On this day 50 years ago, Ham the Chimp blasted off in a Mercury rocket and flew 157 miles in space, just to see if it would be safe to send less hairy apes into orbit.
It was, pretty much.
LIFE magazine has a feature today where you can see rare photos of Ham the Chimp, called “In Praise of Ham the Chimp.”
Go see them.
Ernest Borgnine was given a lifetime achievement award at the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards last night.
For political wonks (and Chicagoans) only: David Axelrod talks about Obama’s first two years.
A fabulous gallery from LIFE photographer John Olsen. Starting with Frank Zappa:Zappa’s mom:
Today is the 25th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger exploding after takeoff and killing all seven astronauts on board.
The most famous crew member at the time was probably Christa McAuliffe. She was a high school teacher from New Hampshire, the first of what was called the Teacher in Space Program from NASA.
Also on board: Commander Francis R. Scobee, Pilot Michael J. Smith, Mission Specialists Judith A. Resnik, Ellison S. Onizuka and Ronald E. McNair, and Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.
Here’s what it’s like when a Hollywood icon shoots a 20-second bit outside your front door. Best line:
Fedor Dostoevsky, author of Crime and Punishment — and the beloved Russian author not played by Christopher Plummer — died on this day in 1881. Speaking of crime and punishment: Dostoevsky beat Billy the Kid to the grave by just six months.
Over at Media Matters, they’re featuring a video clip from Fox News — in which former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin uses naughty internet slang — on national tee-vee! — to harp on President Barack Obama’s recent State of the Union address (hint: it’s not SOTU).
Nope.Klute (with Jane Fonda, above), M*A*S*H, Don’t Look Now, Day of the Locust… sorry, not good enough.
Speaking of Nelson Mandela and memory loss: President Ronald Reagan showed signs of Alzheimer’s Disease as early as 1986, says his son