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Feline Facial Expessions

3/26/2021

THE MYSTERY

"How cute is that? My cat is smiling at me,” Virginia says and claps her hands.
“Don’t be stupid,” her father scoffs. “Cat’s don’t smile. They only have on expression!"

Poor Virginia. Maybe there really isn't a Santa Claus.

CAT WHISPERERS
Even cat people will agree that most domestic cats have somewhat unexpressive faces. If you are a true “cat whisperer” you may not agree, but for most of us, reading a cat’s expression is more difficult.

Some scientists believe that the stone-faced expression on cats is because they started on the path to domestication only 12,000 to 9,500 years ago and have been “socialized” only a few thousand years. They may gradually evolve more expressive faces.

What? Twelve thousand years seems long enough, even on the evolutionary scale, to develop as expressive a face as is needed to live with humans. But what do I know?

Human faces, compared to cats, are much more expressive. [Duh!] We have lots of muscles and nerves and other things going on. People depend at lot on reading facial expressions of others to assess people’s feeling, personality, and intent but, whether people realize it or not, body language plays a large part in that assessment.

Is it possible cats are hard to read because we pay more attention to their mouths and eyes. Most breeds of cats have large eyes and a down-turned mouth. If we try to superimpose human feelings onto those features, the result is bound to be off.

ANATOMY
Some sources indicate the fixed expression of cats is due to the anatomy of the cat concerned, and not a true facial expression. Different breeds of cats do have varying anatomy which modifies the “expression” slightly from breed to breed.

A few examples are below. Frankly, I didn’t find the differences that pronounced, but I’m not familiar with many breeds of cats and perhaps didn’t choose the most diverse ones.

▲ Sphynx -- Image source: ▲ Modern Persian -- Image Source: ▲Cornish-Rex --Image Source:
pictures-of-cats.org/cats-unexpressive petzlover.com/persian-cats cat-breeds-encyclopedia.com/Cornish-Rex

▲ Calico -- Image Source: ▲ Burmese -- Image Source: ▲ Tabby -- Image Source:
thepaws.net/calico-cat bowwowinsurance.com.au/cats/ coleandmarmalade.com/facts-about-tabbys

NEVER FEAR… CATFACS ARE HERE!
CatFACS stands for Cat Facial Action Coding System, a scientific tool for observing, identifying, and coding facial movements in cats.

This system was adapted from a widely used system created in 1978 to study human facial expressions. The system “allows an objective and comprehensive analysis of facial movements based on the movements of facial muscles. Each of the individual facial movements is called an Action Unit (AU) and defines a specific set of appearance changes visible on the face due to the contraction of specific muscles. Action Descriptors (ADs) are additional codes created to classify broader movements such as head direction changes. In CatFACS, there is also a set of additional movements to describe the incredibly complex range of ear movements in the domestic cat, called Ear Action Descriptors. Together, AUs, ADs and EADs cover all potential movements on the cat face, including very subtle and small… ” feline-friends.org.uk/facial-expressions-of-cats/

Thank goodness you have to be a trained and certified coder to use the system, so we are all safe.

In another study performed by Georgia Mason, a professor in the University of Guelph's Department of Animal Biosciences, a large number of participants [mostly cat owners] studied photos of cats and indentified for each whether the expressions was positive or negative [without any other information]. The scientific team had already spent hours perusing videos of cats in various situations and rating the cats’ expressions. About sixty percent of the general participants judged incorrectly compared to the scientists. dailymail.co.uk/Scientists-claim-cats-facial-expressions

POSITIVE EXPRESSION NEGATIVE EXPRESSION NEGATIVE/FRUSTRATED EXPRESSION - Its owner Cat is about to throw up Has been prevented from reaching food
holding bag of treats
Source of images: dailymail.co.uk/Scientists-claim-cats-facial-expressions

Mystery Solved! Virginia, you can relax now. Even though these studies do prove that cats to have different expressions, they can be difficult to read. The cat’s entire body language is as important, if not more, to intuit what your cat is feeling.

