Lauren Weinstein

During the engineering work for the supersonic Concorde in England, "Thunderbirds" TV series creator Gerry Anderson was visiting the main facility one day. Someone asked him what he did for a living. Feeling massively outranked by all the engineering talent surrounding him there, he quietly replied that he made children's TV shows. Asked which ones, he mentioned Thunderbirds.

Within minutes he was surrounded by Concorde engineers who wanted to talk to him and shake his hand, many of whom told him it was his shows that had inspired them toward engineering careers, because they wanted to actually build the planes and rockets he had in his series. He was flabbergasted.

The original Star Trek had a similar effect on many career choices.

Now of course, TV mostly inspires people toward careers as lazy bums or crooks.

Aug 13, 2023 at 3:44pmWeb
Show threadrag. Gustavino BevilacquaAug 13, 2023

@lauren

Boris Johnson is a Peppa Pig fan…

Show threada fading echoAug 13, 2023
@lauren #Hollywood seems to have criminals as heroes, and I'm not sure that Americans really notice that.
Show threadJeremy in the blue house.Aug 14, 2023
@midgephoto @lauren I mean, our ancestors were, for the most part, kicked out of every respectable country in the world. We're almost as big a bunch of reprobates as the Aussies!
Show threadJohn Levine✅Aug 13, 2023
@lauren I believe that Thunderbirds inspired kids to be engineers but not for the Concorde. The show ran from 1964-66, but the Concorde prototype construction started in 1965.
Show threadLauren WeinsteinAug 13, 2023
@spamvictim I'm relating it as I've heard Gerry relate it. You could take it up with him, if he were still around.
Show threadJohn Levine✅Aug 13, 2023
@lauren I could easily believe Airbus engineers.
Show threadLauren WeinsteinAug 13, 2023
@spamvictim I think the point of his story is valid irrespective of exactly which plane and which of his shows were involved.
Show threadLauren WeinsteinAug 13, 2023
@spamvictim Also, note that there were shows earlier than Thunderbirds that he did along the same kind of tech themes.
Show threadKen O'DriscollAug 13, 2023
@lauren @spamvictim Not to digress, but UFO was my absolute favourite. I re-watched it a few years ago, and I think it still stands up.
Show threadLauren WeinsteinAug 13, 2023
@spamvictim Then again, it didn't fly commercially until 1976. Funny, I thought that was earlier.
Show threadJohn Levine✅Aug 13, 2023
@lauren They designed it with slide rules and desk calculators and graph paper. It was an amazing technical achievement even if it was also the solution to a problem that didn’t really exist.
Show threadRichard WebbAug 14, 2023
@spamvictim @lauren
Anderson was making shows long before TB
Show threadWeaselAug 13, 2023
@lauren
I flew on Concorde from London to New York in January 1987. There was a Mach and altitude display at the front of the cabin. Approaching supersonic I noticed the rate of increase of airspeed slowed, creeping up to about Mach .97, then a sudden surge of engine acceleration quickly passed us through Mach 1 (with a bit of turbulence) to Mach 1.03, after which the rate of speed increase resumed toward the cruising speed of Mach 2. Seems they didn't want to spend much time right at Mach 1.
Show threadLauren WeinsteinAug 13, 2023
@weaselx86 A bit of turbulence there, yeah. The closest I ever got to a Concorde was when I was waiting for a (conventional) flight at Heathrow and saw one parked at a jetway just outside where I was waiting. My main impression was "jeez, it's so small!"
Show threadWeaselAug 13, 2023

@lauren
Yes, a very narrow cabin, 100 seats in two-by-two seating with an aisle too narrow to accommodate a standard meal cart. Gourmet meal, with all alcohol free, of course, and the most comfortable chair I've ever sat in (anywhere, not just on an airplane), upholstered in leather. "Supersonic Class" (above First Class) one-way ticket London to NY was $4000 (in 1987).

