WEBVTT - Technology We Can Thank NASA For 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:02.960 Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray. 0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:08.760 It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology with 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:12.880 tech Stuff from how stuff works dot Com. Join Josh 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:15.280 and Chuck, the guys who bring you stuff you should know, 0:00:15.600 --> 0:00:17.680 as they take a trip around the world to help 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:20.720 you get smarter in a topsy TRV economy. Check out 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:23.439 the all new super Stuff Guide to the Economy from 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:31.800 how stuff Works dot Com, available now exclusively on iTunes. Hello, everybody, 0:00:31.840 --> 0:00:34.680 welcome to tech Stuff. My name is Chris Poulette. I'm 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:37.320 an editor here at how stuff works dot com, and 0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:39.680 as usual, I have sitting next to me senior writer 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:44.640 Jonathan Strickland. Ola, Amigo, I'm wondering when you're gonna run 0:00:44.680 --> 0:00:47.680 out of countries. Uh, there are many of them. He 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:50.920 watched Anomaniacs. You would know the names of all of them. Actually, 0:00:50.960 --> 0:00:54.400 I have that c anyway speaking, and you can see 0:00:54.400 --> 0:00:56.520 all these countries if you are looking at the Earth 0:00:56.560 --> 0:01:00.400 from space No. Nine. That was that was a quickly 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:05.679 manufactured So yeah, we're gonna talk today about uh inventions 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:09.480 that we can we can attribute to our wonderful space 0:01:09.560 --> 0:01:14.080 race and space exploration programs. This actually as an idea 0:01:14.120 --> 0:01:16.720 that we got from an email we received. So I'll 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:19.120 let me let me start off by reading the email. Okay, 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:24.119 so this is from Justin in Chicago. I know how 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:29.120 you love to receive haikus from fans. Oh wait, wrong podcast. 0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:32.920 I've always wondered whether people knew what they were talking 0:01:32.959 --> 0:01:35.639 about when they credited NASA with the invention of certain 0:01:35.680 --> 0:01:40.320 technologies velcro, m r eyes, and that delicious dehydrated ice cream, 0:01:40.360 --> 0:01:43.840 to name a few. Is the alleged government origin for 0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:47.960 dozens upon dozens of everyday products just a public exaggeration 0:01:48.040 --> 0:01:52.120 or misconception Which of these are actual NASA technologies. I'm 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:55.560 too lazy lazy to research it myself, so I'd like 0:01:55.640 --> 0:01:57.760 to hear you guys talk about it for fifteen or 0:01:57.760 --> 0:02:04.080 twenty minutes instead. You got it justin excellent. Yeah. Now, 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:06.720 first of all, um, well let's go ahead and and 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:12.280 uh and crush velcrow, Well, crunchy noise. So Velcrow is 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:17.280 not a NASA invention. It was a Swiss invention dating 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:21.359 back to the nineteen forties. Yeah, that's much older than NASA, right, Yes, 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:24.320 NASA was not around in the nineteen fourties. No, they were, 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:29.600 say space was actually out there in I think I 0:02:29.639 --> 0:02:32.680 think space first appeared on the scene somewhere right around 0:02:33.000 --> 0:02:36.240 six o three. Um, please don't write me. I know 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:39.520 I'm making that up. The so so yeah, dated back 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:42.160 from the nineteen Fouries is a Swiss invention. Now, NASA 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:45.640 did use velcro in the Apollo missions. Um, and that 0:02:45.840 --> 0:02:49.080 kind of made velcro more famous, So that might be 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:52.160 where people got the idea that NASA invented it. They 0:02:52.200 --> 0:02:54.560 did not. Um. Also, let's go ahead and get the 0:02:54.600 --> 0:02:56.680 other two big ones out of the way. They did 0:02:56.680 --> 0:03:02.799 not invent teflon, and they did not invent tang as 0:03:03.240 --> 0:03:07.240 the powdered sweet sweet drink. No. According to the end 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:11.440 the NASA website, Tang predates the Space missions by a 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:15.799 few years. However, astronauts do find it yummy, yes, and 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:19.040 NASA did use it in various kind of promotional materials, 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:21.520 So that'd be where you'd get that idea from. Too. Well, 0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:23.720 there are lots of things like that that uh you know, 0:03:23.760 --> 0:03:26.560 I mean vell Crow, NASA loves ll grow. It's it's 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:31.480 great environment, very useful stuff, and I'm thinking that's probably why, 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:34.520 you know, and Tang was still fairly new when the 0:03:34.520 --> 0:03:36.640 astronauts were going up in the space, so you know, 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:39.720 it kind of makes sense that public perception might have 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:43.880 been that NASA picked those up and they amended him, right. 