What is Digg?56 Comments
- Andres84, on 07/30/2008, -2/+37This is for those who complain too much is spent in 'useless' space programs. Great article.
- Azohko, on 07/31/2008, -0/+24NASA is awesome. Their is a reason people use the term rocket scientist as a synonym for smart.
- chocula78, on 07/31/2008, -2/+23Someone forward this list to Barack Obama. He has threatened to cut wasteful spending on manned exploration in the space program. This list would make him think twice about that.
- RealmDown, on 08/01/2008, -0/+11NASA continues making advances. Some aren't seen for years because genius takes time to be practically applied in other fields. Often times, the origin of the original idea is lost or forgotten. This is a fantastic reminder of a single source of multiple ingenious ideas.
Go NASA. - Scynet, on 08/01/2008, -0/+11Teflon was actually first used in uranium enrichment by the U.S. government, and was adopted by space folks later. At least according to physics professor Richard Muller in his "Physics for future presidents" -podcast course:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=095393D5B4 ... (University of Berkeley)
Dugg anyway, nobody can deny NASA's worth to mankind. - synthaxx, on 08/01/2008, -0/+11If only the people that make up the budget remembered these...
- fracktica, on 08/01/2008, -0/+9That's the first thing that came to my mind. I know you're all probably tired of hearing this but... NASA used to get 10% of the budget and now they get 1/10th of 1%. And somehow NASA still has a reputation for being a massive waste of cash. From 2006 - 2011, NASA's budget is supposed to decrease by 3.2%
But rest easy - a cool $200,000,000/year is going to faith based abstinence programs. - Pigeon, on 08/01/2008, -0/+7I hate to do it but:
*There - samoan27, on 07/30/2008, -1/+8Don't forget Swedish Sleep Systems Memory Foam...or have I been lied to by television?
- RealmDown, on 08/01/2008, -1/+8Actually, it would probably make him think about it for the FIRST time.
"Change isn't good unless it thought through first." --- Me - v00doo, on 08/01/2008, -2/+8I love NASA
- listrophy, on 08/01/2008, -0/+5The article makes no claim that NASA invented Teflon. Instead, it mentions that NASA created a Teflon-coated fiberglass. As an aerospace engineer, I can tell you that there's a huge difference between the two. To me, Teflon by itself is pretty useless. Putting it on fiberglass and getting it to stick... now that's useful.
- adayahead, on 07/30/2008, -1/+5A great article. Has anyone seen the TV show "How William Shatner changed the world?" Its a look at all the Star Trek gadgets that have more or less "come true".
- Suneet67, on 07/30/2008, -2/+6what about Tang>?
- JorgeGT, on 08/01/2008, -1/+4"I won't pay you those damn three ships, Columbus!"
--Some king of portugal. - JQP123, on 08/01/2008, -0/+3Invented before NASA even existed.
http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/history.html - Antimatter85, on 08/01/2008, -1/+3NASA was awesome during the past few decades, but lately they've been dropping the ball a lot. The reports of ice on Mars are definitely encouraging news. Here's hoping that they can remove their heads from their butts and actually make progress in human space programs over the decade to come.
- Jeremyz0r, on 08/01/2008, -0/+2Instant Noodles! (-Japan)
- Isidore, on 08/01/2008, -0/+2For all NASA fans (like me) out there - they even have a good introduction to the science of global warming and whether humans are now contributing to it
http://climate.jpl.nasa.gov/evidence/ - JQP123, on 08/01/2008, -0/+2Just another in a long list of "inventions" that NASA is erroneously but frequently credited with.
- lothar250, on 08/01/2008, -0/+2they gave us ant farm gel!!!
- kungfumaniac, on 08/01/2008, -0/+251. Duct Tape.
- c010rb1indusa, on 08/01/2008, -0/+2What about Velcro? That should be at the top of the list.
- JQP123, on 08/01/2008, -0/+2Just another in a long list of "inventions" that NASA is erroneously but frequently credited with.
WD-40 was invented before NASA even existed.
http://inventors.about.com/od/wstartinventions/a/W ... - aterimperator, on 08/02/2008, -0/+2Seriously? I'm going to do that. Or at least try. Some aide will read it and delete it. But maybe if we all do it...
- evilregis, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1Invented by a Swiss engineer, not NASA.
- inactive, on 08/01/2008, -3/+4Photos of Saturn's rings changed our world?
Wat?
