A cricket field on the moon š¤Æ | # 170
+ Aishwarya Raiās iconic Pepsi ad
Hello Friends,
India is obsessed with the moon.
Songs in India compare eternal beauty with the moon. When things go well, we say we have seen 4 moons. If you are photogenic, we say you have a good moon-ji. Ok, maybe the last one isnāt as popular.Ā
It was so good to see India become only the 4th country to successfully soft-land on the moon and also the first ever on the South Pole. So in this weekās newsletter, we look at more fun facts about the moon.
Things we learnt this week š¤
ISRO might be thinking of a manned mission to the moon next, but Indian cinema has already sent people up there. Probably the first instance was from a 1960ās film made by BR Panthulu. This was made in Kannada (Makkala Rajya) and Tamil (Kuzhandhaigal Kanda Kudiyarasu) simultaneously. A clip from the Kannada version can be seen here.Ā
The astronauts who went to the moon were under tremendous scrutiny. But 2 astronauts managed to āsmuggleā items aboard their mission to the moon. Before the Apollo 15 mission, astronaut David Scott wanted to honor astronauts and cosmonauts who had perished in space pursuits. He commissioned Belgian artist Paul Van Hoeydonck to craft a small statue for the Moon. Scott also made a plaque with 14 names from the US and USSR. The statue made by Hoeydonck was lightweight, resilient to lunar conditions, and devoid of gender or ethnic specifics and was titled the 'Fallen Astronaut'. David Scott placed the statue along with the plaque and photographed it without informing anyone. It was released much later. The other instance of something being smuggled on board the Apollo space mission was a golf club along with 2 golf balls by Alan Shepard. He took a foldable golf club, which could fit inside his suit and once on the moon, he managed to put it back together. He hit 2 balls, one which on record āwent for miles and miles and miles.ā It seems that even in the vast expanse of space, there's room for a little mischief and a hole-in-one!
Talking of sports on the moon, did you know that there is a cricket ground on the moon? In 2007, Venu Palaparthi wanted to buy rights for cricket matches on neutral venues, but couldnāt do so. Instead he spent $25 on a cricket ground on the moon and registered it as DreamCricket Lunar Cricket Field. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 prevented governments from buying property outside the Earth, but it did not prevent individuals. His explanation was sound
No gravity would mean shots from people like Sehwag would travel miles
And no fear of injuries when you dive
We are not sure if it is legally binding, but maybe we can confirm if Wasim Jafferās hypothesis about the moonās surface is correct or not.Ā
From IWTK, with love š
Our collaboration with Storyboard18 where we understand how some iconic brand campaigns were made, by quizzing advertising legends - Lloyd Mathias, Karthik Srinivasan and Sanket Audhi. Including a fun story about why Aishwarya Rai is named Sanjana in the iconic Pepsi advert
Did you know about the only Indian production which was played on New York Broadway is played by a one woman, Jalabala Vaidya?
Only In India š®š³
Desperate Times Call for Desperate Dimes!
Share this newsletter on WhatsApp
Stay hydrated,
ā¤ļø IWTK