Were you aware that May 6th 2001 marked the 40th Anniversary of the day Alan Shepard became the first American in space?

Wow... that's so - err - uhm - interesting...

I wasn't aware of that.

I wasn't even born yet.

No. Who cares? The first person in space was Yuri Gagarin, April 12th, 1961. The first woman in space was Valentina Tereshkova, June 16th, 1963. The first American woman in space was Sally Ride, June 18th, 1983.

no but now i am!

I thought Gagarin was the first guy in orbit? What about the guy that went up in a hot air balloon then parachuted back to Earth, wasn't that earlier than Gagarin?

No

No. Why would I care?

Uh, cause it's HISTORY?

Well, I'm sorry, but who the first american in space was is right there on my list of things I need to know with how many licks it takes to finish a tootsie pop. It has nothing to do with me. I don't lay awake at night thinking "What do I have to do tomorrow? Oh! It's the day that the first american entered space!" I have no reason to care.

I'm not sure how they define "in space" in these circumstances. I think it might have something to do with gravity or atmosphere or something...*shrugs*

Never mind

I am amazed at how indifferent you people are. This was a MAJOR EVENT!

I think it's interesting - I just didn't know the date.

Not to me it wasn't. First PERSON in space was a major event. Why should I care that an American happened to get up there later? Since I'm not racist I couldn't give a flying fudge about nationality; so why is this particularly significant?

It was a defining moment in world history too. And I will be doing a Gagarin survey as well, and in the future one for Sally Ride, and the Russian women who broke the gender barrier in space travel. Would you feel equally indifferent to a survey about Apollo 13 or Challenger? An event is an event regardless of which country was behind it. The first Brzaillian into space would be a big deal I imagine. Would you gloss over that one as well becuase it's not what cpountry you're from?

It's not so relevant in Australia....

"The first Brzaillian into space would be a big deal I imagine."

That would depend on how he got there. Brazil starting a space program and sending a man into space would be significant. A Brazilian getting into space would not.

"Would you gloss over that one as well becuase it's not what cpountry you're from?"

Could you have missed the point any further? Would I "gloss it over"? Yes. Because it's fairly insignificant: equally insignificant to someone from my own country getting into space. It would be equally insignificant if I got into space. Again I ask: why should I, someone who sees nationality as very rarely significant, care that an American, as distinct from someone from another country, got into space? Why is this significant? Why should his nationality be of any importance? I would be asking the same question if he was English or whatever. How was it "a defining moment in world history"? As opposed to one in a string of many such events, bookended by ones that were rather more important.