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:48.000 I briefly debated on arguing that UM that Nicholas the 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:51.120 second Infinite Oval Team, but then I realized that that 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:54.080 would spreading misinformation is not what we do here, just 0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:57.400 going to get more emails. So he did not, to 0:03:57.480 --> 0:03:59.560 my knowledge anyway, I just made that up. So if 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:02.880 it's is true, I was totally by chance. Moving on 0:04:02.920 --> 0:04:06.080 to the actual inventions that NASA is responsible for, there 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:08.880 are many of them. Justin he asked us if there 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:11.320 were some if if if that was just kind of 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:14.560 a misconception. No, it's not a misconception. There are plenty 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:18.080 of inventions out there that we can credit NASA for 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:20.920 bringing to life. And we have an article on the 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:23.800 site called ten NASA inventions you might use every day, 0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:26.719 written by our colleague Kristen Conger, who is an excellent 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:30.200 writer here at how stuff Works dot com and UM. 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:34.040 She mentions that NASA has filed more than sixty three 0:04:34.360 --> 0:04:38.159 D patents with the US government. Uh, and not all 0:04:38.200 --> 0:04:41.960 of those are specifically for things that can only apply 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:46.480 to space exploration or or space you know, uh missions. 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:50.120 Many of those things that that NASA has filed patents 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:55.279 for we now use in uh in everyday applications. Should 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:57.400 I should I mention one? I it sounded like you 0:04:57.440 --> 0:04:58.960 had one on the top of your head. Well, the 0:04:59.040 --> 0:05:00.760 very first one, she mean gins I guess I can 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:02.720 kind of go in descending order. We're not going to 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:04.880 mention all of the ones in the article because there's 0:05:04.920 --> 0:05:07.320 some she doesn't mention that I like. Yeah, there's quite 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:09.159 a few that we wanted to talk about and we 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:11.400 didn't want to just you know, regurgitate the article. But 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:14.360 the first one she mentions, um, would be invisible braces. 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:18.760 I never had them. However, if I had, you'd never 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:22.800 have known it, right. Uh. They're made from translucent poly 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:27.680 crystalline alumina t p A and uh. The reason why 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:29.760 we can credit NASA for this is that they were 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:34.719 using this material to protect infrared antenna of heat seeking 0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:39.480 missile trackers. Yeah, but it turns out that there was 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:42.839 another company called Unitech that was working on a new 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:47.839 kind of design for braces, and so you take the 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:52.080 material created by NASA essentially, but Sara Dyne was the 0:05:52.120 --> 0:05:55.839 company that really developed it, but NASA was behind the 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:59.200 whole research stage. And then you take Unitech that's making 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:02.200 this brace the um this new form of braces, and 0:06:02.279 --> 0:06:04.680 you apply the material to the design and you come 0:06:04.720 --> 0:06:08.480 up with invisible braces. Wow. Yeah, So thank you NASA 0:06:08.560 --> 0:06:11.320 for straightening out some teeth. And you know they can 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:15.320 chew on some missiles. Um. I guess I wasn't done 0:06:15.320 --> 0:06:17.800 being goofy. You know my favorite on that list? What's 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:22.240 that memory foam? Memory foam? That some good stuff. Man. 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:24.400 If you've ever put your hand on a memory foam 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:26.800 mattress and watched your fingerprints stay there after you pulled 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:31.680 your hand away, thank an astronaut or probably a NASA researcher. Yeah. 