C (1:47)

No, no, no. More pizzazz. Chassis. Pizzazzy.

E (1:51)

More.

C (1:52)

It needs to be even more pizazzier.

B (1:54)

Joy, I have a great idea. Let's have our first ever First Things First Spectacular. A whole episode dedicated to the wonder and joy, pun intended, of our favorite game. That way we can look at a lot of cool timelines in history and we don't have to worry about trying to rhyme it with First Things First.

C (2:14)

Great idea, snack buddy. We can rhyme at any time because we're fine.

B (2:19)

Like a tree.

C (2:20)

That's pine. Or the number eight. Oh, I'm having a sugar crash. Welcome to Forever Ago. We are so happy to be back. A lot has happened since our last episode. For starters, Forever Ago is now independent. That means we're asking our listeners to help power these programs. Support us by joining Smarty Pass. You get access to ad free versions of all of our shows and bonus episodes. And you can even get a custom message. Message from me. Go to smartypast.org to sign up and keep this show going strong. Thanks. Today we've got an extra special episode planned for you. We Know how much our listeners love First Things first, the game where we try to put three different things in order from oldest to newest. So to celebrate our triumphant return, it's a First Things first spectacular.

E (3:24)

First Things first spectacular.

C (3:29)

We're gonna play three rounds of First Things First. I've got historians on deck ready to challenge us. But first, I'm gonna need a teammate for round one. Let me dial up our listener, Helena from Oak Park, Illinois.

A (3:46)

Hi, Joy.

C (3:47)

Are you ready to play First Things First?

A (3:51)

Yeah.

C (3:52)

Okay, so the category for this round is

B (3:57)

food.

C (4:00)

Helena, what was one of your first favorite foods?

A (4:03)

I think one of my first favorite foods was smoothies, since I've seen a lot of pictures with, like, smoothies on my face, and there's some pictures, like, of my dog, like, licking all the smoothie off my face, because my parents would say, winslow, time to clean up.

C (4:20)

Helena, sit on the floor. The dog needs to eat. What's your favorite food right now?

A (4:26)

So my favorite food changes, like, every single day.

C (4:29)

Yeah.

A (4:30)

So I think, like, today would probably be a BLT sandwich and a ginger cookie from my local bakery, since I had that for lunch.

C (4:36)

That sounds really good. Oh, my gosh. Now I'm hungry for knowledge. Okay, Helena, ready to meet our first historian?

A (4:44)

Let's do it.

C (4:45)

We are playing with Maitha Gomez Rejon. Maithta is a culinary historian, which means she studies the history of food. Dream job alert. She's also a writer, a teacher, and a podcast host like me. Hi, Maita.

F (4:59)

Hi, Joy. Hi, Helena. I'm so excited to be here.

C (5:02)

Yay. We're happy you're here too. Maitha, what's the coolest thing about being a food historian?

F (5:08)

Oh, gosh, there's so many cool things. But I love researching food because I think it's the greatest way to understand a culture. We might not speak other languages, but everyone speaks food.

A (5:22)

Are there any strange recipes that you come across in your research? Maite?

F (5:25)

One of the earliest cookbooks recorded cookbooks in the Western world dates to about 300 BC and it's attributed to this man named Apicius. It's a Roman recipe, and there's something in there called fish pickle. And they would put fish in these giant colanders along the coast. They would add a bunch of things to it, and then the fish would ferment, and that juice of the fermented fish they would add to season their foods. And that was called garum, or fish pickle. And making fish pickle was outlawed within the city walls. It had to be along the coast

C (6:08)

why do you think it's smelly?

D (6:11)

So smelly.

A (6:12)

Because there were fish. Cause it was.

F (6:14)

This fishy smell was just too intense.

C (6:17)

Yeah, I would love to get together with some friends along a coast and pickle some fish.

F (6:23)

I'm with you. Let's go.

C (6:25)

Okay, so, Maita, you're gonna give Helena and me three food things, and we're gonna work together to put them in order from earliest in history to most recent. What have you got for us?

F (6:36)

So your three items are the ingredients of a s'.

