My Virtual Reading Room

Happy Cosmonautics Day! Here's a curious tidbit I came across recently:

"The first space travelers to make it back alive were a pair of Russian dogs named Belka and Strelka, who went up on August 19, 1960, and were successfully recovered after a day in orbit. Strelka eventually gave birth to puppies, one of which was given to American president John F. Kennedy. When that dog had puppies, JFK called them 'pupniks'". (from Rick Beyer's "The Greatest Stories Never Told")