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:35.320 The whole temper pedic mattresses, that all comes from the 0:06:35.320 --> 0:06:37.640 whole NASA research. Yeah. I'd like to be on one 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:40.240 right now. Me too. I was just thinking that. I'm like, 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:42.360 why did you go with that? Yeah, I'm sorry, I've 0:06:42.360 --> 0:06:44.599 been thinking. This is the end of a very long day. People. 0:06:45.520 --> 0:06:48.880 We have recorded two other podcasts today. I hate to 0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:52.719 break the veil here, but uh yeah, So the idea 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:55.719 of laying down on foam that develops you and comforts 0:06:55.720 --> 0:06:58.960 you since really really nice. We need a we need 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:04.080 a house. Stuff works dot come like nap room anyway, right, 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:06.960 making a note, Ok, moving on, so yes, yes, the 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:12.080 memory foam that also comes from NASA research. Um oh 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:17.040 she Kristen also mentions shoe in souls, which we can 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:21.000 thank Moon Boots for. Yeah, we're talking about like the 0:07:21.120 --> 0:07:24.960 insoles and shoes that are used to help your you know, 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:27.160 give you a little bit of a boost with athletic 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:32.200 shoes and and make it breathable and comfortable like a 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:37.680 felon like Magellan. We should get paid for by them, 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:41.960 I mean we don't anyway. So again we're talking about 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:44.559 you know, it seems kind of silly that you're thinking like, oh, 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:47.240 just chee in souls, but no, seriously, there's this. The 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:49.720 technology for these cushy shoe and soules that give you 0:07:49.760 --> 0:07:53.400 a lot more support came out of NASA research. Well, honestly, 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:56.120 if you if you think about some of the other stuff, 0:07:56.160 --> 0:07:59.320 like invisible braces, well we could use visible braces, but 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:01.720 it does add something and adds a quality of life 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:04.840 and not everything is um you know, it has to 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:07.920 be some kind of groundbreaking new science, you know, for 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:09.840 it to be useful and functional for us. So it's 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:12.320 you know, these are good things. Now, there are a 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:17.680 lot of things that are different between Chris and yours, truly, 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:19.520 you know, there are a lot of things that you know, 0:08:19.640 --> 0:08:21.320 we don't. There are a lot of things that we 0:08:21.320 --> 0:08:23.960 we feel very differently about. But um, we also share 0:08:24.000 --> 0:08:27.640 a few similarities. One of those that we both wear 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:34.040 spectacles glasses. Do you have scratch resistant lenses? Um? I 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:37.160 certainly hope so, because my youngest daughter likes to grab 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:38.600 them and rip them off my face and try to 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:41.559 eat them nice. Um, they have not scratched yet. My 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:44.439 jackerosal terriers like to do the same thing. Perhaps they 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:48.000 all get together while we're at work and plot things 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:51.520 to do to us. But yes, scratch resistant lenses, that's 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:54.600 another thing we can thank NASA for now. NASA the 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:58.360 reason they developed this material the special coding to help 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:03.160 protect equipment and face because I mean it's very sensitive equipment. Uh, 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:05.760 and there are particles out in space that are floating 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:07.920 around and you could come into contact with it, and 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:10.880 you definitely don't want something scratching up your your equipment 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:12.640 while you're out in space, especially if it's going to 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:16.240 end up, you know, endangering the people on the mission, 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:21.840 much less endangering multibillion dollar equipment that's up there. So 0:09:22.640 --> 0:09:26.640 this material they've created, the special coding they you know, 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:30.880 scientists adapted it to create the scratch resistant coding they 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:34.320 put on lenses. So if you have glasses that have 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:37.320 this coating on them, you can thank NASA for it. Definitely, 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.800 thank you, NASA, Thank you very much. Otherwise I couldn't see. 