We love science projects & women in STEM! Today, we're talking about a winner, Dr. Valerie L. Thomas and her contributions to science while working at NASA. Dr. Thomas broke all the barriers to lead some incredible projects. One, the Landsat Satellite Program, starting in the 1970s is still in operation taking pictures today (We're at Landsat 9), and her work with mirrors and 3D images with her 'Illusion Transmitter' is a huge part of modern 3D imaging! Learn more with us! #science
We love science projects & women in STEM! Today, we're talking about a winner, Dr. Valerie L. Thomas and her contributions to science while working at NASA. Dr. Thomas broke all the barriers to lead some incredible projects. One, the Landsat Satellite Program, starting in the 1970s is still in operation taking pictures today (We're at Landsat 9), and her work with mirrors and 3D images with her 'Illusion Transmitter' is a huge part of modern 3D imaging!
Learn more with us! #science
Sources:
https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Helping Build the Internet: Valerie Thomas | Great Minds - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE3QJvglfqI&t=16s
The Boys' First Book of Radio and Electronics - https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-boys-first-book-of-radio-and-electronics/8710728/item/33556913/
BHM Valerie Thomas Black History Month -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWSobWz7ZNw
Hi Friends! Our transcripts aren't perfect, but I wanted to make sure you had something - if you'd like an edited transcript, I'd be happy to prioritize one for you - please email doomedtofailpod@gmail.com - Thanks! - Taylor
Taylor: I'm preferring a gin martini over vodka martini
>> Taylor: In the matter of the people of State of California vs. Orenthal James Simpson, case number BA097. And so, my fellow Americans, ask not.
>> Farz: What your country can do for you.
>> Taylor: Ask what you can do for your.
>> Farz: And we are back. Not live. Yeah, we're just. We're just here, Taylor.
>> Taylor: We're just here. Hello.
>> Farz: How are you doing?
>> Taylor: Good.
>> Farz: How's your martini?
>> Taylor: It's. I haven't tried it up. I'm looking at it. It looks nice. You know what I do? I do gin and vermouth, and I do lemon essential oil.
>> Farz: I like that. I. I do. I. I think I'm preferring a gin martini over vodka martini.
>> Taylor: Yeah, I always do, but I usually often do. I always do, like, a. A bunch of olives and dirty, but kind of been in the mood for, like, a very. A very clear martini.
>> Farz: Martinis, My favorite. I will admit, when I feel like a fancy boy. Espresso martinis. They hit.
>> Taylor: I think in the video, the guy who put two espresso martinis into a Guinness pint and it looks like a Guinness.
>> Farz: Oh, my God. Yeah, I did see that. Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Yeah.
>> Taylor: Cool.
Taylor Fars has a cool science story that he wants to share
Hi, everyone. Welcome to Doomed to Fail. We bring you history's most notorious disasters and failures. And I am Taylor, joined by Fars, and I have a winner to talk about today.
>> Farz: So it's a good story. It's a happy story.
>> Taylor: Yes. I have a cool science story, which is very hard for me to understand. So I'm super excited to talk to you about it because I am not a science person, and I don't think it's. Because I just, like. It just never really. I never had that click moment with science.
>> Farz: I wish I did. I was always in love with science. I was always a science kid, especially biological. Like, science, the biology. Like, I was really into that because I love animals. And I realized, like, you know what I love is, like, when you look at, like, a dog and it looks into your face and you, like, see its eyes, and it's, like, really happy, and you're really happy. I don't really care what its nucleus looks like, you know? Like, I never got that far into it.
>> Taylor: That's fair. That's fair. Yeah. I was like, well, Florence just did her science fair, and, like, she got a, like, third place in the adventure category, which is super cute. And, like, all of the kids that were there, it's cute. There's, like, the school is. Is small, but there's definitely a. A core group of people who are in all the activities. You Know, like, the people we see in soccer, we see them in music, and we saw them at chess club this morning. And, like, they're like the group people all do the same thing, but all the kids are in the science fair. But I was like, my family. And I laugh about it because, like, there's several examples of my family trying to help each other do a science fair project and getting, like, Ds, like, being like, oh, my gosh. And then Kincaid, scientist, my brother, to grab to be. His little literal job title, title is scientist.