For example: Does the smile on a cat’s face mean the cat is happy? The following cats look happy to me, but are they? Cats smiling below courtesy of boredpanda.com/smiling-cats/

According to Viktorija Gabulaitė writing for boredpanda.com “these aren't true smiles, as their facial muscles are not the same as humans. So, technically, smiling animals aren't really smiling. More often than not, your cute cat will express happiness via the obvious purring, closing their eyes, and relaxing their head backward.”

Well, I’d bet these cats were all purring.

CASE STUDY -- REXIE
In case you’re not convinced, take a peek at Rexie, a 3-year-old cat which was rescued as a kitten, with a broken backbone and no control over his two back legs. Restored to health by his owner, Dasha Minaeva, but still unable to use his legs, he has no problem with facial expressions.

Credit for Images: Owner Dasha Minaeva
Sources of Images: boredpanda.com/handicapped-cat-rexie-the-handicat.

It’s a remarkable story and a remarkable cat. He has the coolest cat “wheelchair”. Read about him at boredpanda.com/handicapped-cat-rexie-the-handicat.
JUST SAYIN’
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Sources:
https://catappy.com/tips-to-take-care-of-your-sphynx-cat
https://pictures-of-cats.org/the-domestic-cats-unexpressive-face.html#google_vignette
http://www.feline-friends.org.uk/topics/the-facial-expressions-of-cats/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_short-haired_cat
https://www.boredpanda.com/smiling-cats/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
https://ultimatepetnutrition.com/cat-expression/
https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/finally-know-cats-facial-expressions-mean/
https://icatcare.org/do-facial-expressions-help-adoption/
https://catappy.com/tips-to-take-care-of-your-sphynx-cat
https://bowwowinsurance.com.au/cats/cat-breeds/burmese/
https://myanimals.com/health/care-and-well-being/tips/6-cat-facial-expressions-and-what-they-mean/
https://www.petzlover.com/us/persian-cats-for-sale-in-castro-valley-289310
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/11/30/cats-do-have-facial-expressions-you-probably-cant-read-them/

https://coleandmarmalade.com/2018/12/22/8-fun-facts-about-ginger-tabby-cats/https://myanimals.com/health/care-and-well-being/tips/6-cat-facial-expressions-and-what-they-mean/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7746017/Scientists-claim-cats-facial-expressions-humans-really-bad-reading-them.html

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/219339444334103737/https:/www.researchgate.net/figure/Two-cats-with-typical-feline-social-behavior-Courtesy-of-I-Rodan_fig3_7730242

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Lesser-Known Women In History: WHEN THE ENEMY IS AT THE GATE, THE WOMEN GO OUT FIGHTING

3/19/2021

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The Trưng sisters, Trắc and Nhi, are largely unknown in the west, but in today’s Vietnam they are national heroines. In 40 AD the two sisters lead the Vietnam rebellion against the first Chinese Domination of Vietnam, and ruled the country for three years until the second Chinese invasion.
Note: In Vietnam, as with most Asians, the surname/ family name goes first: Trưng. The first name is written last.
Image Credit: Painting by Bac Ninh ▲ ▼ Map of Current Republic of Vietnam
Image source: en.wikipedia.org/Trung_sisters'_rebellion Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Vietnamese_War

WHERE THEY WERE
To give the reader an idea of where this story took place, the map shows the current Republic of Vietnam and the adjacent part of China. In 40 AD there was no country called Vietnam but many districts of kingdoms. References used herein to current geographical terms are for ease of understanding.
The arrows at the top are routes used by the Chinese to invade in 1979. The center set of arrows depicts the general area of where the Nanyue existed in 40 AD.

THE TRƯNG SISTERS
The Trưng sisters were born around 12 and 14 AD into a military family in a rural village, Giao Chi, in what is now northern Vietnam. Although their birth dates are unknown, Trắc was the eldest. Nhị, the younger by a few years. Their father, being a prefect of Mê Linh [now a rural district of Hanoi] made sure they grew up well-trained in the martial arts, the art and strategies of warfare, and physical combat. Both were in line to inherit their father's land and titles. In addition, they were highly educated in all other subjects.