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:45.280 So do you want to diverge from the well, I 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:48.959 think I have one. I think I have to tell 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:50.560 me which one is you like? So the other one 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:53.600 I was thinking about talking about long distance telecommunications, that's 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:56.080 a gimme. Yeah, And the satellite dish was when I 0:09:56.080 --> 0:09:57.480 was going to bring up. But they're they're sort of 0:09:57.520 --> 0:10:03.440 intertwined because they use satellite technology to communicate, right, and uh, yeah, 0:10:03.480 --> 0:10:06.880 we're talking about the you know, the NASA had to 0:10:06.880 --> 0:10:12.280 create telecommunication devices that would be able to span enormous distances. 0:10:12.520 --> 0:10:15.439 Because you're talking about trying to maintain contact with people 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:19.840 in outer space. It's hard to get further away than that. Yes, 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:25.200 otherwise Tom Hanks would be stranded in space right now. Yeah, 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:27.400 but then we would have been spared that horrible haircut 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:32.800 from the what was it the Da Vinci Code. But 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:35.240 anyone don't know whether to thank them or curse them. 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:40.520 I'm keeping him in mind. Of course that was a movie, 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:43.000 right exactly. Of course, again, they would have been in 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:46.040 bad shape if they hadn't been able to communicate with Houston, 0:10:46.120 --> 0:10:49.320 and we're very thankful that they were. But yes, the 0:10:49.400 --> 0:10:52.000 same technology that they developed in order to communicate with 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:55.640 astronauts was then of course used to for you know, 0:10:55.679 --> 0:11:00.200 broadcast technology, for telecommunications technology, uh, you know, with out 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:04.280 Without NASA, I'm sure we would have gone down those 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:08.000 roads eventually anyway, but probably not with the same kind 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:12.839 of alacrity that we did thanks to NASA. With the alacrity. Yeah, 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:14.520 I like a lot of throw that in there. And 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:16.600 the other one that I thought I mentioned from the article, 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:20.200 uh was water filters. Yeah, which again you're talking about 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:22.440 if you're gonna send people out up in space, you 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:24.440 may need a way to filter some water so that 0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:26.800 they can have something to drink or something else that 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:29.800 you have to filter some sort of liquid so that 0:11:29.840 --> 0:11:34.720 you would have drinkable water. It doesn't take a whiz 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:39.080 to know what we're talking about. So um so again 0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:42.240 water filters, the same sort of water filters we use 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:44.959 for our tap water. We can thank NASA for creating 0:11:44.960 --> 0:11:47.439 that kind of technology, and I thank them for that 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:50.720 horrible joke. You can blame them for it if you like. 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:53.600 All Right, So now we can go and talk about 0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:56.920 some of the stuff that is not on the in 0:11:56.960 --> 0:11:59.040 the actual article, and then there are more on in 0:11:59.080 --> 0:12:02.320 the article if you want check it out. Yeah, speaking 0:12:02.360 --> 0:12:07.720 of lenses, they helped invent some sunglass technology that works 0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:12.240 with polarization and keeping out frequencies of light that may 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:14.559 be harmful to your eyes. Well, that makes sense because 0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:16.200 I mean, you know, you're out in space. You don't 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:17.920 have that kind of you don't have the benefit of 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:21.240 the Earth's atmosphere to to filter that out. That's true, 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:23.160 and from what i've from what I read, it was 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:26.120 also because they were working on welding and the incredibly 0:12:26.160 --> 0:12:29.000 bright light from you know, certain kinds of welding can 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:30.800 do serious damage to your eyes, and they needed an 0:12:30.800 --> 0:12:35.079 inability to you know, protect the eyes of the astronauts. 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:37.680 But with the blast shield down, I can't see anything. 