C (6:39)

More.

F (6:40)

So your three items are graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate.

A (6:45)

Are we talking like the boxed graham crackers or like, more just like, graham crackers in general?

F (6:52)

Graham crackers in general.

C (6:55)

Okay. Do you like s', mores, Helena?

A (6:58)

I love s'. Mores. Like, I'm going to a two week summer camp this year. It's overnight, and I think I'm gonna have a lot of s'. Mores. Like, once I made this s', more, it was like, all gooey and, like, with the chocolate was like melted and like, the marshmallow was really puffy. So. Yeah, I love s'.

F (7:17)

Mores.

C (7:17)

I also love s'. Mores. Yum. Okay, so we have three things for s'. Mores. We have graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. So, Helena, what do you think came first, second, and most recently in history?

A (7:29)

I feel like chocolate would come first because, like, people would need chocolate. Chocolate's like, it's like an essential. So, like, or at least it is to me. I need chocolate.

C (7:43)

Yeah, I love chocolate too.

A (7:45)

And like, I feel like there could be some type of, like, ancient chocolate or something.

C (7:49)

Oh, yeah, yeah. It could have been something from long ago. Okay, I'm behind that.

A (7:54)

And then I feel like baby marshmallows. I'm kind of like, I'm not sure about this because, like, I feel like marshmallows and graham crackers could be really close. Yeah, I'm like, wait, how would you, like, make a marshmallow? Like, who would, like, think of the idea to make a marshmallow?

C (8:15)

Like, yeah, yeah, I'm sure somebody was just sitting around and then all of a sudden a marshmallow came and they're like, oh, what is this?

A (8:22)

What is this new dessert or food?

C (8:26)

I must tell the world about it. Okay, so we have chocolate and then marshmallow. So last must be graham crackers.

A (8:34)

Yeah, I think so. Because I feel like graham crackers, you need to figure out, like, the perfect combination to make graham crackers. Because if you add Too much like, something. Something. Like, if they had liquid in it, and you would need to, like, if you add too much, they would be stocky. Like, so I feel like you would need to have, like, the perfect combination. I feel like that would take a while. So, like, we don't have. They didn't have, like, all the, like, techniques of making food back then.

C (9:01)

Yeah, that makes sense. So, like, all of the ingredients coming together to make the one thing would prob. Take a long time to figure out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And also, just so you know, this is a little side note, but we just learned in our Girl Scout episode that s' mores were actually invented by the Girl Scouts. Isn't that interesting?

A (9:19)

Yeah, I did not think that that would be true.

C (9:21)

Yeah, Girl Scouts are the best.

A (9:23)

Yeah.

C (9:24)

Okay, so our final answers. We're gonna go with number one is chocolate. Number two is marshmallows, and number three is graham crackers. That's our final answer.

A (9:37)

Yeah. Final answer.

C (9:38)

I believe in us. Helena. I think. I think those are good guesses.

A (9:41)

I believe in us too.

C (9:44)

What did we do? Were we right?

F (9:46)

So I loved hearing you discuss this. Okay, so I'm gonna tell you what came first, what came second, and what came third. Number one oldest is the marshmallow. Really?

A (9:58)

What. How old is this?

F (10:01)

People have been eating marshmallows for over 4,000 years.

D (10:07)

4,000 years?

A (10:09)

That's, like, as old as rice.

F (10:11)

They're very old. The original flavor of marshmallows came from a plant called the marshmallow, and it's a plant in ancient Egypt that grows in marshes. So the ancient Egyptians used the same SAP from the root of this plant to make a treat that was reserved only for gods and royalty.

A (10:36)

I feel like something like a delicacy, like, marshmallow would probably just be for, like, rich people. And I feel like it. I was like, I feel like it's either, like, marshmallows would be, like, if it was old, then I feel like it would be made in, like, ancient Rome or, like, ancient Egypt.

F (10:54)

Like, yeah, whenever you think of ancient Egypt, it feels like, okay, that's. That's really, really old. The French perfected a candy version similar to what we eat today in the 1800s. And the modern marshmallow that we love to eat today with our s' mores didn't become popular until the 1950s. So next up is chocolate.