Info sheet from a passenger souvenir packet:
https://github.com/DavidButterfield/Random/blob/master/Memoirs/1987_Concorde_InfoSheet.jpg

Random/Memoirs/1987_Concorde_InfoSheet.jpg at master · DavidButterfield/Random

Random non-code. Contribute to DavidButterfield/Random development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHub
Show threadWendy MetcalfeAug 13, 2023
@lauren Lovely story. The power of vision and creativity.
Show threadBoredomFestivalAug 13, 2023
@lauren I've had several friends with kids mention despondently that their kids current career aspiration is "influencer" :⁠-⁠(
Show threadLauren WeinsteinAug 13, 2023
@BoredomFestival Most end up panhandling on YT for $100 per million views or some such.
Show threadhappyborgAug 13, 2023
@lauren The Big Lebowski was such an inspiration to me, your dudeness 🤦‍♂️
Show threadLordWoolamalooAug 13, 2023
@lauren Gerry once visited my old bookstore to do a quick signing of his biography, so I actually got a chance to shake his hand and tell him how much his shows improved my childhood. He was very gracious
Show threadDragon-sided DAug 13, 2023
@lauren TV? What’s that? My kids and Iove the science & engineering channels on YouTube. Media has never been better!
Show threadCiscogodAug 13, 2023
@lauren Hey, I solve murders in my building!
Show threadAlexanderMarsAug 13, 2023
@ciscogod @lauren It doesn’t count if you buried the bodies.
Show threadCiscogodAug 13, 2023
@AlexanderMars @lauren Don’t spoil the season ending!
Show threadyour_huckleberryAug 13, 2023
@lauren stop watching TV for adults and start watching tv for kids. My kid wants to be a scientist/inventor because of The Octonauts and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (fair warning, both shows are simultaneously great and really bad).
Show threadMaybeMyMonkeysAug 13, 2023
@lauren lazy bums and crooks were so inclined before they watched TV
Show threadLyndeeAug 13, 2023

@lauren

My kids (30s now) loved Thunderbirds. It was a rerun when they watched but made a come back. They even had toys available.

Show threadLauren WeinsteinAug 13, 2023
@lynnedubois Merchandising was a big part of Gerry's innovations. There were also lots of related product commercials in the UK.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntf9C6adZkI
Thunderbirds - Have A Break KitKat (1993)

YouTube
Show threadPorquerias | 1312 🏴🌵Aug 13, 2023
@lauren glad I read the whole post so I could remove my fav star, lol. You know that most of the media you get recommended is based on things you personally chose to watch in the past, right?
Show threadLauren WeinsteinAug 13, 2023
@Galletasalada Don't think I understand your point. And as I've worked inside Google, I do have a pretty good understanding of how YT recommendations work at least.
Show threadPorquerias | 1312 🏴🌵Aug 13, 2023
@lauren So you understand well that you're being recommended shows that depict "lazy bums" and "crooks" because that's what you've been watching before. I find that "lazy bums" and "crooks" are actually not useful categories and people who are labeled as such are usually some of the most upstanding members of their communities around.
Show threadLauren WeinsteinAug 13, 2023
@Galletasalada Ah, I'm not even talking about YT or recommendations in this instance. I'm talking about all the fake "reality" shows about rich bums (and I will use the word bum) living it up doing nothing but partying, and all the shows glamorizing organized crime, criminal gangs and murderous thugs, and other similar professions that get all the big ratings and that I studiously avoid watching on any channels or streaming services.
Show threadPorquerias | 1312 🏴🌵Aug 13, 2023
@lauren You do realize that the entertainment industry is an industry though, right, and that they’re selling a product that people are consuming? Most writers have faith in their audience, they believe they are adults who can see a fictional character partying or doing crime (which does not work the way in real life as how it’s depicted on TV) without wanting to engage in this behavior themselves. It sounds like you maybe haven’t done much examination of the social categories of “criminal gangs and murderous thugs” but I guess everyone has to come to that on their own. Have a nice day.
Show threadDaniel QuinnAug 13, 2023
@lauren don't sell the current crop of television too short. #StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds is both beautiful and inspiring, and #StarTrekProdigy, while weak in a number of places for adults, is really great for getting younger people excited about space travel and ideals like the Federation.
Show threadColin Cogle 🔵Aug 13, 2023
@lauren Or, people will aspire to become cooks who get told off by Gordon Ramsay and go on to have decent and mediocre careers.
Show threadHeßen Wassermann SousaAug 13, 2023
@lauren you are right. Back in the day TV Series promoted ambition.
Show threadTomsprints2Aug 13, 2023
@lauren @Peternimmo
Not very far from where I live, there is a school which has its “Enterprise Centre” housed in part of the site named “The Kirk Building”.
Show threadPB Livin'Aug 13, 2023
@lauren The great science communications of today are on YouTube. They haven't disappeared (in fact there's more than ever), they just moved.
Show threadLauren WeinsteinAug 13, 2023
@wh0sthatd0g Some of them on YT are great, some of them are incredibly irresponsible.
Show threadChookMother 🇦🇺🦘Aug 14, 2023
@lauren I first read that as "lazy bums or *cooks*" which is also true.
Show threadDale RossAug 14, 2023
@lauren As my favorite character when I was growing up might say, It's only logical.
Show threadʀᴏʙᴇʀᴛAug 14, 2023
@lauren for me it was the A-Team. I used to watch it for “the plan” at the end 😊
Show threadLauren WeinsteinAug 14, 2023
@rusk That was an unusual series, though of course it got taken over by personalities (e.g., Mr. T).
Show threadʀᴏʙᴇʀᴛAug 14, 2023
@lauren I ain’t gettin on no plane wit no crazy fool
Show threadEmeritus Prof Christopher MayAug 14, 2023

