“Astronaut” comes from Greek words for “star” and “sailor.” It’s not clear, though, who coined the word. In his 1880 novel, “Across the Zodiac,” English author Percy Greg wrote about a voyage to Mars on a spacecraft he called the “Astronaut.” The word was used to refer to a human space traveler in the late 1920s and, notably, in the 1930 story “The Death’s Head Meteor” by American sci-fi writer Neil R. Jones. One thing is certain: “Astronaut” came into use long before the first humans traveled into space.
What happened to Russian space station Mir in 2001?
A) It reentered Earth’s atmosphere and broke into pieces.
B) It crashed into Venus.
C) It traveled to the Andromeda galaxy.
D) It was destroyed during a meteor shower.
Previous answer: The portrait of George Washington on the $1 bill is based on a painting by Gilbert Stuart.
TRIVIA FANS: Leslie Elman is the author of “Weird But True: 200 Astounding, Outrageous and Totally Off the Wall Facts.” Contact her at [email protected]
