Today in 1957, a Soviet rocket took off from what is now Kazakhstan and put into orbit the world’s first artificial satellite, known as Sputnik.
The launch changed the world around us in countless ways, including one that doesn’t get a lot of attention: it gave the English language a brand new word.
The day Sputnik 1 went into orbit was day one of the Space Age; think of all the satellites we have in orbit right now and how many different jobs they do for us, and all of that started right here.
Even though it didn’t do much more than float around and beep, it was a huge scientific breakthrough.
The breakthrough wasn’t universally loved; Americans in particular worried that if the USSR could put a little beeping metal ball into orbit today, it could put something more powerful and destructive up there tomorrow.
But even people who distrusted the Soviet space program were fascinated by what that program had done.
Americans were among those who went outside at night with their binoculars to spot the satellite in the night sky, or used amateur radio equipment to tune into its radio signals.
Sputnik became a part of pop culture.
Its name means “fellow traveler” in Russian, and the suffix “nik” is more or less the same as the “er” at the end of traveler.
So people started adding “-nik” to the end of English words – like “peacenik” or “neatnik.”
(The word “no-goodnik” comes from the same suffix, though a) it predates Sputnik and b) we don’t use that word nearly enough today!)
Around this same time, there was a cultural and fashion movement inspired by the Beat writers.
These were the people with dark glasses, berets and goatees, playing bongos and talking about how they dig that crazy scene or whatever.
In 1958, a newspaper columnist in San Francisco, Herb Caen, came up with a kind of insult against people who were part of this movement: he called them “beatniks.”
And it stuck, both with the people who lived that life and the ones who scowled at it.
The beatnik movement didn’t actually last very long, but that’s ok, neither did the satellite that inspired the name.
Sputnik orbited Earth until January 1958, when it lost its orbit and burned up in the atmosphere.
Today in 1992, two players with the Toronto Blue Jays decided to play a prank on their teammate.
For Fan Appreciation Day, the team held a drawing for a car, only the one that stars Dave Winfield and Joe Carter drove onto the field was a Ford Explorer owned by rookie Derek Bell.
The TV camera focused on Bell, who watched, stunned, as a fan “won” his very own ride.
They didn’t actually give his car away, it was just a prank.
How the Beat Generation Became “Beatniks” (JSTOR Daily)
WHEN THE BLUE JAYS GAVE AWAY DEREK BELL’S CAR, AND OTHER PRANKS (SB Nation)
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