Without going into detail about the long history of the area, Nanyue was part of the Trieue dynasty. The Chinese Emperor Wu of Han sent troops in 111 BC to annex the territory of Nanyue and surrounding districts. Under the Han Chinese, the new rulers imposed political and cultural control over the territory and assigned governors to oversee existing local leadership.

This was the environment in which the Trưng sisters grew up, and they were well aware of the cruel treatment of the Viets by the Chinese overlords. Much friction was caused by the Vietnamese social structure based on a more equal status between the sexes. Unlike those in China, women in Vietnam could serve as judges, soldiers, and even rulers and had equal rights to inherit land and other property.

THE REBELLION
Trưng Trắc was probably still a teenager when she fell in love and married Thi Sách, the son of another prefect and young district chief and nobleman. Together with sister Nhi, husband and wife outwardly protested Chinese rule and secretly plotted to overthrow the invaders.

Trưng Trắc was described as having “a brave and fearless disposition,” and Chinese records claim that Thi Sách followed his wife’s decisions, not the other way around. It is thought that the teen sisters were in charge of recruiting Vietnamese lords to fight in a rebellion. When the Chinese governor discovered their plan, he brutally executed Trac’s husband, hanging his body from the city’s gate as a warning to the rebels.

Another version of the story tells about how Thi Sach, in 39 AD, lodged a formal protest to the governor about increasing tax rates. As a result, the Chinese governor executed Thi Sach. It’s not impossible that this action might have been part of the three’s plan to overthrow the Chinese.

The governor may have expected Trắc, the young widow, to go into seclusion as would a Chinese woman, but he was sadly mistaken. Instead, she and her younger sister raised an army of 80,000, many of them women, and launched a rebellion against the Chinese. Within months, they took about 65 cities from the Chinese and liberated Nanyue after 150 years of Chinese rule.

The Trưng Sisters are often portrayed going into battle on Elephants with a army mostly of women
Image source: ancient-origins.net/history/trung-sister-freedom-fighters

QUEEN TRƯNG TRắC’S REIGN
After expelling the governor who killed her husband, Queen Trưng Trắc ruled for three years. She was strong and intelligent. During the three year reign, the sister traveled about the region on their battle elephants, endeavoring to keep their troops trained and well-motivated. Image Credit: Gwen Stiria
Image Source: wattpad.com/453708183-female-warriors

In her wisdom, Queen Trưng Trắc suspended taxes in the first two year to give the chance for the population and economy to stabilize after the harsh taxes of the Chinese. Food stores were replenished and allowed the Viets to adequately feed themselves. She also She also sent men out to repair roads and bridges and to begin restoring the realm. But her actions to suspend taxes and re-establish the food supply kept the Queen in the people’s hearts.

In her third year as queen, Trưng Trắc became aware the Chinese were preparing to retake Nanyue. In the spring of 43 AD, Chinese General Ma Yuan left Han with a hugh army which followed the coastline and entered the Sui Mountains. Ma and his forces traveled over 310 miles to reach Lãng Bạc. There the Chinese battled with the queen’s forces.

Trưng Trắc realized the Chinese army was much larger than hers. She considered her own forces to be less well-trained and feared it could not stand against General Ma. Therefore, she withdrew to Jin River. Her followers thought the queen, being a woman, could not be victorious and deserted her and her sister.

DEFEAT AND DEATH
The accounts of the sisters’ deaths vary enough to fall into legend rather than history. The Trưng sisters were defeated in battle in 43 AD. The Chinese and Vietnamese records about their fate vary a bit.

One report is that the Trưng sisters were killed by Ma Yuan, presumably in battle. Another version from a different source reports that they died fighting after the other rebels deserted them. The Book of the Later Han indicates they were beheaded by the Chinese General who sent their severed heads back to the Han leaders. The other recorded version is that they committed suicide.

There are less likely legends claiming the sisters fell sick, vanished in the sky, or took their own lives by jumping into a river and drowning. According to one legendary account, when they were finally overwhelmed by the enemy armies, Trắc and Nhi threw themselves into the Hat Giang River in order to avoid capture. They then turned into statues. These eventually washed ashore and were placed in Hanoi's Hai Ba Trung Temple for worship.

In short, Queen Trưng Trắc and her sister Nhi died in this battle, or as the result of it, and that ended their rule and independence for the northern area of Vietnam.