A (11:15)

Oh, my goodness.

F (11:17)

So chocolate comes from a cacao tree. So chocolate is actually a fruit of a tree, and they started cultivating it about 3,000 years ago. Or at least 3,000 years ago. And what we now know is Mexico. And the fruit of the tree, it looks like a little squished football. And that little squished football, when it's ripe, it has about 30 to 50 cacao seeds inside, and they're surrounded by this pulp. But the seeds themselves, they look like these really big almonds. And then what you do is that they roast the seeds. Sometimes they're called beans, but they're basically seeds. And then they're peeled once they're roasted, and then once they're peeled, they're ground into a paste. And the ancient Mayas developed this, and they would ground it into a paste, and they only used it to make hot chocolate. And like the marshmallow in Egypt, it was exclusively used for royalty, and it was only a drink. A chocolatey, chocolatey drink.

A (12:34)

I know that it was, like, chocolate is, like, from Mexico. So I feel like I was thinking, like, the ancient Mayas. And then I was like, would that be that far back?

F (12:42)

It's pretty far back.

A (12:43)

Yeah.

C (12:43)

Yeah.

A (12:44)

It's only a thousand years different from, like, the marshmallow.

C (12:48)

Yeah. We had 4,000, and then we have 3,000, and now are we at 2,000?

F (12:54)

No, not. Not that we're much closer. The graham cracker is third, and that's much closer. The graham crackers were invented by a man named Sylvester Graham in 1829. He named these crackers after himself, and they were part of a special diet he came up with that eliminated all meat, all fat, coffee, spices, sugars. It was, like, no fun.

A (13:20)

So this guy came up with this new food that's really popular by diet.

F (13:27)

Right. But it was different than our honey or cinnamon graham cracker. It was probably just, you know, a plain, you know, cracker. So it was much less sweet than the cracker that we know today. But eventually they started adding sugar to it, sweetening them, cinnamon to them. So I don't think that Sylvester Graham would have liked the modern day Graham crackers.

C (13:50)

It's so interesting that, like, this, like, the marshmallow and the chocolate were for, like, royalty, and then the graham cracker was for, like, diet purposes. Were you surprised by anything in that, Helena? Like, what was the most surprising?

A (14:04)

I feel like I was very surprised by the marshmallows, like, but also, like, the graham crackers. I didn't think the marshmallows would be first, since I'm like, how would marshmallows go back like that far? Like, you would need to, like, come up with, like, some recipe like that Seems hard to do because I barely know what marshmallows are made out of. And then like, the graham crackers, I didn't think that it would be on like a diet and he had to make something for his diet. I thought that they would just be making something for like, the sake of, like, people wanted something like a cracker. But that was also really sweet.

C (14:40)

Yeah. Well, this is all so interesting. I am going to think about the royalty in the s' more and I'm gonna eat a bunch of graham crackers in aw. Honor of my husband, who is also named Graham, every time I make a s'. More. Well, thank you, Maita, for telling us about all this history.

A (14:56)

My pleasure.

F (14:56)

Thank you so much for having me and happy camping.

C (14:59)

And thanks, Helena, for being our first contestant. Great job.

A (15:03)

Bye, Joy. Thanks for having me.

C (15:05)