@lauren

Or has caused courses at #university with the word 'forensic' in the title to be over-subscribed

Show threadFlaming JuneAug 14, 2023
@lauren I enjoyed this post right up to the grumpy old bloke conclusion.
Show threadLauren WeinsteinAug 14, 2023
@juneussell You know, years ago the networks ran shows like "Watch Mr. Wizard" and "Discovery" which were pure science/education, and a long series of Leonard Bernstein teaching concerts in prime time (which are quite remarkable to watch even now -- he was a genius and wonderful teacher even if reportedly a pretty awful person). Are there any equivalent serious teaching programs aimed at children now from the major networks? A few on PBS of course, but a vast torrent of fake "reality" shows focusing on crime families, mass murderers, "aren't we rich?", gang bangers, "cooking" contests and ... the like. An occasional light flaring in the darkness doesn't mean it's still not night.
Show threadFlaming JuneAug 14, 2023

@lauren Your post was about Thunderbirds, which wasn’t overtly educational, and Star Trek, which wasn’t for kids - the point it made, which I loved, was that you just never know and can’t foresee what kids are going to latch on to. There’s plenty of good stuff still being made: I love these for eg https://www.ted.com/watch/ted-ed , though with a lot more of everything available it may not be as foregrounded.

And there’s always been plenty of crap

Watch TED-Ed videos

TED-Ed Originals are short, award-winning animated videos about ideas that spark the curiosity of learners everywhere.

Show threadStarry DynamoAug 14, 2023
@lauren I dunno, I've heard similar stories from some of the actors on Strange New Worlds.
Show thread🍸Pooka🥕Boo🍸Aug 14, 2023

@lauren

I disagree with the last point, as a general observation.

Show threadsparseMatrix 📻Aug 14, 2023

@lauren

Star Trek was the sort of thing that inspired me to pursue a lifetime of work with computers and computer programming. In my childhood, it was devoured alongside Apollo

Because of Star Trek I learned that more than anything else, my mind, logic, and proper methods of reasoning were the most powerful tools at my disposal

To this day Star Trek and it's descendants in the narrative tend to occupy more television time in my family than just about any other source of video entertainment

Show threadPeter DownAug 19, 2023
@lauren I suspect that many of those engineers might have been at least as much inspired by Fireball XL5.