“The Trưng sisters' rebellion marked a brilliant epoch for women in ancient southern China and reflected the important of women in early Vietnamese society. One reason for the defeat is the desertion by rebels because they did not believe they could win under a woman's leadership. The fact that women were in charge was blamed as a reason for the defeat by historical Vietnamese texts.

Vietnamese historians were ridiculing and mocking men for the fact that they did nothing while "mere girls", whom they viewed with revulsion, took up the banner of revolt-the Vietnamese poem which talked about the revolt of the Trung Sisters while the men did nothing was not intended to praise women nor view war as women's work as it has been wrongly interpreted.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trung_sisters%27_rebellion

NOT FORGOTTEN
Even though these events took place nearly 2000 years ago, and despite how the men felt about women fighting, the Trưng sisters and their contribution to the homeland are not forgotten. Not only are there temples and statues to honor them, but their accomplishments are celebrated annually in February to commemorate their deaths.

Trưng Sisters, national heroines of Viet Nam are honoured with a prade of elephants and floats in Saigon, 1961
Image Source: connectedwomen.co/the-trung-sisisters

The valor of the Trưng sisters is a reminder to today’s society of what can be accomplished with passion, bravery, and courage. These Vietnamese national heroines are indeed real symbols of resistance and independence and their uncommon story, as female war heroes, should not be forgotten.
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Image ource: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr_sisters

Note 1: The Indian Elephant is native to mainland Asia, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malay Peninsula, Laos, China, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It is regionally extinct in Pakistan. The Indian elephant appears frequently in ancient Asian art and legends. Elephants are present in almost all narratives of battles in ancient Asia.

Note 2: The popular saying, "When the enemy is at the gate, the women go out fighting" often has been cited as evidence of women's stature. The actual phrase in Vietnamese is "Giặc đến nhà, đàn bà cũng đánh" which means literally “When the enemy troops came to the house, the woman also went to fight the enemy.” It is intended to mean that fighting in war is inappropriate for women and that it is only when the situation is so desperate that war has spread to their home that women should enter the war.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trung_sisters'_rebellion#/media/File:Hai_ba_trung_Dong_Ho_painting.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C6%B0ng_Sisters
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/12/20/the-trung-sisters-the-national-heroines-of-vietnam-who-successfully-repelled-a-chinese-invasion-for-three-years/#:~:text=The%20sisters%20represent%20Vietnam%E2%80%99s%20independence%20and%20they%20are,are%20powerfu
https://www.thoughtco.com/trung-sisters-heroes-of-vietnam-195780
https://www.britannica.com/topic/trung-sisters
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Tr%C6%B0ng_Sisters
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C6%B0ng_Sisters
http://www.hoangthanhthanglong.vn/blog/chuyen-ke-ve-hai-ba-trung/458
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trung_sisters'_rebellion#/media/File:Hai_ba_trung_Dong_Ho_painting.jpg
http://hanoimoi.com.vn/Ban-in/Van-hoa/641952/nha-hat-cheo-ha-noi-cong-dien-vo-vuong-nu-me-linhhttp://hanoimoi.com.vn/Ban-in/Van-hoa/641952/nha-hat-cheo-ha-noi-cong-dien-vo-vuong-nu-me-linh
https://beyondword.com/blogs/beyond-words-blog/the-trung-sisters
https://www.wattpad.com/453708183-female-warriors-tr%C6%B0ng-tr%E1%BA%AFc-tr%C6%B0ng-nh%E1%BB%8B
https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/hell-hath-no-fury-trung-sister-freedom-fighters-002199
https://www.connectedwomen.co/magazine/herstory-the-trung-sisters-brave-heroines-of-vietnamese-history/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:T%C6%B0%E1%BB%A3ng_Hai_B%C3%A0_Tr%C6%B0ng_%E1%BB%9F_Su%E1%BB%91i_Ti%C3%AAn.JPG
http://www.vnhelp.org/blog/celebrating-international-womens-history-with-the-trung-sisters/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trung_sisters'_rebellion#/media/File:Hai_ba_trung_Dong_Ho_painting.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_conquest_of_Nanyue
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/12/20/the-trung-sisters-the-national-heroines-of-vietnam-who-successfully-repelled-a-chinese-invasion-for-three-years/#:~:text=The%20sisters%20represent%20Vietnam%E2%80%99s%20independence%20and%20they%20are,are%20powerfu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Vietnamese_War
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/vietnam/articles/hai-ba-trung-the-story-of-vietnams-elephant-riding-warrior-princesses/\
https://taobabe.rocks/the-trung-sisters-part-4/
https://www.augustman.com/my/travel/trung-sisters-vietnams-famous-heroines/
https://www.sahapedia.org/asian-elephants-history-and-culture-overview

