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"As opposed to illiteracy, where you can't read, aliteracy means that you can but you just can't be bothered. They say aliteracy is on the rise these days."
- Peter Watts
 |
| Space Mittens | ||
| Protect your hands in space. |
As Khan Noonien Singh says in Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan (1982), it is very cold in space.
So, be sure to wear your mittens!
| Fumbling feverishly, his fingers impeded by his space mittens, he loosened the straps which bound his magnetic boots to his feet. |
| Technovelgy from Space Flotsam,
by Raymond Z. Gallun. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1934 Additional resources -
|
Surprisingly, this is not a one-off use of this phrase. In his 1939 story The Luck of Ignatz (1939), Lester Del Rey used it:
Gallun uses it again in Coffins to Mars (1950), published in Thrilling Wonder Stories:
“Star-shaped," she said. “Just regular snowflakes. Of course it has to be — here or any place. Out to the farthest Earth-like planet in the farthest galaxy." Then she laughed — with real pleasure. “I hardly believe it — on Mars !” she added.
Compare to hinged space suit mittens from The Bluff of the Hawk (1932) by Anthony Gilmore.
Jerry was rocking on his heels, cursing the heat with every labored breath. He wore ice packs on every safe place, and still couldn’t keep cool. The blowers were working again, keeping a steady current of air moving, but the air was hot. Under the Master’s shoes were heavy pads of rubberoid, and he wore stiff space mittens on his hands, but still the heat came through from the hot floor and control rods. A few more degrees would spell the limit.
That was when, from a thin pearly veil of cloud from the Pole, a few fine dry flakes drifted down. Joan caught two on the palms of her space mittens. She stared at them wonderingly, as if they were a part of home, as if they didn't belong here at this distance from Earth at all.
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More Ideas
and Technology from Space Flotsam
More Ideas
and Technology by Raymond Z. Gallun
Tech news articles related to Space Flotsam
Tech news articles related to works by Raymond Z. Gallun
| The New Habitable Zones Include Asimov's Ribbon Worlds |
| Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again? |
| Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution |
| Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri |
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'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
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'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!'
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