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:39.840 How am I supposed to be able to fight? Okay, 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:43.400 so I'm gonna have to pick another one. Huh um, 0:12:43.559 --> 0:12:46.880 thermal gloves and boots. Oh yeah, okay. I mean it's 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:51.680 cold in space, very cold, very cold in space, thank you, 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:56.880 con So you know they the astronauts need protection. I 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:59.680 didn't mean to do that, I swear, um, but that 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:01.880 trains slates. You know. It's also very cold in certain 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:05.120 parts of the Earth, and you know, applying that technology 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:08.200 white weight technology and not so much a matter in space, 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:10.480 but when you're you know, dressed in that stuff to 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:13.839 get into the cockpit before you blast off, it's kind 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:17.440 of heavy. Those early space suits were pretty gargagein yeah, 0:13:18.160 --> 0:13:21.360 you know, they were not smelled no, but you know, 0:13:21.400 --> 0:13:24.400 as a result, we have lighter and thinner uh and 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:29.640 warmer fibers. And on a similar note, uh, we've had 0:13:29.679 --> 0:13:33.800 the same sort of material coming handy for things like 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:37.560 a firefighting equipment. So we're talking about like the suits 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:40.480 that that firefighters wear, that our fire resistant fabrics, I 0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:43.200 mean the a lot of that fabric was originally developed 0:13:43.320 --> 0:13:46.480 um to be used in space suits, which have to 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:51.640 not just be able to withstand intense uh well the 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:57.280 intense heat and intense cold. So um. Yeah again, NASA 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:00.160 came up with the technology and that's that's on the 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:04.200 ways we use it today. Um. Apparently they're also responsible 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:09.120 in in some way for redundant flashlight technology. UM. Well, 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:11.240 you think about it. You may need a flashlight and 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:15.280 then you might need another one. The thing is, uh, 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:17.679 if you have one of those flashlights that is supposed 0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:20.640 to be have multiple sources of power in case, uh 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:22.960 the electricity goes out in one of the batteries isn't charged, 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:26.280 or you're in a fire, um, and you need a flashlight. Well, 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:28.720 they you know, one of the projects that came out 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:32.440 of NASA was you know, the multiple backup power systems 0:14:32.440 --> 0:14:36.600 for flashlights built in, which is again not exactly glamorous, 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:40.800 but very useful. Nice And of course you know justin 0:14:40.840 --> 0:14:43.440 mentioned MR eyes which the m R e s and 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:46.560 cat scans we can we can trace that back to NASA. 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:49.520 Do you have information on those? That was one of 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:53.880 the ones that I read may have been amiss. Go ahead. 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:57.240 I have heard they have done work with medical um 0:14:57.360 --> 0:14:59.720 imaging technology and I think that's part of it too. 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:03.400 But because uh, there's a NASA website that goes into 0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:06.800 all the different things, and the thing is, I think 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:11.320 what happens is uh NASA says, oh my gosh, that's brilliant. 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:13.280 We absolutely need this in the space program. And it 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:16.120 gets so well known and so associated with the space 0:15:16.120 --> 0:15:18.440 program that people assume that, you know, well, those geniuses 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:20.160 and NASA, I've done it again, when in fact it's 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:23.400 genius that NASA is working with. Sure, sure you know, 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:28.080 I think I think yeah. And in that case, I 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:30.520 think they were using that technology in order to to 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:35.160 look for vulnerabilities within the various UH equipment they were 0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:37.040 using to make sure there weren't any cracks or anything 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:39.600 like that. And you absolutely need to check the integrity 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:41.400 of your equipment if you're going out in the space, 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:45.040 as we have all found out unfortunately. Um, do you 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:48.240 have another one? I have a favorite one, don't you know? 