U.S. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager becomes the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. A combat fighter during World War II, Yeager volunteered to test-fly the experimental X-1 rocket plane, built by the Bell Aircraft Company to explore the possibility of supersonic flight. For years, many aviators believed that man was not meant to fly faster than the speed of sound, theorizing that transonic drag rise would tear any aircraft apart. All that changed on October 14, 1947, when Yeager flew the X-1 over Rogers Dry Lake in Southern California. The X-1 was lifted to an altitude of 25,000 feet by a B-29 aircraft and then released through the bomb bay, rocketing to 40,000 feet and exceeding 662 miles per hour (the sound barrier at that altitude). The rocket plane, nicknamed “Glamorous Glennis,” was designed with thin, unswept wings and a streamlined fuselage modeled after a .50-caliber bullet. Find the Right Stuff at the library.
On October 14, 1957, “Wake Up Little Susie” becomes the Everly Brothers’ first #1 hit. “Bye Bye Love” established their trademark sound and peaking at #2 on the charts in the summer of 1957. The follow-up single, “Wake Up Little Susie,” reached the top spot on October 14, 1957, though not without stirring controversy in some parts due to lyrics that hinted at teenage sex. Literally banned in Boston at one point, the Everlys’ first chart-topper was taken at face value in most parts of the country as an insanely catchy song about two teenagers who have innocently fallen asleep at a movie only to awaken at 4:00 AM in fear of having ruined their good reputations. Find the Everly Brothers performing daily at the library, on hoopla and Freegal.
Lois Lenski (October 14, 1893 – September 11, 1974) was a popular and prolific writer of children’s and young adult fiction. One of her projects was a collection of regional novels about children across the United States. The series includes her most famous work, Strawberry Girl, about a girl in Florida; Blue Ridge Billy, about a North Carolina youth living in rural Appalachia; Bayou Suzette, etc. She won the annual Newbery Medal for Strawberry Girl in 1946. Find the Strawberry Girl at the library.