Goodbye. Hey friends, we're so glad to be back. While we were gone, you sent us a ton of great ideas and we're going to be answering your questions and reading your thoughts in a new segment called Forever Ago Mailbag. Today's mail is from myself. Dear Joy, I am so excited for us. We have so many fun things planned for this season like an episode on Diamonds and one on teddy bears. Oh, and Candyland. It's gonna be great. Good work us. Signed your biggest booster yourself, Joy Dolo. Wow. I am so nice, but I'd really like to hear from you. Send me your ideas for the show, ask me about my likes and dislikes, or send me life questions. I give great advice. Go to brainzon.org contact to send your mail to me. Thank you. I can't wait to hear from you. After a full day of running errands, walking the dog, exploring the before, and yoga, there is nothing like coming home to a home cooked meal. And being an adult means that I have to make that home cooked meal. But who has time for that after a long day? I like my night to be easy. Which is why I love everyplate. Everyplate is an affordable meal kit that takes the guesswork out of dinner. With step by step recipe cards, you have an easy pre portioned meal in less than 30 minutes. We had the crispy chicken parm with marinara and let me tell you, it was quick, easy and so delicious. And because I spent less time planning a meal, I had more time to enjoy my friends and family. Try EveryPlate and get two $2.99 per meal on your first box plus 10% off for a month. Go to EveryPlate.com podcast and use code FOREVER AGO 299 to claim your offer. That's code FOREVER AGO. 299@everyplate.com podcast to get 2.99 per meal on your 1st box, plus 10% off for a month. Ditch the dinner time dilemmas with every plate. Okay. Had to take a quick break to make a s' more so toasty. Now I'm sugared up and ready for round two. My teammate for this one is listener Oliver from Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Let's give him a call.

A (18:02)

Hey, Joy.

C (18:03)

Hi, Oliver. I'm super excited to play this next round of First Things first first with you. Are you ready?

A (18:10)

Yeah.

C (18:11)

All right, let's get it started. Oliver. Our category is going to be

E (18:18)

toys.

C (18:21)

Oh, I love toys. When I was growing up, my favorite toy was, like, this little pony. It's. Have you ever heard of My Little Pony, Oliver?

A (18:29)

Yeah.

C (18:30)

It used to be like a My Little Pony doll that was, like, plastic, and it was pink and it had purple spots on it, and it had really long, beautiful hair. And I brush it, and then I would braid the tail. Do you remember your first favorite toy, Oliver?

A (18:45)

It was either like, Paw Patrol, Transformers.

C (18:49)

Oh, yeah, Transformers. Nice. Well, we're about to do some toy time traveling with Azhelle Wade. She's a toy expert and a toy designer. She even has a company called the Toy Coach, where she helps other people who want to invent new toys. And she hosts a podcast called Making it in the Toy Industry. Hey, Jelly.

D (19:09)

Hey, friends.

A (19:10)

Hi, Azhel.

C (19:11)

Azelle, you have a lot of experience designing toys, and I'm wondering if there are any historical toys, like, from a long time ago that you're inspired by today.

D (19:20)

Oh, yes. So the Slinky toy inspires me so much as a designer because it was actually a toy created by accident. It was a toy where the inventor was trying to create a spring to actually transport products, and then the spring drops, and he saw how it felt. And it just tells me how a simple concept can captivate people for decades. Kids, adults of all ages. It has timeless appeal, and it uses innovative materials. And it reminds me that great ideas just lie in simplicity.

C (19:53)

That's what I should remember. Great ideas lie in simplicity. Less is more, Joy. Less is more. And are there any historical toys you've come across that would definitely not be something you could sell today?

D (20:03)

Oh, my gosh, yes. One of the most infamous examples is from the 60s and 70s. It was called the Clackers. This was a toy where it was two acrylic balls on a string, and kids were instructed just swing them up and down. They would clack together. So dangerous, they would hit each other. The acrylic balls themselves would shatter. Obviously, it caused injuries.

C (20:30)

Does that sound like fun to you, Oliver?

A (20:32)

No.

C (20:35)

Yeah, I guess it wouldn't be great on the market today.

A (20:38)

No.

C (20:39)

So what toys have you pulled out of the time capsule for? First things first.

D (20:43)

All right, the three toys that you're going to put in order are the Super Soaker water sprayer, Legos, and the Magic 8 Ball.

C (20:54)

Oo, Oliver, do you know all these toys?

A (20:58)

Yeah.

C (20:59)

So for those of you who don't know, the Super Soaker is a big water sprayer, so fun for the summer. And a Magic 8 ball is like a Black 8 ball that you see on a pool table, but you shake it, and it answers your questions. So, Oliver, what do you think? Which. Which came first, which came second, and which came most recently in history?

A (21:16)

I think Legos came first because I think they, like, came out during World War II as, like, small wooden toys, but the brand was called Lego.