>> Farz: What kind of science?
>> Taylor: Environmental science. He does things in Annapolis and Baltimore to stop erosion of the shoreline. So his company will go in and they will, like, put in, like, walls and rock beds and stuff to help with that. And then they'll also evaluate places where they want to, like, build things. And they'll be like, okay, you can't build this because it's, like, swamp land or marshland or because of the ecosystem or all those things. So he'll go in and, like, do those things.
>> Farz: I. I just was. Somehow I went down this weird Instagram loop of, like, people who would try to connect rivers to oceans, to surf the water that flows from the river to the ocean. And there was like, two or three in a row, and I was like, is this really a thing that people are doing? Because it sounds horrible.
>> Taylor: Like, digging a hole.
>> Farz: Yeah, like digging a hole and connecting a river to an ocean. And like, after, like, 30 minutes, it turns into a huge rush of water. And, like, this seems really bad for the world.
>> Taylor: Yeah. It feels like. You shouldn't do that.
>> Farz: Yeah. So, Kincaid, if you're listening, you should watch the same Instagram reels that I do and try to stop them.
>> Taylor: One time we went canoeing, and in the middle of the canoe path, we had. You had to stop and get out of the canoe and carry it over a freeway and then could get back in the water. It was just really funny. I was like, what are we doing?
>> Farz: It'd be fun. It's. It's kind of like a triathlete situation, so.
>> Taylor: Exactly, Exactly. I felt like the triathlete.
Valerie L. Thomas is a NASA scientist and an inventor
So this was suggested by listener Chiara. Thank you, Chiara. It's also continues to be Women's History Month, and I'm going to talk about Dr. Valerie L. Thomas, who is a NASA scientist and an inventor.
>> Farz: Sweet.
>> Taylor: So I'm always like. I just alluded to. I'm always like. So I always say this, and you. And I always say this. Like, when I was growing up, I was never like, oh, I Could have a job in, like, political technology because it wasn't an option. I never would have, like, thought of it something I could, like, dream of being, but also, like, I just wasn't exposed to this stuff because, like, obviously people have been working computers for a long time, but I just, like. Just like, not my people. Does that make sense?
>> Farz: Like, there are some chances you missed me in the. So political. So my first campaign, Taylor, we ran our field operation off of spreadsheets. We literally printed spreadsheets and then went and walked the block knocking on doors and logging responses in spreadsheets. So, like, we were very far removed from political technology being a thing that was like, 2006.
>> Taylor: I know.
>> Farz: It's not for. It's not that long ago.
>> Taylor: I know. But I just think that, like, I never considered, like, I could have a job, like, in computers, you know, I guess didn't know this was gonna happen.
>> Farz: That's fair.
>> Taylor: And. And so. But I just, like, also think maybe I just was not curious enough. And there weren't. We didn't have a computer growing up. And, like, just, like, wasn't a thing. It wasn't like, in my people's radar.
>> Farz: Yeah.
>> Taylor: About it. But Valerie was able to learn about computer computers very young, and. Which is really cool because she was a black woman in the 1960s when she joined NASA. She is still alive, by the way. I'll talk about what she does now, but she's alive. So. Valerie L. Thomas was born on February 8, now 1943, in Baltimore. And when she was 8, like, the lore is that she read a book called the Boys First Book on electronics, and that sparked her fascination with electronics. And it's just funny that, like, they made that book for boys, and you can get it on thrift books for about $100 now. It's like a book on the thing. So it also reminds me of, like, why you need things like girls in STEM and Girls who Code, because a lot of this stuff was marketed toward boys, because girls were getting marketed. The homemaker stuff, you know, so trying to, like, fill that gap. But she saw it and she was like, I'm not a boy, but I don't care. I'm interested in this. And went with it, which is really cool. And her family encouraged her, which is also very cool. She did great in school.