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The Luck of the Irish

3/12/2021

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THE LUCK OF THE IRISH
Most people take the phrase “The Luck of the Irish” to mean that the Irish are a particularly lucky people, luckier than others. People who are Irish or of Irish heritage are proud of the fact.

ORIGIN OF THE TERM
The term Luck of the Irish was originated in the United States. There are varying theories regarding how it got started, and some of the time the phrase was not intended to be a particularly complimentary one.

● Sad History Theory
According to some historians, this is a phrase intended to describe the sad history of Ireland and the tragedy of the Irish having to leave their beautiful country to survive: i.e. Bad Luck of the Irish, poor dears..

The Irish potato famine began in 1845 when a fungus-like organism that ruined the potato crops spread through Ireland. The Irish relied heavily on potatoes as a food source. Before the end of the infestation in 1852, about one million Irish had died of starvation and related causes, and at least another million left the homeland as refugees.

Sketch of widow with wstarving son
Image Credit: Photography by Granger
Image Source: https://fineartamerica.com/art

Emigrants Leave Ireland
ImageCredit: Henry Doyle 1868
Image Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki

The Irish Potato Famine
Image Source:pinterest.com/kevinkristl/

In those days, emigration to America, Great Britain, or Australia undoubtedly meant they would never see their families, friends, or homeland again. The goodbye party for emigrants was like a wake.

● Irish Success From Luck, Not Hard Work Theory
The Irish in American had a tough time and were not well regarded at the beginning of the mass emigrations. Integrating into the American culture and becoming successful was a struggle: it took a lot of character and determination. Ungraciously, other Americans used the term Luck of the Irish to mean the Irish had success only because they were lucky, not because they were hard-working.

A variation, or perhaps continuation, of this theory is related to the gold and silver rushes. "During the gold and silver rush years in the second half of the 19th century, a number of the most famous and successful miners were of Irish and Irish American birth.... Over time this association of the Irish with mining fortunes led to the expression Luck of the Irish. Of course, it carried with it a certain tone of derision, as if to say, only by sheer luck, as opposed to brains, could these fools succeed." From "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish American History," by Edward T. O’Donnell, Associate Professor of History at Holy Cross College.

Case in point. John William Mackay (1831 – 1902) was an Irish-American who made his fortune by being one of the four men who discovered the Comstock Lode [silver] in Nevada in 1859. ▼Comstock Miners of the 1880’s - Image source: praoh.org/john-mackay

In the peak years of the Comstock Silver Mine, 1876–78, silver ore worth approximately $36,000,000 was extracted on an annual basis.

Mackay became one of the major industrialists in American and also headed a telegraph business that laid transatlantic cables. He helped finance the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway Company.
The Luck of the Irish, combined with hard work and brains.
● Good Luck Theory
"The luck of the Irish" means good luck. People use it when a person of Irish descent inexplicably beats the odds. (Beating the odds isn't inexplicable, it just looks that way, but it surprises observers.)” Posted by R. Berg, phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/

CELEBRATING THE IRISH
Whether or not The Luck of the Irish is good, bad or the same as anyone else’s, the Irish have great pride in the homeland and their heritage plus an awesome sense of humor.

On Saint Patrick’s Day [the patron saint of Ireland ], March 17, the heritage of the Irish is celebrated worldwide and all the rest of us can take part as well. And looking at the festivities that go with the Irish Heritage Day, the Irish are indeed lucky.

