Jan. 21, 2026

Supersonic

Supersonic
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Today we're Supersonic skies and nuclear seas

You may also like ODD ONE OUT. a new podcast with Mark Ellison!  Mark gives you 4 words, you decide which word does not belong.  Three rounds daily, quick and fun,

Portions of today's trivia podcast were made with the help of AI.

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Calaruga Shark Media. Hi. I'm Mark Ellison and today's theme

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is Supersonic skies and nuclear seas. January twenty first's Engineering

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firsts and other groundbreaking innovations. Question one. On January twenty first,

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nineteen seventy six, commercial aviation crossed a new threshold when

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two national carriers simultaneously launched the world's first supersonic passenger service.

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What aircraft made this possible and which two airlines operated

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those inaugural flights? Question two. On January twenty first, nineteen

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fifty four, at Groton, Connecticut, the United States launched the

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first operational nuclear powered submarine, redefining underwater endurance and range.

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What was the name of this pioneering vessel? Question three.

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Before nuclear reactors powered giant carriers and ice breakers, the

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United States built a showcase merchant ship to promote peaceful

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atomic technology. What was the name of the first American

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nuclear powered commercial vessel created under the Atoms for Peace program?

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Question four. Nearly three decades before paying passengers flew supersonic,

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a rocket powered research airplane shattered the sound barrier for

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the first time in controlled level flight. Which aircraft did,

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Chuck Yeager, pilot passed mak I in nineteen forty seven.

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Question five, Among crude air breathing jets, which sleek black

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reconnaissance aircraft set a still standing world speed record, exceeding

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twenty one hundred and ninety MeV in nineteen seventy six.

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We'll be right back with these answers after this break.

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Welcome back. Question one. Which aircraft and airlines launched supersonic

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passenger service on January twenty first, nineteen seventy six. Answer Concord,

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British Airways and Air France. British Airways flew from London

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to Bahrain, while Air France flew from Paris to Rio

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de Gennio via d car. Concord cut transoceanic travel times

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dramatically and became an icon of high speed civil aviation.

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Question two. Name the first nuclear powered submarine launched January

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twenty first, nineteen fifty four. Answer USS Nautilus SSN five

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hundred seventy one. Christened by First Lady Maimie Eisenhower, Nautilus

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introduced nuclear propulsion to submarines, enabling months long submerged operations.

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In nineteen fifty eight, it became the first submarine to

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reach the North Pole under water. Question three, What was

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the first US nuclear powered merchant ship? Answer? NS Savannah,

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Launched in nineteen fifty nine. N. S. Savannah served as

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a technological ambassador rather than a commercial workhorse. It demonstrated

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the safety and potential of civilian nuclear propulsion and is

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now preserved as a museum ship. Question four. Which aircraft

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first broke the sound barrier in nineteen forty seven? Answer

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Bell X one. Jaeger's orange bullet shaped Bell X one,

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nicknamed Glamorous Glennis, reached about mock one point zero six

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on October fourteenth, nineteen forty seven. The X one's data

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laid the groundwork for high speed flight and supersonic design.

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Question five. Which air breathing crewed jet holds the speed

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record set in nineteen seventy six Answer Lockheed SR seventy

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one Blackbird. The SR seventy one set an official speed

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record of two thousy one hundred ninety three point two

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miles per hour in July nineteen seventy six, and also

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set an altitude mark over eighty five thousand feet the

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same day. Its titanium structure and innovative J fifty eight

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engines made sustained mock three plus flight Possible. That concludes

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today's five daily Trivia questions. I'm Mark Ellison, and today's

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questions were crafted with the help of AI technology. See

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you tomorrow.