>> Farz: Obviously, there's something to punctuate there, which is like, if you. I don't think it's like an. I think it's like. I think it's like a character trait, but, like, I Think, like, if you're naturally told over and over again that this isn't for you and you can't do it, then you're probably naturally going to divert away from that thing.
>> Taylor: Yeah, but she didn't.
>> Farz: Nobody knows, you know, what? My family was, like, the opposite of being, like, super into sports and wanting to, like, us, be involved in sports. And so I sucked at sports.
>> Taylor: Right.
>> Farz: And I probably would have sucked at it because, like, genetically, Iranians aren't known for being great sportsmen. Like, I don't think there's any famous sportsmen who are Iranian, but if they'd told me, you're going to be the next great NFL player, I don't know, maybe I would have. Maybe that would have happened for me.
>> Taylor: Yeah.
>> Farz: It's all about me just, like, trying to re.
>> Taylor: I'm sorry.
>> Farz: Relive my story anyways.
>> Taylor: No, no, but, yeah, exactly. So, like, if you're not encouraged to do something, it is. It makes sense that you would, like, fall off doing that thing even if you showed it. If you showed natural interest in it in the beginning. But props to Valerie's family, she was encouraged to do this. She went to Morgan State University, which is an HBCU in Baltimore. She graduated in 1964 at the age of 21. And right away, she got a job at NASA. She developed computer data systems to support satellites. And what does that mean? I don't know. What is a computer data system to support satellites? Yeah.
>> Farz: I didn't know there were satellites back then.
>> Taylor: Right, right.
Landsat is a satellite that takes pictures of the Earth
But that's my next point. The satellites are pretty new. So the first satellite was, like, 1956. And so this is, you know, less than 10 years later. And they're very important because of the Cold War, obviously. So, like, satellites are becoming a big. A big deal. And obviously today there's, like, approximately a billion of them.
>> Farz: Right.
>> Taylor: Doing everything. So starts working on satellites, and it's like the very beginning. This is, like, computers on the sides of the room. Stuff that you, like, hear, like legends of, you know, like, someone during the 60s is always like, someday you're able to carry a computer in your pocket. And everybody's like, there's no way. You know? And then here we are. So later, in 1970, from 1970, 1981, she led a group of people. She had about 50 people under her. It was called the Landsat Image program. So that's also huge because she's only 28 and she's leading this program. That's huge. And what it is. And I'm gonna Try to explain.
>> Farz: Yeah, I was gonna say, I don't even know what it is. I don't even know if it's impressive.
>> Taylor: Because it doesn't manage that many people at all. But. So here's what Landsat is. It's super important, and it's still around. Essentially, it is satellite imagery of the Earth that we take for granted. Like, there were people during this time that were like, you don't need satellite images of Earth because you have airplanes. So, like, just let an airplane take a bunch of pictures of Earth. You don't need to zoom out to take it from a satellite. But they were like, yes, we definitely do. So I, like, ask Chad. GB he displayed this to me like I'm a child. Come. Like, let me. How do I understand this? Like, what this is? So the pictures that we have of the Earth, like, Google Earth, and when you see, like, the Earth in, like, one big circle, that's not one picture. That's like a thousands of pictures all put together, like a puzzle piece to be able to see that picture. The very first actual photo of the entire Earth was in 1972 by the astronauts on Apollo 17. It's called the blue marble. It's very pretty, but, like, you can't zoom in on it. You know what I mean? You can't enhance. Enhance. Enhanced, like, see someone in their garden. But you can do that now because of Lancet, so.
>> Farz: All right, keep going, Keep going.
>> Taylor: Okay, so what it does is it takes pictures of land, water, mountains and cities. It is the satellite that has a Landsat, like, camera on it is 438 miles above the Earth. And it's important because it is showing how the Earth is changing over time.
