All the good ideas have not been taken
/
“I’m sure in 30–40 years, no one would believe that we invented the smartphone before we invented the __________ (to be completed later).“ - Brian Weisberg
He should have been all kinds of scared and excited but instead he oozed calm. Just before 8am on 12 April 1961 the hatch of the Vostok 1 was closed. Yuri Gagarin was about to be the first human in space.
Once inside the 4,725 kg vehicle he pointed out the hatch might not be sealed properly. It took nearly an hour to remove and reattach. But he was calm and requested some music.
Up to this point the Soviet launch success rate was 50%. Two Vostoks failed to reach orbit and another two malfunctioned in space. But in the buildup to this historic moment Gagarin was cool as a cucumber. His heart rate was just 64 beats per minute.
Perhaps 50% is not that bad when it comes to travel related calamities. I think my personal travel success rate is worse. I’ve missed a flight, missed train stops and was so late I made an entire cruise ship wait for us to get on board.
Even my luggage feels like it’s cursed! It’s often the last to come out of the carousel, and don’t get me started on the handles breaking or the wheels not working properly.
Yuri was a more composed traveler than me but at least my luggage HAS wheels. Suitcases only got wheels 11 years after we sent people to the moon and back! So remember wheeled luggage the next time you think all the good ideas must already be taken.