Slopfest #31 · 1957 · Vienna
Beep, Beep, Beep
A metal ball circled the Earth saying one thing over and over. Our keynote speaker took notes.
Museum status: Declared a national treasure by the committee, unanimously, of one.
- Venue
- Urania Observatory, on the roof
- Attendance
- 360
- Fun fact
- 1 message, broadcast for 21 days straight
What happened
Guests took turns listening to the satellite through a shortwave radio borrowed from a neighbor. The signal was one beep, repeated. Several attendees found it the most coherent content of the evening, and the committee adopted 'beep' as its official answer to all press questions until 1961.
Elsewhere in 1957
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, which broadcasts a simple repeating radio beep.
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