>> Farz: So. So, real quick.
>> Taylor: Yeah.
>> Farz: Are we talking about, like, a single camera on a single satellite?
>> Taylor: Yes, it's one satellite who. This is their job. This is that satellite's job. And I will tell you. Well, let me just skip to this part. There have been nine Landsat satellites. The first one launched in 1970, I think. 1971. The last one, Landsat 9, is one that's up right now. It launched in 2021. And then the next one is called Landsat Next, and that won't be launched until 2031, if we're still alive.
>> Farz: Is it because they're going to update the technology?
>> Taylor: I think so, yeah. Because they've been. I mean, in the 50 years, they launched nine of them, and then they're going to wait 10 more years to launch the next one. So they're probably just like, working on something.
>> Farz: Got it. Okay.
>> Taylor: Alien technology, they're trying to sneak in there, you know?
>> Farz: Love it.
>> Taylor: So here's what it does. It takes pictures of the Earth. That's important because they've been able to see when forests grow and shrink. That's why it can catch people doing, like, illegal. Illegal logging in places like the Amazon and places where people are doing things they shouldn't be doing to places like that. It can also. It's been really, really important for checking if crops are healthy, like, on a big scale. So you can, like, see all of the crops in a state, you can see all of the crops in America and, like, see what color they are and what color they are over time compared to other years of the past. So that you can tell how, like, the crops are going to be output.
>> Farz: Yeah, that makes sense.
>> Taylor: It can spot water, spot wildfires. It can also track where animals live and protect their homes. So, like, it can see, like, oh, we have this big group of animals moving from this spot to another spot and, like, warn people and protect them and protect their habitats. And it can also see how cities have grown in the past 50 years. So it's really cool to be able to see, like, the Pictures of Earth 50 years ago and today and compare them and then continue to do that kind of forever will be really helpful. Isn't that cool? It could also tell the volcano.
Google has a satellite that takes pictures of the Earth every day
>> Farz: I'm thinking through the logistics here, like, hold on. So this thing is taking these pictures. So what is it? Like, some algorithm is telling it this information is important for the wildlife people versus the farm people?
>> Taylor: Probably now. Yes. I feel like before, like, maybe before, like, I don't know, algorithms were invented, but, like, I feel like maybe before it was like, you had to coat it and, like, put it to get back together when it got back to Earth somehow, because it would, like. But, like, yes, during that, like, now it can just take pictures of everything and then it can also look at the pictures under different, like, different color lenses and, like, ways to look at it. So, like, it can pull out plants that are healthier by making them greener. It can, like, tell the health of the plants. It can also tell if a volcano is super hot underneath with, like, thermal imaging, so it can start to predict volcanic eruptions.
>> Farz: Dude, humans are amazing.
>> Taylor: Isn't that cool?
>> Farz: I can't believe I'm a part of this species.
>> Taylor: I know. It could also tell if, like, water is dirty or clear based on the light reflections. So we can do all sorts of things to, like, warn us about things and study the way that the Earth is changing. If you Google Valerie Thomas, you will see a wonderful picture of her from 1979. She has, like, this incredible Afro. And, like, she just, like, looks so cool, but she's standing in front of a bunch of, like, reels of film. And that was, like, the early Landsat data tapes. Like, the information would come back and they'd, like, record the data on tapes and then, like, configure it to make it into an image and all those things. But it was like a very physical process in, like, a computer the size of a room with, like, a card.
>> Farz: Oh, yeah. Okay. Now, you know, the thumbnail is just like, her in it with a chalkboard behind her.
>> Taylor: Yeah.
>> Farz: Then you opening, it's like, I see the real snow.
>> Taylor: Yeah. Isn't that cool?
>> Farz: Yeah.
