Commentary

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The Story of the Last Page in Your US Passport — and the Soccer Ball That’s Gone to Space Twice

passport
Jul 02 2018

One of the defining moments of my childhood was the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in January 1986. I was 11 years old. The only way for 11 year olds to make sense of it is to detach from it and tell jokes. Crude jokes. Christa McAuliffe jokes.

Ellison Onizuka was the first Asian American and the first Hawaiian in space. He coached his daughter’s soccer team, and the team all signed a ball for him to take into space that fateful day.

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Passenger Sees Their Cat Running Across Tarmac While Waiting to Take Off

man holding animal cage on tarmac
Jul 01 2018

A couple flying from Labuan to Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Airlines were waiting to take off when they looked out the window and saw their cat Scooty running on the tarmac.

There’s video of the incident and the cat is in the top left corner. While perhaps an optical illusion the cat seems to disappear into a drain. Airline staff came out from under the plane’s wing — carrying the cat’s empty cage, door open.

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