> zero-g trifecta!

Over the course of a single week, I saw not one, but three separate instances of people in zero-gravity situations on television. No, I don’t watch the NASA channel.

The first instance is probably the best-known: Dr. Stephen Hawking, the brilliant theoretical physicist, who also is afflicted with ALS, fulfilled his dream of experiencing weightless flight. A company called Zero Gravity runs these flights where riders can experience 25 seconds of weightlessness eight times. Sure, it was not yet the space travel he surely craves, but it must have been an absolutely amazing experience for this man who is nearly imprisoned in his own body. This story was well-reported in the media; I saw several video clips aired around April 26-27.

The second instance came when KFC (or, as it is once again known, Kentucky Fried Chicken) kicked off its transition to zero grams trans-fat cooking. Okay, so I didn’t see it on TV, per se, but there is a commercial with a man dressed like the Colonel, and he is floating by himself in zero gravity (again, probably run by the same company). I saw it on the web, but since it was a commercial I assumed that it was mainly aired on television. :) I saw this on April 30.

The third instance was on the Fox network show Bones. Two of the characters, Brennan and Booth, wanted to interview an astronaut who was busy training, so they accompanied him where? oh yes, on a zero gravity flight! Saw the show on May 1.

So, why am I mentioning these sightings? I wish I had some actual information to back the idea up, but if it wasn’t simply several coincidences, perhaps Zero Gravity has special times of the year reserved for film crews.

I’m waiting for the fourth sighting. It would be really fun to watch little kids in zero g (and that would remind me of Ender’s Game), but they probably don’t let anyone under 18 go on these trips.

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