>> Taylor: So there are other satellites that take pictures of the Earth. There's one called Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. They take pictures of the Earth in real time to track weather. So if you see, like, a hurricane forming above the Earth, like, that's what that is. There's the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer. That one takes pictures of the planet every single day. And then there is one called Centennial 2 from Europe Space Agency that takes really good Pict as well. So those together with Landsat and with NASA, create the images that we see on, like, Google Earth. So the Google Earth picture, the one. There's one called the Blue Marble, which is a super detailed picture of the Earth that you can, like, zoom in on. Like, if you're ever, like, on Google Earth and you want to, like, start all the way out and zoom all the way in. Those are pictures that Landsat helped to. To make an additional. These other satellites that are up there.
>> Farz: Now, I think Google did that.
>> Taylor: They just, like, procure it from other places, too.
>> Farz: Got it?
>> Taylor: Yeah. So now it's 1976. Lancet 1 is out. Lancet 2 went out. And Valerie is, you know, learning. She does do more schooling that I will tell you about, but she goes to a seminar and she sees a thing where a concave mirror, which is like a spoon, sees a light bulb. Even after the light bulb has been unplugged, it sees that it's on for, like, a second. It was like a second where the mirror is still kind of holding the image. And this is like. Do you remember doing this at school where you, like, look at yourself in a spoon and you're upside down?
>> Farz: No.
>> Taylor: So later, look at yourself in a spoon, you'll be upside down, and then there's also a part where if you're looking yourself at. In a spoon at the right way or, like, a perfect mirror that's, like, concave towards you, so it's, like, leaning out where your image will be kind of 3D. It'll kind of feel like it's outside of the mirror. So, like, funhouse mirrors do this, where you'll, like, see something in a mirror and almost looks like you can grab it.
>> Farz: Yeah, yeah. So she saw my language. They're not, like, doing science experiments. My.
>> Taylor: But that is a science experiment. So she sees this, and she's like, that's cool. But what else could you do if you could, like, bring science into it and bring computers into it, not just the mirror itself. So I do want to bring up that holograms have been around for a very long time. And one thing that I saw that was fun is there's a thing called Pepper's ghost made by a man named, like, John pepper in the 1800s, and he would, like, use it to scare people in the theater. So it was, like a reflection of something not off of a mirror, but off of, like, GL, so it looked 3D. So kind of like what you see when you're in the, like, Haunted Mansion, you know?
>> Farz: Yeah.
>> Taylor: In Disneyland. So that kind of thing had been around for a long time. But she was like, how can we add computers into this and, like, do more with this light and with this, like, shape of the mirror? And I wrote she said that because she's a scientist, and she's like, how can we bring science into this? So, by the way, she also, like, gets her PhD. She goes to GW, to the university of Delaware. Later, she goes to Simmons College Graduate School of Management. So she has a bunch of degrees. In the late 1970s, she invents a thing called an illusion transmitter. So the illusion transmitter can send 3D images to different places. So what it does is it, like, takes a picture of something with that, like, mirror getting that 3D image, and then sends that picture to another. Another machine and projects it onto a mirror. So you can, like, send a 3D image other places.
>> Farz: That sounds like Willy Wonka.
>> Taylor: Yeah, it is a little bit like the. Like, the Mic tv.
>> Farz: Yeah.
>> Taylor: The illusion transmitter can. Let me say it again. What it does, it takes that 3D image that is created by, like, a concave or convex mirror.
The illusion transmitter can take 3D image and then bring it to another thing
Hold on, let me figure out which one. I mean, convex versus concave. Concave, because concave is rounded inwards. So a concave mirror and something. And the reflection shows, like, a 3D image. So the illusion transmitter can take that 3D image and then bring it to another thing, like Mike TV from Willy Wonka. So, like, essentially, like if you and I were on Zoom right now, but we were 3D is what it can do.
>> Farz: That's fun.
>> Taylor: Yeah.
>> Farz: Also, a spoon is technically concave and con.