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:50.440 If I should go ahead and drop your favorite on? Man, 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:54.560 I'm looking through my list space pens. The space pen 0:15:54.720 --> 0:15:57.880 is awesome. I know, I know. It's the space pen 0:15:57.960 --> 0:16:02.520 for the uninitiative and initiated uninitiated. There we go. Um 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:06.320 is a pressurized ballpoint pen. He may be saying, Yeah, 0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:09.960 that's really exciting there dude, Well, no, okay, it's not. 0:16:10.280 --> 0:16:13.440 But you can write in all kinds of different environments 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:15.560 using the space pen. And it's very handy if you 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:18.080 have one and only one pen to use, and keeping 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:19.720 in mind, this is not the kind of environment where 0:16:19.720 --> 0:16:22.520 you're going to take your favorite fountain pen and have 0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:28.560 little drops of ink floating all over the capsule. So well, 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:31.920 you would do it just for fun. Uh you know, anyway, 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:35.240 other other ballpoint pens wouldn't write in space a fountain 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:37.880 pen again, blobs of ink. So what do you do? 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:40.760 You pressurize a ballpoint pen and you can still buy it. 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:42.920 It's it's very widely available. You can get it from 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:44.960 pen companies. You can't even get it from office supply stores. 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:47.120 It's a little bit more expensive than a regular pen, 0:16:47.280 --> 0:16:50.280 but you know, it can rune in virtually any environment. 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:54.160 So kind of nice that and I like pens. How 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:57.360 about joysticks? Oh yeah, you're gonna you're gonna argue with 0:16:57.400 --> 0:16:59.480 me with joysticks. Well, you know what do they used 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:03.960 to fly those planes before NASA? Yeah? I saw that too. 0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:06.200 I saw that on a NASA website. Going, wait a minute, 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:08.199 that that seems well, it says a little different. I 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:10.440 mean the joy sticks they're talking about are probably are 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:14.239 more along the lines of the ones they're using for UM. Uh, 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:17.560 you know it's it's almost the multi button video game style. Yeah, 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:19.159 you're talking about you know, that's the same sort of 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:21.320 stuff that you see in video games now. Really kind 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:27.240 of Trent goes back to the NASA uses for various vehicles. UM. 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:28.800 You know, you think about it. When you're in these 0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:32.639 space suits. Uh, you've got very limited mobility, so you 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:36.120 have to have controls that are easy to grip and 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:39.640 use when you're you know, otherwise a little encumbered, so 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:42.000 you may not be able to use the same sort 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:45.000 of control devices that you would for other kinds of vehicles, 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:49.240 like a steering wheel. Um. You know. One of the 0:17:49.280 --> 0:17:51.760 other things I discovered as I was going through my 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:54.560 research for this podcast was, UM, I learned about the 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:56.760 group that I didn't know about before, which is the 0:17:56.920 --> 0:18:00.560 NASA Inventions and Contributions Board. UM. They've actually giving out 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:03.520 more than nine thousand awards according to their website, for 0:18:03.560 --> 0:18:06.439 different technologies related to the Space program. And it can 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:09.320 be from NASA, from other government agencies or you know, 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:14.400 even public industry or or academic environments. UM. They give 0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:16.119 away awards that they can't be any more than a 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:19.080 hundred thousand dollars unless they talk about it with Congress first. 0:18:19.640 --> 0:18:21.520 I had to get Congress, is okay, So it's like 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:25.760 getting permission from Dad before you can you know, right right, 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:27.600 and actually you can. You can learn about a lot 0:18:27.640 --> 0:18:30.280 of the technologies that are going around that NASA came 0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:34.240 up with. There's a magazine that they offer, uh called Spinoff. UM. 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:37.760 It's available in print. You can't buy a subscription to it. UM. 