TABLE OF CONTENTS
It's been four decades since the first Russians and Americans flashed into Outer Space.
Remember Yuri Gagarin riding Vostok 1 to orbit April 12, 1961? Just 23 days later, Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space. Shepard traveled less than one orbit nine months before John Glenn carried the U.S. flag for three orbits Feb. 20, 1962.Since those glory days, the road to space has twisted and turned quite a bit, carrying humans and their friends through some strange territory, punctuated with firsts you won't believe, and some you won't remember.
Like ...Read on! Here are some of the extraordinarily-interesting stories of those men and women who went there first and did things first in those unforgettable days.
... who dented his Moon car?
... who got elected to office?
... who wore a shirt and tie in orbit?
... who bought the first passenger ticket?
... who took along a green tree frog?
... who made a bunch of guys in Houston turn blue?
... who saw fireflies in space?
... who found orange soil on the Moon?
... who played Catch the Peanut?
... who tinkled a portable organ?
... who sunk his spaceship in the Atlantic Ocean?
... who couldn't hold "it" for just 15 minutes more?
... who had a nicotine fit?
... who caught a cold?
... who flew the first space taxicab?
... who ate a corned beef sandwich?
... who took the longest ride in a Moon car?