>> Taylor: Exactly. So if you look at what Maybe if you look at the convex side, you're upside down, and the concave side, you're, like, in it.
>> Farz: Right.
>> Taylor: Go get a spoon, everyone. Pause. We'll wait. So that's super cool. And she received a patent for her illusion transmitter on October 21, 1980. It's still used today. Like this. The science behind it is used today for all kinds of cool things. So it's used for 3D organ visualization so that doctors can see an organ and they can see it outside of someone's body and look at it without having to go like. Without like touching their body parts, you know, they can also plan procedures by looking at someone's body. So, like, if you're. This is stuff that you see on TV where they show you, like, a 3D image of someone's body when they're getting ready to do something. That's what. That's all from the illusion transmitter. It also works for, like, medicine, like. Like from far away. So, like, you can. For telemedicine, you can see people's entire bodies, see their organs, see things like, from. You don't have to be with them to be able to. To do it. It's also used in concerts and events. Like, remember when Tupac ended up at Coachella?
>> Farz: Oh, my God, that was so cool.
>> Taylor: That's from the movie.
>> Farz: Went bankrupt. That's so sad. That's horrible. They did the coolest thing in history and they went bankrupt for it.
>> Taylor: I am not chill when I'm at concerts. I would have lost my mind.
>> Farz: I would have lost it. Snoop Dogg was on there doing the Crip walk with them.
>> Taylor: I just, like, would have lost my mind. I do not think I would have survived.
>> Farz: Same same. Would have been down there with you.
>> Taylor: Yeah, they used it. So they developed by Microsoft. There's a thing called holoportation, which is like hologram meetings. There's that people use it for, like, interacting with 3D models, a lot of medical stuff, a lot of data storage and security things. So if you transmit something via a hologram, it takes up less data than other ways somehow. And the example that I got the. It looks like every movie where you see the future, like Minority Report, where your computer is in front of you, but it's clear, you know, and you're like, moving your hands in the air. Like that is all possible. And it can be possible because of this invention. Like, it's not like, fully realized yet. Like, that's what.
>> Farz: That's what we're like realize. Because Minority Report sounds horrible.
>> Taylor: Well, I just mean, like, the.
>> Farz: Right.
>> Taylor: The technology, you know what I mean? Also, like, the military uses it for enhanced situational awareness so they can, like, see what's happening, happening in other places and they can, like, go around corners and like, do things. So it's super, super cool and definitely, like, still used today. So those are her two huge things. But she still has done a ton of stuff at NASA.
Dr. Thomas helped oversee one of NASA's first computer networks
So Dr. Thomas worked as the associate chief of the Space Science Data Operations Office. Also, she had had the NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive, which is essentially in the 80s, taking two computer facilities and putting them together, which was like, a lot harder than like, sharing a Google Drive, you know? Right. She was. When she was there, she was also the space physics analyst network director from 1986 to 1990. So basically, she helped oversee one of the first computer networks she went. When she joined that department, they had 100 computers. When she left four years later, they had 2,700 computers. Because it was like that time where, like, it was happening so fast. And she was. She helped create, like, the internal network inside of NASA. She retired in 1995. And when she retired, her. Her roles were she was the associate chief of the NASA Space Science Data Operations Office, the manager of the NASA Automated Systems Incident Response Capability, and she was on the Space Science Data Operations Office of Education Committee. So. Super cool.
>> Farz: Yeah, she has a lot going on.
>> Taylor: Yeah. Currently she mentors, so she's mentored through the Mathematics, Aerospace Research and Technology Program. She mentioned mentored students in summer programs at the Goddard Space Flight Center. She also judges science fairs, which made me think of this because, like, our. The people who judged our science fair were like, the curator of our local museum and like a science teacher from the high school, which is so cute, you know. But she judges, like, national science fairs. She works with the Women in Science and Engineering Program. She's also worked at the UMBC center for Multicore. I laughed at this. She's associate at the umbc, which is University of Maryland, Baltimore county center for Multicore Hybrid Productivity Research. I don't know what the. That means, Taylor.