C (21:30)

Okay. Oh, you already got some history knowledge. All right. You're a step ahead. All right, so we got Legos first. What do you think is next?

A (21:36)

Probably the super soca, because it's just like a big version of a water gun. And then the Magic 8 ball, because it, like, you shake it, then it gives you answers. So it would be, like, more new.

C (21:51)

Yeah, it seems like it's further along in the technology. I think that's really great. So we have Legos number one, and then number two, we have the Super Soaker. And then number three, we have the Magic 8 Ball. Is that your final answer?

A (22:05)

Yeah.

C (22:05)

Yeah. All right, well, we'll hear the answers after a quick break. Hey, forever ago. Friends, we're already working on a bunch of new episodes for our next season, and we want to hear what you're curious about. Do you have a history question that you want to know the answer to or an invention you're curious about? Oliver, what's something in history that you'd like to learn more about?

A (22:28)

Probably the history of Pokemon. Yes, I really like Pokemon, and I've always wondered, like, where they came from.

C (22:37)

Yeah. What's your favorite Pokemon?

A (22:39)

It's hard to say.

C (22:40)

There's so many. You gotta catch them. All right. Yeah, that's what they say in the show. If you have a question about history or an idea for an episode, record it and send it to us@foreverago.org contact.

A (22:52)

You can also send us fan art.

D (22:54)

Yes.

C (22:55)

Like a picture of me playing with a Super Soaker. I can't wait to see what you Send in. That's Foreverago.org contact. Want Forever Ago without the ads. Join Smarty Pass. You get an ad free feed of all the brains on Universe shows, plus bonus content and more. Sign up@smartypass.org Thanks. You're listening to Forever Ago. I am Joybot, a talking robot podcast host. Just kidding. But if any toy companies want to get in on that idea, just call me. Beat me. Today we're having a first Things first extravaganza to celebrate our return. Before the break, my buddy Oliver and I were playing with toy historian Azelle Wade. Hey, Azelle.

D (23:55)

Welcome back, you two. Okay, so you guessed that the three toys I gave you came in this order. Legos, Super Soaker, and then the Magic eight Ball. Are you two ready to hear the answers?

C (24:07)

Yes, absolutely.

D (24:09)

Okay, let's do it. So the Magic eight Ball is first.

C (24:15)

What?

A (24:15)

What?

D (24:16)

I know. It was created in 1950 by Albert Carter and Abe Bookman. Albert had tried creating other fortune telling crystals before, but he didn't have much success. In 1950, a pool table company saw his design and asked him to make the now famous Magic 8 Ball version.

C (24:35)

Wow. So it seems like it's like technologically advanced, so it'd be like the most recent. What did it say? What year?

D (24:44)

1950.

C (24:45)

1950. Oh, wow. I was just a toddler then. Just kidding. That's a long time ago.

D (24:54)

Very long. Oliver.

A (24:56)

Oliver.

D (24:56)

Probably wasn't even a thought. Now next up, a close second are Legos. Plastic LEGO bricks were patented in 1958 by the Toy maker Gottfried Kirk. Early versions were called automatic binding bricks, but they later changed the name to Legos after the Danish phrase le got, which means play well. The design of the LEGO brick has remained pretty much the same since it was patented, though the company has now made over 20,000 different Lego sets.

A (25:30)

Whoa.

C (25:31)

Wow. Automatic binding bricks. It doesn't really roll off the tongue

D (25:35)

like LEGO ABB Automatic binding bricks.

C (25:39)

Look at all these Abbs. Okay, so we were wrong. Two for two. So last must be last, but certainly

D (25:46)

not least, the super soaker, patented in 1986 by inventor Lan Lonnie Johnson. Lonnie was actually working as an engineer for NASA when he came up with the idea for the Super Soaker. By accident. He was part of the Galileo mission that built a rocket to study Jupiter, and he was trying to figure out this special heat pump that would run on pressurized steam. When he was testing his idea in his bathroom, the nozzle that he was using sprang a leak and then shot water across the bathroom in a long stream. Light bulb moment. Today, the Super Soaker is the best selling water toy of all time.

