ALL SCI-FI

[Gord Green]

My Commander....I humbly... and thankfully... accept the appellation !
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Maurice]

Here's an article titled Stalking the Wild Rocket in FUTURE LIFE #17. March 1980, p. 47. (LINK)

A-photographer discovers that some of the spaciest events on Earth occur right in your own backyard.
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"The absence of limitations is the enemy of art."
― Orson Welles

[Bud Brewster]

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Just to remind our loyal viewing audience about All Sci-Fi's on-going search for the "lost touring rockets" of the 1950s, here's a site I found today which was created by a fellow "rocket fan", concerning the discovery of a derelict rocket he thought might be one of the "Ralston Rockets" from Space Patrol.
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The Ralston Rocket- Prescott Arizona

Thanks to Herb Deeks for the Photo's and for Jack McKirgan's comments and scans of the photo's.

The attached photos are scans of the Mystery Rocket that Herb Deeks found in Prescott, Arizona in December of 1994. From my first conversation with him, I believed that it may have been one of the Ralston Rockets — but it's obviously not one of them.

In many ways, this ship has lines closer to those of the Terra IV than the Ralston Rocket had. If this was originally one of the Ralston Rockets, then it was extensively reworked between the time that Ward Dean found it in the 70s and four years ago.

Jack McKirgan, August 1999



More Mysteries:

It just occurred to me that the photos of the pseudo-Ralston Rocket MAY be the one that Dick Dyszel said that he saw doing a tour for Rocky Jones. Another speculation from Herb Deeks is that this one was used by a local (to southern California) meat-packer as a promotional gimmick.

~ Cadet Jack.

The following rocket was taken from one of the first Space Patrol TV shows. It seems to have lines more similar to the above rocket. It also looks like some the Flash Gordon rockets of the 30's as well . . .

~ Cadet Ed


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~ Cadet Bud Brewster

I too immediately recognized the aging rocket shown above as the Luer Meat Rocket shown in the images below from several earlier posts on this thread.











This was the ingenious "parade vehicle" with a built-in "theater" inside which took it's audiences on a brief virtual ride through space!

However, I'm extremely puzzled by the fact that the abandoned rocket in the images above has no evidence on it's flanks of the two small "wings" with the "space canons" on the forward edges!





These wings appear to be sturdy enough to bear a man's weight during the parades — but the abandoned remnant of the prop shows no sign that the projections were ever there!

Anyway, I almost wish that this wonderful creation had been preserved as much as I'd loved to have the wonderful "Ralston Rocket" still with us today.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

The love of having a "Ralston Rocket" in your back yard reminds me of a great story from ECs' Weird Science #22 ,
Joe Orlando's / Ray Bradbury's OUTCAST OF THE STARS!















The sheer poetry of Bradburys' prose and the beautiful rendering by Orlando sums up some of the attraction of the "Touring Rockets of the 50s!"
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[tmlindsey]

The "meat rocket" is still here but hasn't been fixed up:
https://www.spaceagemuseum.com/exhibits#/the-rocket/

I wish I lived close enough to offer help restoring it.
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"Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?"

[Bud Brewster]

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Gord, that story you posted is the PERFECT fictional version of what you hoped to experience if you'd won the Ralston Rocket contest! I love it.

It also mirrors the experience in the interior "theater" of the Luer Meat Rocket's which we've read about. When audiences boarded the rocket they were enjoyed a virtual space mission!
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With that in mind, I think I've finally solved "The Mysteries of the Histories" of both the Ralston Rocket and the Luer Meat Rocket!

The extremely well-researched and well-written article at the links below offer extremely convincing evidence concerning both the origins, the connections. and the final fates of these two wonderful rocket mock-ups.

Please take the time to read the articles. I decided it was best to present the links, rather than copy-and-past all the text to this posts.

It's a complex story, so you'll have to read through them to learn just what the connection was between the Ralston Rocket and Luer Meat Rocket. But I was delight by the fine investigative work and skillful writing which the article presents.

I feel confident that information is accurate, and the third link below confirms what Tim said above about the current resting place of the Luer Meat Rocket.

The Luer Meat Rocket (Moved)

The Luer Meat Rocket (moved) page 2

The Luer Meat Rocket Has Been Sold!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[tmlindsey]

Apparently, this is the best they got back in the 50s here in Pensa-hole-a, FL :



Earl Hutto was 'Captain Supreme' for WEAR TV in Pensacola, FL. Supreme Ice Cream (based in Dothan, AL) sponsored Rocky Jones Space Ranger WEAR when the series began airing in 1954. Capt. Supreme promoted Supreme Ice Cream products to the TV audience during commercial breaks.

I guess most kids would have still been impressed, including me if I had been around. It is a far cry from a proper touring rocket, but it did tour the local bi-state area, so maybe it counts?
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"Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?"

[Bud Brewster]

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A tinfoil rocket . . . like a giant Hershey's Kiss.

Then again, portions of the Apollo spacecraft were said to be covered in layers of tinfoil-like material. Funny coincidence, huh?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[tmlindsey]

I think they tore it apart to make all of the tinfoil hats most people here wear now
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"Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?"

[Bud Brewster]

[tmlindsey]

[scotpens]

Am I the only one who thinks "Luer Meat Rocket" sounds a bit dirty?

[tmlindsey]

[Bud Brewster]

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Well, to be honest, it is just a hop, skip, and jump away from Lurid Meat Missile — which does sound rather phallic.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

Oscar Mayer Offers NASA the Wienermobile for Transporting Astronauts

~ We have a wiener in NASA's search for an Astrovan replacement.





Now, this is a Lurid Meat Missile!

But in a way, I guess that makes the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile the latest "Touring Rocket" for this thread!

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FLASH! THIS UPDATE JUST "POPPED UP"!

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile Has Lost Its Wiener to Big Beef

The sudden swap to Frankmobile is not quite cutting the mustard with fans of America’s favorite giant hot dog.
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May 19, 2023 ~ Kraft Heinz announced this week that it renamed the iconic vehicle for the first time since 1936 to pay homage to a new recipe for Oscar Mayer's 100% beef franks, which debut nationwide this month.
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Ummm . . . right.

Or perhaps Oscar Meyer just got tired of all the phallic humor. Frank-ly, I think that's the real reason.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)