Rocket Man

Sidedoor

Smithsonian Institution

Exhibits, Postal Museum, National Museum, Science, Tony Cohn, African American History And Culture, Air And Space, Zoo, Sidedoor, Dc, Art19, Washington, Megan Detrie, Pop Culture, Exhibit, Society & Culture, American History, History, The Smithsonian, Smithsonian, Museum, National Zoo, History Of The World, Natural History

4.7 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 July 2024

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the twentieth century, the jetpack became synonymous with the idea of a ‘futuristic society.’ Appearing in cartoons and magazines, it felt like a matter of time before people could ride a jetpack to work. But jetpacks never became a mainstream technology, leaving many to wonder…why? In this episode of 99 Percent Invisible, producer Chris Berube travels to the Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum to find out for himself.

This episode was produced by Chris Berube. He spoke with Bill Suitor, Don Erwin, and the Smithsonian’s Colleen Anderson. David Taylor reported on the rocket belt for The Washington Post in 2022, and Steve Lehto wrote about the belt, and other jetpack technology, in his book The Great American Jetpack.

Transcript available here: https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/rocket-man/transcript/

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, Side Dorables, we are hard at work reporting new Smithsonian stories to bring you.
0:05.2	And since we're rummaging through storage lockers and tiptoeing around animal enclosures,
0:10.0	we put together a summer playlist for you, featuring episodes from some of our favorite podcasts
0:15.9	This one is an episode from 99% invisible
0:19.1	Sidedoor's spiritual cousin in the words of host Roman Mars.
0:23.2	And I'm especially excited to share it because it features something from our very own
0:27.8	collections, something you may have daydreamed about as a kid,
0:32.0	or as an adult, or who's to judge a real live
0:37.8	jet pack so strap in because this one is a wild ride and some of the turns of phrase you'll hear well I think
0:46.8	you're gonna enjoy it all right three two one blast off this is 99% in 2. 1.1. Blast off.
0:53.0	This is 99% invisible. I'm Roman Mars.
0:57.0	Last fall, producer Chris Burube found himself in an aerospace museum just outside of Washington, D.C.
1:04.0	The museum is inside a large aircraft hangar with rows and rows of warplanes
1:10.0	in Air Force uniforms and even an iconic American spaceship.
1:15.0	The space shuttle discovery looks,
1:18.0	it almost looks like a cardboard replica of the space shuttle discovery.
1:22.0	It doesn't look real up close.
1:23.2	This is amazing.
1:25.0	Chris also found some exhibits that were less exciting.
1:29.2	Male astronauts could wear a urine collection hose and bag assembly.
1:32.4	This is literally just a diaper in a glass case.
1:36.0	This is not what I'm looking for. Okay, keep walking. The museum was cool, but I was getting impatient.
	...

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