C (26:23)

Wow. It's awesome that he was working for NASA. Like, he came up with this Super Soaker idea. Amazing.

A (26:31)

Now I need to buy a Super Soaker.

C (26:33)

Yes. You have to experience the power of NASA with the Super Soaker.

D (26:42)

I love it, too, because he's also an African American toy inventor and there aren't that many of us.

C (26:46)

Oh, really? Oh, I did not know that. There is not that many. So we're presenting for the culture.

D (26:51)

There is.

C (26:52)

Well, that was. That was awesome. Wow. I mean, we got them wrong, but that's okay because you have to fail to grow.

D (26:59)

Yeah. You know, you win or you learn.

C (27:02)

Yes, yes. Win or learn. We did a good job. Oliver, Azhel, thank you so much.

D (27:07)

Anytime. Bye, you two.

C (27:09)

And, Oliver, you did such a great job.

A (27:12)

Thanks, Joy. See you later.

C (27:21)

All right, listeners, it's time for our third and final round. I'm going to call up listener Violet from Knoxville, Tennessee.

A (27:34)

Hi, Joy.

C (27:35)

Violet, I'm so excited to play first things first with you.

A (27:39)

Me too.

C (27:40)

The category for this round is

F (27:45)

space.

C (27:47)

Violet, would you ever want to go to space?

A (27:50)

Probably not.

C (27:51)

Why?

A (27:53)

Like, the trip, like, the G force of, like, the pressure of going up.

C (27:57)

Oh, yeah.

A (27:58)

Being there, like, cool. That sounds really fun, getting up there. No, thanks. No.

C (28:04)

Yeah, I usually get motion sickness on just like a roller coaster, so I totally get it. Okay. So here to challenge us this time is Derek Pitts. He's the chief astronomer at the Franklin Institute, a science museum for kids and families in Philadelphia, Pennsylvan. Hi, Derek.

E (28:20)

Hi, Joy. Hi, Violet.

C (28:21)

Derek, you've been an astronomer at the Franklin Institute for a long time. Since 1978. Can you remember your first day on the job?

E (28:30)

I do remember my first day on the job. I remember being very excited to be at this place, the Franklin Institute. And there was so much for me to learn about where everything was and how everything gets done and what my role was going to be. So it was a really special day, and I learned a tremendous amount. Still learning. So it was a great day.

A (28:53)

Derek, can you remember the first time you looked through a telescope?

E (28:56)

I do remember the first time I looked through a telescope, yes. It was when I was probably about 10 years old, almost your age, actually. And I remember first looking at the moon and looking at a few bright stars, and I was hooked from there. I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. And I thought working with telescopes was just spectacular. And the view was really great. You could see all sorts of features, like craters on the surface of the moon. And the stars look so bright and twinkly. It was really exciting to see that.

A (29:33)

So awesome. And you're going to ask us about some astronomical first.

E (29:37)

Yes, that's right, I am. Here's how it's going to go. I want you to guess the order of three important astronomical achievements. They are the first time astronauts flew all the way around the moon, the first time a photo was taken from the surface of another planet. And the first time humans discovered that Saturn has rings. What do you think the order would be?

C (30:05)

Wow, those are all very different. Violet, what do you think?

A (30:09)

Okay, I'm thinking first time that Saturn has rings. First time we flew around the moon, and first time photo of like a planet.

C (30:24)

Oh, wow. You were right in there with them. Okay, so talk me through your choices. How did you get to Saturn ring as one?

A (30:29)

Yeah, I'm thinking like, telescope Galileo. Like, I'm thinking like about that.

C (30:35)

Oh, yeah, yeah.

A (30:36)

Then I'm thinking, because Neil Armstrong. That was a hot minute ago.

C (30:43)

It was.

A (30:44)

And then taking a photo of the moon, like, I'm thinking the Hubble telescope, because, like, that's still in use.

C (30:53)

That's really educated guesses that you got there. So number one, we have Saturn rings. And then number two is flying around the moon. And then number three, the photo taken from the surface of a planet. Is that your final answer?