>> Farz: I don't know what, like, 97% of the titles that you've read out to me, mean, so, so cool. It shows my education.
>> Taylor: She's received, like, several awards. One of them is a Goddard Space Flight Center Award of Merit and the NASA Equal Opportunity Medal. So she did so many cool things. And just to end a couple of things that you can do to try her science at home is you can do the metal spoon thing. So if you hold the curve curved side towards you, you'll be upside down. If you flip it back so you're looking at the concave side, if you will be right side up, but smaller. And that's, like, part of the thing that she did. And then also a lot of the stuff she. The illusion transmitter, part of it is from, like, periscopes. So, like, the idea is similar to a periscope where, like, a mirror and a mirror, you can, like, see the thing around the corner. So you can also, if you want to make yourself a periscope, look around the corner with two mirrors and a cardboard box.
>> Farz: I.
>> Taylor: Because you're bending light to create a new, new image, which is super cool.
Out of all the things here, I would be most interested in hearing how she motivated herself
>> Farz: Out of all the things here, I would be the most interested in hearing her talk about how. How she found the motivation to do what she did in an environment that was not catered to her or. Yeah, like, that's best. Yeah, the most impressive, Like, I mean, being like, here's thing. If you. If you were culturally instilled with, like, no limitations, it's not that crazy. Like, you would.
>> Taylor: You.
>> Farz: Would you. You would be like, oh, the world's my oyster. I can do whatever I want. But if you're coming in a world where there are limitations and you're like, you know what? I'll. I'll do what she did and see around the corner with the telescope thing you just mentioned, like, it is. That's a compelling piece here.
>> Taylor: Yeah, yeah, totally. I totally agree. This isn't like, it's only a couple years after, like, Hidden Figures. Did you see that movie?
>> Farz: No, but I know, I know the. It was black women at NASA, right?
>> Taylor: Yeah, yeah. And, like, the main character, she's doing calculations, like, by hand with, like, all of his paperwork. And, like, Buzz Aldrin is like, I'm not going until she says it's okay. But part of the stories, like, she's taking her so long to do stuff because when she has to go to the bathroom, she has to run like a half a mile across the campus to get to a bathroom because the bathrooms are segregated, you know, so it's like, not long after the bathrooms are desegregated. At NASA that she's there even now. I think probably being a woman in NASA would be hard, you know, in any of those, like, science related industries. So she's incredibly impressive.
>> Farz: Yeah. Yeah. I should watch that movie.
>> Taylor: It's pretty good. I like it.
>> Farz: I think the movie with, with Cuba Gooding Jr. And Robert de Niro put me off those movies because Robert De Niro playing like a racist southern general was just like so not believable.
>> Taylor: Yeah, you just like feel gross.
>> Farz: This is. I'm sure it is. I'm sure that's exactly what that general was like. Was like broadcasting better.
>> Taylor: That's funny.
>> Farz: That'd be interesting. I would love, if you ever feel like it, doing one of women of NASA would be kind of interesting.
>> Taylor: Gosh, it would be. It's. I mean, we've, we've talked about, you know, some of the women astronauts, you know, because we met a lot of them during the Challenger episode, you know, because it was like brand new that women were even allowed. Because I think in researching the Challenger episode that we did, you know, I was looking at the like the NASA astronaut, like class photo and there's like a thousand photos of like a bunch of dudes. And like, finally there's one girl, you know, like, finally there's one black person and like, finally there's one Asian person. But like, for the most part, exactly the same. Like you would expect them to like military guys.
>> Farz: Fun. All right, well, thanks for sharing that. And I'm going to go right after this to my kitchen and grab a spoon, do it and experience the joy.
>> Taylor: What are you doing?
>> Farz: This feels totally natural for you to be staring into a spoon for no reason.
