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 1: built up an impressive resume as a pilot with the 79 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: US Navy. He took part in three space flights during 80 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:11,599 Speaker 1: his career as an astronaut, the first of which was 81 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: a nineteen ninety Shuttle mission known as STS thirty six. 82 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: As is the custom, a special patch was designed for 83 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: each member of the five astronaut crew. Unfortunately, Thwitt's badge 84 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:31,279 Speaker 1: misspelled his name thhout. From there, some good natured ribbing ensued, 85 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: with Thewitt's crewmates calling him Pierre the Out in jest. Ultimately, though, 86 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:41,040 Speaker 1: he got the last laugh when the mission was finally 87 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: set to launch on February twenty fifth of nineteen ninety, 88 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,679 Speaker 1: Upon entering the room where their pressure suits were kept, 89 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: the astronauts discovered that Thwitt had gotten his revenge. At 90 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 1: some point, he had removed the name tags from all 91 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 1: of their chairs, excluding his own, and swapped them out 92 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: with erroneously spelled placards. In good sports, everyone seemed to 93 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:05,840 Speaker 1: get a kick out of the stunt, one of the 94 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 1: earliest space pranks that we know of occurred in nineteen 95 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:13,360 Speaker 1: sixty five during the Gemini three mission. At the time, 96 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 1: NASA's and meal plans were carefully constructed to meet calork 97 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 1: and safety requirements, but were not lauded for their appeal. 98 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:26,160 Speaker 1: Previous missions had involved limited options of foods, like a 99 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 1: puree of beef and vegetables in an aluminum tube, or 100 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,360 Speaker 1: crushed corn flakes molded into bite sized cubes and coated 101 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:38,560 Speaker 1: in gelatine to prevent crumbling, or dehydrated shrimp. The Gemini 102 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,920 Speaker 1: foods were an improvement, but apparently they didn't particularly impress 103 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: Gemini three mission commander Virgil or Gus Grissom during training, 104 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: which is why the pilot John W. Young pulled out 105 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: a corn beef sandwich and offered it to Grissom after launch. 106 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:58,840 Speaker 1: He had smuggled it aboard in a spacesuit pocket. Unfortunately, 107 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: it didn't prove very tempting. The bread immediately began crumbling 108 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 1: and the smell of the meat suffused the enclosed cabin. 109 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: On the official flight transcript, Young says it was a 110 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 1: thought anyway, not a very good one. Of course. In 111 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: our modern era of accessible video technology, astronauts have upped 112 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 1: the ante on pranks. In twenty sixteen, video emerged of 113 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: a gorilla chasing astronaut Tim Peak through the International Space 114 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: Station to the tune of yackety sacks. It was, of course, 115 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:37,440 Speaker 1: not a real gorilla a but Mission Commander Scott Kelly 116 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: in a gorilla suit. Scott and his twin brother, Mark, 117 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 1: himself an astronaut, conspired to get the suit on board. 118 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 1: The chase video was staged, but apparently Scott did surprise 119 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:53,120 Speaker 1: fellow crew members and Russian cosmonauts on the other side 120 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 1: of the station by floating around in the suit, and 121 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: he filmed a few science communication videos with it on 122 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: which almost makes me wish that this were a video podcast. 123 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article Ridiculous History five 124 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 1: of NASA's Greatest franks on HowStuffWorks dot Com, written by 125 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 1: Mark Mancini. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio 126 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 1: and partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com, and is produced 127 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 1: by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio visit 128 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts for wherever you listen to 129 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.