Some of those were pulled from somebody's arse. - starmanjones, on 08/03/2008, -0/+1all right. a NASA love fest. i've said any time i can fit it in. NASA is one of the few crown jewels of human existence. i love NASA even when i criticize it. i will defend its existence to all comers. NASA has made it possible for humans to be more than a flash in the universal pan. its likely that life from the planet earth will spread to all points in this part of our universe because of NASA.
i'd like to add... that the russian space program deserves equal billing. NASA got bogged down in politics after winning the race to the moon. russia took on living in space. while the U.S. dropped the ball following up apollo -the russians methodically wrote the book on humans living in space. that is as big as the apollo accomplishments. - aterimperator, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1I remembered that this is the internet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_budget
This doesn't seem to be right though, because I keep hearing about budget cuts, and according to this, Nasa's budget is the highest it has ever been (well not quite after you adjust for inflation, but still it's not as bad as I thought it was).
But still, any cutting money from NASA is bad. - WyldeJ, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1Well, I feel appreciative towards NASA.
- Rudegar, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1and they thought me everything i know me everything i know about s&m from their sex in space research! :P
- 9bpm9, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1How about the microwave oven?
- evilregis, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1I would put WD-40 on the list.
- evilregis, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1I wondered about that... NASA gets credited with a lot of things. Thanks.
- JQP123, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1At least half the claims and logic from the article are laughable. Starting from the top.
Black & Decker invented a drill for NASA.
Later, Black & Decker invented the handheld vac.
Ergo, NASA gave us the hand held vac and changed the world.
At best, NASA was a consumer, not the inventor. - kd1s, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1A small correction on #44. Telstar was the Bell System's satellite, not NASA's. NASA simply did the lifting.
- JQP123, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1The thing that NASA truly excels at is self promotion and propaganda and the comments here reflect the results of their efforts. With only 36 comments, at least 3 are outright false claims for NASA inventions.
- ComradeGoby, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1It doesn't matter because any money going to faith based abstinence programs is wasted money.
- gasoline, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1"In the Shadow of the Moon":
The surviving crew members from NASA's Apollo missions tell their story in their own words. [Not a single PR-guy or some geeky historian in this doc, astronauts ONLY!]
See:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0925248/ - aterimperator, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1And yet so many do, every time they say that they want to stop wasting funding on "routine missions". As if anything NASA does isn't cutting edge.
- fracktica, on 08/01/2008, -1/+2@saqer
If you're looking for a quick fix to all of these problems - lower gas prices, cheaper food, and "other" - NASA is not for you. But if you're patient enough, NASAs technologies trickle down heavily over the years. Solar panels, Ion propulsion, Nuclear technologies, Radiation Shielding, Imaging Technologies, Battery Technology, Communications Satellites... and considering we are on the brink of massive nanotech and quantum discoveries, I don't think now is the time to cut funding to the world's leading space program.
Why are you so bent out of shape over NASA when the government is bleeding money out the ass to a war abroad? Has the war lowered your gas prices or made your food cheaper? Penny-wise and dollar foolish.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure... Money to NASA - which is .1% of the budget - is money extremely well spent. - matt510, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1Haha, I think it is funny that it now becomes some conspiracy: NASA is all about self promotion and propaganda. Yes, I find myself being duped by NASA all the time, they keep running all these ads and are always coming up to me telling me they made velcro. Damn them! /sarcasm.
- JQP123, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1"Neither is true."
The truth is that NASA is the holder of a relatively small number of US patents.
It's a testament to the declining quality of our education system and the effectiveness of NASA's "promotional activities" (which enlists schools and teachers to promote the organization to young children) that so many young people give NASA credit for almost any and every piece of technology under the sun. - Merp08, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1I agree totally, I was actually going to make the same post.
- matt510, on 08/01/2008, -1/+1We can't maintain life well on this planet? How do you figure that?
- inactive, on 08/01/2008, -1/+1education in this country deserves more funding than NASA, but it's the last on the list for any kind of funding. Although all that stuff sounds serious and advanced the breakthroughs in that sort of technology are coming at the university level and private sectors.
what is it with people's infatuation with space exploration? Get over yourselves already. The obsession is in part with people's inner desire to believe that we're not alone, to validate their own convictions that this is all indeed a freak accident of epic proportions. What am I talking about? I am talking about people's wishes that science fiction ceases to become fiction.
Just because I"m against the nasa program doesn't mean I'm pro war. - johnandrewwalsh, on 08/02/2008, -0/+0What a great article! I've been a NASA geek since fifth grade, when I wrote them and they sent back a huge envelope full of spaceship diagrams, Apollo astronaut group photos, and a map of the solar system.
- aterimperator, on 08/02/2008, -1/+1You site percentages. I agree with everything you said, but I would like to know how much 200 million would affect nasa, what percentage of NASA's budget is that?
- LeeSoong, on 08/02/2008, -1/+1NASA keeps money flowing into defense contractors so they have something else to work on besides fulfilling DOD orders, and it found some good jobs for all the Nazi scientists who came to the USA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Paperclip
"Masters of Space" indeed.
Now when will the Mars Casino vacation resort open ? -
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