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:39.560 It's a little you know, you have to be in 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:41.919 certain groups. I mean, it is available to the public, 0:18:42.000 --> 0:18:45.280 but uh, you know, members of Congress, the NASA community. 0:18:45.400 --> 0:18:46.920 It's it's not the kind of thing that I would 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:48.760 imagine most people want to read. But you can sign 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:52.720 up for a free trial issue, which um, which I said, 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:56.800 which you did because you know, I'm interested in this stuff. UM. 0:18:56.840 --> 0:18:59.639 And you know there are other tools too that people 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:04.280 give NASA credit for, um, such as barcodes um and 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:08.160 quartz clocks. So you know these things some of them 0:19:08.160 --> 0:19:11.600 and you know are used by NASA in different forms, 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:13.439 but you know the ones that you see on the 0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:17.440 package at your local grocery store, you know, not really Yeah, 0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:20.320 just because it says space age does not necessarily mean 0:19:20.320 --> 0:19:23.640 that it came from NASA, although I could. I think 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:27.520 I know what my favorite, my favorite invention based off 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:32.080 of NASA's research really is. And I'm talking about the 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:36.919 the Speedo suit swimming So okay, because all right, so 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:39.959 you've got NASA, You've got this, uh, this enormous organization 0:19:40.000 --> 0:19:42.679 that I don't think there's another organization out there in 0:19:42.680 --> 0:19:46.240 the world that knows more about friction than NASA would. 0:19:47.760 --> 0:19:50.680 They've got to be at least among the top elite, 0:19:50.680 --> 0:19:54.359 top three, top three, easy, ye. So yeah, So Speedo 0:19:54.480 --> 0:19:56.760 goes up to NASA and says, hey, you know so 0:19:56.840 --> 0:19:59.720 much about friction, what's the best way to reduce it 0:19:59.840 --> 0:20:02.600 so that we can create a product that will move 0:20:02.680 --> 0:20:06.080 through the water effortlessly. Oh so you're not talking about 0:20:06.240 --> 0:20:10.600 the standard issue Speedo. You're talking about that Superla swimsuit 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:15.800 reduces drag, breaks records, NASA spinoff. Yes, yes, that that 0:20:15.960 --> 0:20:20.560 Speedo and um and so according to NASA, the resulting 0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:25.360 suit reduces skin friction drag twenty more than the previous 0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:30.000 Speedo racing suit. You won't see me wearing one of 0:20:30.040 --> 0:20:33.760 these at the local pool because there are laws against 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:37.680 that kind of thing. And thank the legislators who passed them. Yes, 0:20:38.800 --> 0:20:41.159 so I'm done. Oh you know there was there was 0:20:41.200 --> 0:20:44.440 one that neither of us mentioned that that it did 0:20:44.480 --> 0:20:47.359 come in the email. Oh yeah yeah, freeze dried ice cream. 0:20:47.480 --> 0:20:51.360 Freeze dried. They absolutely did have something to do with that. Yeah, 0:20:51.440 --> 0:20:53.800 you can blame them, but yeah, I mean they need 0:20:53.840 --> 0:20:56.480 freeze dried food. There's not there's not a fridge on 0:20:56.520 --> 0:20:58.840 the Space Shuttle. But not dippin' dots. They didn't do 0:20:58.880 --> 0:21:00.800 the No, I don't think they did dipping outs, but 0:21:00.840 --> 0:21:03.359 there are no sense why would you have dipping dots 0:21:03.400 --> 0:21:06.920 floating around the space cabin? You would, well, I mean 0:21:06.960 --> 0:21:10.080 I would, but that's because i'm you know, very Homer 0:21:10.119 --> 0:21:15.560 Simpson asked, as far as my astronaut training goes, Yeah, 0:21:15.560 --> 0:21:18.200 I don't. I mean, they're they're tons more. But those 0:21:18.240 --> 0:21:20.440 are just some of the more fun ones to talk about, 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:24.440 right right, And like we said, patents actually more than 0:21:24.480 --> 0:21:27.240 that now. But um, yeah, it's a lot of rebound 0:21:27.320 --> 0:21:29.760 to have. Yeah, you're bound to have some some applications 0:21:29.800 --> 0:21:32.800 that go beyond just the space race. So justin there 0:21:32.840 --> 0:21:36.879 are plenty of inventions out there that meet your strict criteria, 0:21:37.040 --> 0:21:41.600 just not all the ones that you mentioned. Now, usually 0:21:41.640 --> 0:21:43.359 this would be the part where I would say that 0:21:43.400 --> 0:21:45.639 we have listener mail, and Chris would hide under the 0:21:45.680 --> 0:21:48.040 table because the alarm would go off. But we I 0:21:48.080 --> 0:21:50.680 don't have listener mail for this particular episode. And this 0:21:50.760 --> 0:21:52.920 is this is why it's not the legislators again to 0:21:53.000 --> 0:21:54.800 do it, because I will, I will go down and 0:21:54.880 --> 0:21:57.720 kiss their boots. No, I actually do have listener mail. 0:21:57.880 --> 0:22:00.880 But the listener mail I have comes in the form 0:22:00.880 --> 0:22:04.000 of questions, and there are several of them. And we thought, 0:22:04.200 --> 0:22:06.399 rather than throw in a listener mail at the end 0:22:06.400 --> 0:22:08.480 of an episode and try and answer the question at 0:22:08.480 --> 0:22:11.280 the very end of something that's totally unrelated, we're gonna 0:22:11.280 --> 0:22:14.880