Techtalk Trivia: What was the only manned space flight mission to take off on Halloween day?

Image via Wikipedia

My latest TechTalk podcast/radio appearance was suitably seasonal: Ep. 248 – Every Day is Halloween!

TOPIC: Mike and Dave get together right before Halloween this year to tell you spooky tech stories … well, maybe not so spooky, but Dave does apologize for his comments about Steve Jobs from a few weeks ago, and an apology from the TechTalk show can seem almost supernatural in it’s rarity. Tablets and a possibly too-long discussion of IVR rounds out the show before …

Jay “Encyclopedia Garmonica” treats us to a totally a propos Halloweeny geek trivia question:

What was the only manned space flight mission to take off on Halloween day?

And that leaves us ample time for some great seasonal coolsites of the week!

• PumpkinPatchesAndMore – Find all the local pumpkin patches in your area! Plus carving templates, recipes, and more.


• HalloweenPrintables – From the great folks at FreePrintables.net, come some cards, puzzles, and coloring pages just in time for Halloween!


• FantasyPumpkins – These are cool to look at all year, and include templates for many of the coolest pumpkins you’ve ever seen!

This week we treat your ears to a speed metal version of the classic “Every Day is Halloween” by Ministry.

What method did Harry Houdini use to debunk psychics even after his death?

Image via WikipediaA scant 84 years ago this Halloween, the legendary stage magician and escape artist Harry Houdini died from appendicitis mere hours after performing on stage. Adherents to mysticism would no doubt ascribe some occult significance to Houdini -- a magician so successful as to be accused of actual sorcerous dematerialization -- dying on All Hallows Eve. Such suppositions would also no doubt irritate Houdini, who spent much of his life and career debunking fraud psychics and spirit mediums.

This professional skepticism earned Houdini the ire of many of his contemporaries, including Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was himself a staunch believer in supernatural phenomena. Ironically, it was Houdini the non-believer who developed a technique for continuing to debunk pyschics from beyond the grave.

What method did Harry Houdini use to debunk psychics even after his death?