We're getting more listeners. No, we are catching on. Like, the episodes are becoming more and more popular
Do you have anything to read us off with?
>> Taylor: I have one. And our dear friend Nadine who lives in Canada, she said she's excited for you to come to Canada. I'm very excited as well and curious.
>> Farz: If I'm going to get back in the country, but we'll see.
>> Taylor: I know smidge worried, but fingers crossed. She, you know, talk about how she pictures Virginia hall like Agent Carter from Marvel, which totally I do as well. Episode. But also she. Nadine has graciously offered to help us with French translations in the past. And I did not reach out to her, but she did reach out to tell me that Croix de guerre. De guerre means cross of war. That that Junior hall won from France, which makes sense.
>> Farz: Oh, nice. Yeah, nice pronunciation. Thank you for that.
>> Taylor: Thank you. Thank you, Nadine. Yeah. And if you want to message us, you can message us on Instagram or email@doomtofellpodmail.com and we now have a Patreon. And I'll put it on all of our socials and let you know. And it'd be great if you signed up to help us spread the word. But the word is spreading, and we're really excited that everybody is here. We're getting more listeners. And I got some good. Oh, I got some fun comments on TikTok, the bruiser Brody episode. I posted about it the other day on TikTok, and a bunch of people were like, oh, my God, I love it. And a couple. One person was like, I'm listening to your episode now. I. I love everything. Bridger, Birdie. So that was cool.
>> Farz: You know what's funny is we did that so long ago.
>> Taylor: Literally, people have been responding because I got the facts wrong in my TikTok. I was like, I don't know. It was like two years ago.
>> Farz: That's so. That's so cool that people are. No, we are catching on. Like, the episodes are becoming more and more popular, and we really appreciate anybody who's on their friends and families. And I'm conducting kind of a guerrilla warfare where I'm grabbing people's phones and just subscribing them on the spot. And I love it. It's working, I think.
>> Taylor: I love it. Oh, I have. I made you a T shirt. Well, it's on the floor because I spilled Diet Coke over my desk. But I did learn how to make T shirts this week. So Miles, a soccer coach, let me borrow her press, which is like a big T shirt making press, like a really heavy thing. And so for like 70 bucks, I went to this place and I got once to make shirts for all the girls on my team, which is nine girls on my softball team, me and the other coaches, plus my husband. And then I made a couple doom to fill shirts, and I made some other shirts for my podcast that I have not even started yet just because it was fun, but I made you doomed to fill a shirt, and I.
>> Farz: Will mail it to you again. Your thoughtfulness never ceases to amaze me.
>> Taylor: Thank you. And also, if you subscribe to Patreon, I might buy a T shirt press. I like mailing people stuff.
>> Farz: I know, I know. I have to ask you how to mail people things from. Sweet. Well, thanks for sharing, Taylor.
Miles: Just the inclement weather. Yeah, it looks pretty bad out there
Anything else to lead off with?
>> Taylor: No, thank you. Fars. Yeah.
>> Farz: Enjoy your martini. Enjoy the.
>> Taylor: Enjoy your sippy cup full of wine.
>> Farz: Thank you.
>> Taylor: Good luck with the. With you. Just the inclement weather.
>> Farz: Yeah, it looks pretty bad out there.
>> Taylor: They say that at schools when there's inclement weather at, they have to, like, do recess inside. So Florence will look out the window and be like, it looks like inclement weather. So funny. It's so cute.
>> Farz: Does she want to do recess inside?
>> Taylor: No, but it's just funny that she says inclement weather like. Like a grown up.
>> Farz: Hi, Miles.
>> Taylor: So what is that face? You what? You hate your face. Foot. Your foot. You hit your foot? Yeah. Oh, well.
>> Farz: Doing okay, though. Buddha.
>> Taylor: He's going to survive.
>> Farz: He'll survive.
>> Taylor: Yeah. He said, I'm dying. All right, bye. Wait, wait, wait. Stop recording. I have to tell you one thing.