By now, most of us are familiar with the social networking phenom that is Twitter. Twitter has proven to be a great way to keep up with our fast paced, fast changing world, by following life as it unfolds in real time. The ApolloPlus40 project, created by Nature News, proves that Twitter is not just a great way to discover what people are doing now; it can also help us discover the past.
ApolloPlus40 follows mankind’s historic journey to the moon using the 160 word format, known as the tweet.
Here are a few examples…
“Here’s to the Apollo program. It’s all over.” –astronaut at Nixon’s Apollo 11 party in LA. http://bit.ly/a5PDs
“Human perversity transcends the spirit of Apollo.” William F. Buckley pooh-poohs Nixon. PDF: http://bit.ly/1aAcdk
Final comment from Mike Collins during debriefing in the lunar quarantine facility: “I want out.” http://bit.ly/FnCs9
Most tweets link up to additional info for further investigation.
There is something about reading these quotes and historical facts on Twitter that makes it feel… well…current…and fresh.
Take this entry for example ….“My suit fit was too tight through in the region of the [urine collection device]” says Mike Collins in debriefing
The mental picture of some poor sap, uncomfortably hobbling around in an ill fitting 1960’s era space suit, is hilariously opposed to the heroic ethos which surrounds our first visit to the moon.
The story comes back alive when viewed this way, the emotions, the fear, the humanity, and the strangeness of this epic moment in time, once removed from the dull pages of school textbooks and run of the mill documentaries, spring back to life.
Three Cheers for ApolloPlus40….Mission Accomplished
