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Question for readers to answer:

Macaque monkey, Crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis) in Lopburi, Thailand. Photo courtesy of 'Chris huh' and Wikipedia.

If a human yawns in front of a monkey, will the monkey yawn?

Deadline:  June 4.  We will publish the best answers on June 9.

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Interacting with nature by K:

How to Offer Wild Birds Shelter in the Winter

Not all birds migrate south for the winter.  Winter is a hard season for birds, and many risk freezing to death at night. It doesn't take much effort or money to provide shelter for them, and it can make a huge difference to the little feathered guys!

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Copyright 2003, all rights reserved

Chuck Yeager beats all

[USAF Museum photo archive] The X-1 (named after his wife) and Chuck YeagerQ: Who was the first person to travel faster than the speed of sound? Was it with an airplane? —Rob Diablo, Winnipeg, Canada

[USAF Museum photo archive] The X-1 (named after his wife) and Chuck Yeager

A: It was with an airplane but you could fight over who was first.

On Oct. 14, 1947, U.S. Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager officially broke the sound barrier (Mach 1) flying the bullet-shaped experimental rocket aircraft, the Bell X-1 in level flight.

However, two weeks before on Oct. 1, 1947, North American test pilot George Welch probably exceeded Mach 1 during high-speed dives of the North American XP-86. People heard sonic booms on the ground and his cockpit speed indicator jumped erratically. But his plane wasn’t equipped to record his speed so Yeager gets the official record.

Other "firsts":

  • On Oct. 15, 1997, Richard Noble’s racecar (the ThrustSSC vehicle containing two turbojets that propel the Phantom jetfighter) set the first supersonic land-speed record in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.
  • William J. Knight has the absolute speed record, flying his X-15 at Mach 6.72 (6.72 times the speed of sound, which is 4,594 mph or 7,393 kph).
    •

    Further Surfing:

    USAF Museum: Bell X-1

    (Answered May 16, 2003)
     

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