When I was a child I had a pop up book of Skylab complete with movable panels. I played with that thing so much it basically got destroyed.<p>In the article it mentioned that a Brazilian baby was named Skylab in the hopes that NASA would help raise it. I tried to find more info on the person but a cursory search didn't yield anything on it. I wonder how they're doing today.
> The U.S.’s Skylab embarrassment over Australia resulted in no human injuries. President Jimmy Carter apologized for the mess. The city of Esperance issued NASA a $400 littering ticket that they never paid.
My favorite was Taco Bell putting a 10’ x 10’ box off the coast of Australia and running an ad saying if Skylab hits it, everyone in the US gets a free taco.
I can't imagine a single person I've met in my life who would be as Zen as this bloke was as a kid. One wonders what engenders such quality in a person.
I still have a chunk of Skylab. Apparently the big oxygen tank was sawn up and small pieces potted in clear plastic with a commemorative card. A friend was passing through Esperance and bought on for me as a memento.<p>see <a href="https://imgur.com/a/WWSVTfB" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://imgur.com/a/WWSVTfB</a><p>and <a href="https://imgur.com/zvVZfLr" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://imgur.com/zvVZfLr</a><p>It's been in my desk drawer ever since..
Growing up in India, this was a favorite story my Dad used to tell us kids. I remember sincerely wishing it fell on our school so that we'd get a holiday !
Good to know at least some kid benefited from it :)