D (31:08)

Yes.

A (31:08)

I'm scared.

C (31:11)

Okay. I'm scared. Is it right, Derek? What is it?

E (31:15)

Okay, so here we go with the answers. The first one in this sequence is the rings of Saturn being identified.

A (31:25)

Yeah.

E (31:25)

As a part of the planet. Yeah. Now you were, you were right, Violet. You said Galileo and a telescope. And Galileo first saw Saturn in 1610. But Galileo didn't really know what he was saying. In fact, he didn't really describe Saturn with rings. He thought Saturn had ears.

C (31:47)

What?

E (31:48)

Well, that's, that's what it looked like to him. And his telescope. His telescope was. Was okay, but it wasn't really very good. It wasn't for another 45 years before another astronomer, Christian Huygens, using a much better telescope, could actually clearly identify that what was around Saturn were a set of rings. So that wasn't until 1655. So you're right on the first one. Observing the rings of Saturn and being able to say exactly what they are. That's number one in the sequence.

C (32:19)

Yay, Violet. Good job.

E (32:22)

Very good reasoning. Okay, let's go to number two. Number two in the sequence is it was 1968 when the Apollo 8 astronauts first flew around the moon. Entirely around the moon. Yep. It was December 21st through December 27th, 1968. And these three astronauts were all in a spacecraft together. They had flown up toward the moon. And this was the first time that humans actually flew all the way around the moon. And just like your coming birthday, Violet, they orbited the moon 10 times before they came back to Earth. They didn't land on the moon this time. That wouldn't come until Apollo 11 in the next year.

C (33:08)

Wow.

E (33:09)

There you go so far. One and two.

A (33:11)

Yay.

E (33:12)

And I guess it's pretty obvious that the last one is the first photo taken on the surface of another planet was in 1975. The planet was Venus. And here's how it went. You mentioned Hubble Space Telescope Violet, and that's a really great guess. Hubble Space Telescope has been taking great pictures of the night sky, but this was a photograph of the surface of Venus taken by a spacecraft launched to go visit Venus by the Soviet Union. And they actually got the spacecraft to land on the surface of Venus. And this is the first time a spacecraft landed on another planet. And the spacecraft took two pictures of the surface of Venus. Really interesting pictures. But the spacecraft could not stand the tremendous heat and the atmospheric pressure before it broke down about 45 minutes after landing.

C (34:15)

Oh, wow.

E (34:15)

It only lasted for 45 minutes, but it took two pictures and sent those pictures back to Earth by radio signal. And that's how we have the pictures of Venus from The spacecraft Venera 9 on Venus, launched by the Soviet Union in 1975.

C (34:32)

Wow. The best 45 minutes of Venera's life.

E (34:36)

Yes, exactly right. And weren't we lucky to get the pictures?

C (34:39)

You could do a lot in 45 minutes. Violet, was there anything here that surprised you?

A (34:44)

I'm surprised that I got them right.

C (34:47)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you nailed it. And it seems like you had some really great reasoning too.

E (34:51)

Great job trying to figure this out. And look how well you did all three right in order. That's a really great job. So congratulations. And with that, it's time for me to make like a rocket and blast off.

A (35:05)

Bye, Derek. Thank you.

E (35:06)

Goodbye, Violet. Goodbye, Joy.

C (35:08)

Bye, Derek. Thanks for playing, Violet. So let's make like the sun and shine on.

A (35:16)

Bye, Derek. Bye, Joy. Thank you.

E (35:22)

Woo.

C (35:23)

That was so fun. What a way to launch our new season. We've got a lot more fun and a lot more history coming your way. Episodes on Diamonds, the Titanic, Sports Bras, the World Cup Candyland, and next week, the history of teddy bears. So keep checking back every week. See you soon. This episode was produced by Nico Gonzalez Whistler and Ruby Guthrie. It was edited by Sandon Totten and Shayla Farzan. Sound designed by Rachel Breeze. Original theme music by Mark Sanchez. Special thanks to Maite Gomez, Rayjon Azelle Wade and Derek Pitts.