It saddens me that

I think there was one of those in my great-grandparent’s farmhouse kitchen. Whenever Nana would turn it on, the lights would go a little funky. Heated food like nobody’s business tho!

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Teflon, discovered by Roy J. Plunkett at the DuPont Company’s Jackson Laboratory in 1938,

Definitely before the space program as well.

But indeed, there is some useful research coming out of space technologies, mostly in boring stuff like materials and control systems though :slight_smile:

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Consumer, Home, and Recreation

Temper Foam

Temper foam
As the result of a program designed to develop a padding concept to improve crash protection for airplane passengers, Ames Research Center developed a foam material with unusual properties. The material is widely used and commonly known as temper foam or “memory foam.” The material has been incorporated into a host of widely used and recognized products including mattresses, pillows, military and civilian aircraft, automobiles and motorcycles, sports safety equipment, amusement park rides and arenas, horseback saddles, archery targets, furniture, and human and animal prostheses. Its high-energy absorption and soft characteristics not only offer superior protection in the event of an accident or impact, but enhanced comfort and support for passengers on long flights or those seeking restful sleep. Today, temper foam is being employed by NASCAR to provide added safety in racecars. (Spinoff 1976, 1977, 1979, 1988, 1995, 2002, 2005)


Enriched Baby Food

Baby bottle
Commercially available infant formulas now contain a nutritional enrichment ingredient that traces its existence to NASA-sponsored research that explored the potential of algae as a recycling agent for long-duration space travel. The substance, formulated into the products life’sDHA and life’sARA, can be found in over 90 percent of the infant formulas sold in the United States, and are added to the infant formulas sold in over 65 additional countries. The products were developed and are manufactured by Martek Biosciences Corporation, which has pioneered the commercial development of products based on microalgae; the company’s founders and principal scientists acquired their expertise in this area while working on the NASA program. (Spinoff 1996, 2008)


Portable Cordless Vacuums

Cordless vacuum
Apollo and Gemini space mission technologies created by Black & Decker have helped change the way we clean around the house. For the Apollo space mission, NASA required a portable, self-contained drill capable of extracting core samples from below the lunar surface. Black & Decker was tasked with the job, and developed a computer program to optimize the design of the drill’s motor and insure minimal power consumption. That computer program led to the development of a cordless miniature vacuum cleaner called the Dustbuster. (Spinoff 1981)


Freeze Drying Technology

Freeze dried food container
In planning for the long-duration Apollo missions, NASA conducted extensive research into space food. One of the techniques developed was freeze drying—Action Products commercialized this technique, concentrating on snack food. The foods are cooked, quickly frozen, and then slowly heated in a vacuum chamber to remove the ice crystals formed by the freezing process. The final product retains 98 percent of its nutrition and weighs only 20 percent of its original weight. Today, one of the benefits of this advancement in food preparation includes simple nutritious meals available to handicapped and otherwise homebound senior adults unable to take advantage of existing meal programs sponsored by government and private organizations. (Spinoff 1976, 1994)

Edit:

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Don’t forget spaceships. We wouldn’t have spaceships if not for the space programs either.

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Without the space program there would be no sickening melodramatic dribble like this whining about the space program and littering the internet.

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You know, ogres first came to this planet embedded in a piece of space rock brought back by the Incas (well-documented as the first space traveling culture). Without space travel, you wouldn’t be here to whine about space travel! Irony!

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Wow! Amazing. 42!!!

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Apparently you already knew this because of that ‘42’ reference. Also known, but less common, the rock sample you came from was taken from Ogre-Omega-6338-42. It was just called The Ol’ 42 Stone.

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@Sprkslfly, and @tartarusspawn I couldn’t agree more…

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If anyone is really interested, you should click the links above ^^^^ and read a bit. I think space travel/exploration/research can get a bad rap, at face value. I mean come on, we launched a shuttle, and it’s not like they came back to the planet with a MIcrowave oven, that’s not how it works.

As far as budgetary discussions (and that is a whole nuther can of worms), there is a metric crapload of things we could cut, that are not improving anyone’s lives, and no one would miss.

One thing that NO one would miss, would be missing a Near Earth Object (NEO). Let’s not cut funding to the really important stuff, even IF, it doesn’t make us toasters.

https://spaceguardcentre.com/an-asteroid-may-kill-us-all-congress-is-pinching-pennies/

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I think america should be the first to militarize the moon, we could call it a research facility, thats how the chinesse do it !

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I could explain the issue with this, both legal and in term of military strategy.

It saddens me that people in this day and age still think that extending military presence is a solution and not a problem.

I could get very angry about that but I will get censored like last time, so I won’t.

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My comment was kind of a joke but also serious, its only a matter of time before someone does it, check this out :flushed: https://thediplomat.com/2018/03/how-should-the-us-engage-china-in-space/

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I had to say goodbye to my beloved cat, I have been with him for 27 years, early this morning he passed away in my arms, I had been holding him for the duration, He was my first pet on my own, and had a very good home, in the last week, I knew it was almost time and was lucky enough to spend most of my time with him. I am so very heartbroken but I think that is selfish of me to expect any more from my loyal pet. somewhere inside I need to find the smile because he is finally at peace, So now I am trying very hard to smile, but thinking he is out of pain and at peace now is helping. And also must almost be a record for the lifespan of a cat.

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Sorry to hear that. Losing a pet is never easy. Its amazing how quickly they can grab your heart, even when they haven’t been with you for very long. Glad you were able to spend extra time with him. 27 years is a long lifespan, he must have been a very happy cat and wanted to stick around with you as long as possible.

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@nicomanteno VERY sorry to hear that. I have been down that road more times than I will admit, and it’s never easy. Sounds like you bond with your cats like myself and my wife do, which is great, but it can make some things harder. 27 years, wow, that’s a good friend indeed. You nailed it with “At Peace” which is the best way to look at it, despite plenty of other feelings.

My wife and I adopt, and from “last chance” outfits, which makes things a little harder, but we’re 5 for 0, and that makes it all worth it. Sorry for your lost of your family member, and if you are ready in the future, it never hurts to look around, as you might find another lucky cat, who chooses you, and you can save him or her.

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Sorry for you loss - always hard to lose a pet and i would suspect even harder since he was with you for so long.

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