ÓCH! SAINT PATRICK WASN'T IRISH!
In spite of being the Apostle and Patron Saint of Ireland, Patrick was born in Roman Britain, near Dumbarton, Scotland, in the year 387. His father, Calphurnius was a deacon from a Roman family of high standing, and his mother, Conchessa, was a close relative of St. Martin of Tours.

At the age of sixteen [perhaps as young as fourteen], Patrick was captured by a band of Irish pirates attacking his father's estate. He was taken to Ireland where he was enslaved for six years near Slemish, County Antrim. [Other scholars claim he was taken to County Mayo near Killala.]

Where ever he was held, he worked as a shepherd. Alone and afraid, he turned to his religion for comfort and direction. It was then he became a deeply devoted Christian. The rest of the story is another blog.

Just Sayin’
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Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/irish-potato-famine
https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/where-does-the-term-the-luck-of-the-irish-come-from
https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/9/messages/214.html
http://www.epictimes.com/03/18/2015/why-do-we-say-it-luck-of-the-irish/
https://daily.jstor.org/yes-women-participated-in-the-gold-rush/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_William_Mackay
https://www.etymonline.com/word/luck
https://shmaltzandmenudo.wordpress.com/2017/03/17/famous-sayings-53-the-luck-of-the-irish/
https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-luck-of-the-irish.htm#didyouknowout
https://unrealfacts.com/phrase-luck-irish-supposed-offensive/
https://theuijunkie.com/o-mc-mac-irish-surnames/
http://www.briticannica.com/place/Comstock-Lode
https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/9/messages/214.html
https://praoh.org/john-mackay-the-forgotten-bonanza-king/
https://www.theirishroadtrip.com/the-luck-of-the-irish/#:~:text=%20The%20Origin%20of%20%E2%80%98the%20Luck%20of%20the,Although%20many%20Irish%20American%20websites%20and...%20More

Photographs
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/irish-potato-famine-1846-47-granger.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emigrants_Leave_Ireland_by_Henry_

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IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

3/5/2021

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March is Woman’s History Month, a time dedicated to highlighting “the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society.”

Unfortunately, not everyone – man or be. History is fickle: sometimes the simplest events are immortalized while major events are forgotten. woman – with noteworthy accomplishments gets credit for their achievements, however awesome they may The limelight may shine on those whose contributions, if they can be called that, are much less significant.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME
Not all heroes are born destined for greatness. Sometimes they are just in the right place at the right time. The import thing is that these people prepared themselves for something. Then, they recognized an opportunity-responsibility-necessity when it came along, picked up the ball and ran with it… without knowing where it would lead them or intending to make their mark on history.

Consider the case of "V", a girl born in 1937 to a farm worker [a tractor driver] and his wife. "V"s father will killed in WWII in 1939. The girl’s mother, left with three children to raise, went to work at a cotton mill. This girl didn’t go to school until she was ten years old, but graduated at seventeen. In 1954 she went to work at the same textile mill as her mother, but continued her studies through correspondence courses.

Perhaps to add some excitement to her hard life, she took up sky diving in the spare time she had, and made her first jump at 22. While still working full time she trained as a competitive parachutist without letting her family know. That’s a notable achievement right there!

Was this girl destined for greatness? She was a hard worker and competitive, for sure, but that’s not always an adequate background to hit the ground running in the race for international fame. Nonetheless, Valentina Tereshkova was the first, and youngest [26], woman in the world to go to space. She still holds the record as the only woman to fly a space mission solo. Valentina Tereshkova
Image Credit: www.kremlin.ru.
Image Source: stormfront.org/t1202584/

A KICK IN THE BUTT
In 1961 after the Russians sent Yuri Gagarin into space, the American media gave the Russian Director of Cosmonaut Training, Nikolai Kamanin, a kick in the butt by printing stories that the United States was training females to become astronauts.

Whether the reports were true or not isn’t mentioned in the research, but it prompted the Kamanin to write in his diary, "We cannot allow that the first woman in space will be American. This would be an insult to the patriotic feelings of Soviet women."

Kamanin saw to it that the next group of trainees [who were to begin in 1963] included women. The only requirements for a female to apply were that she be a parachutist under 30 years of age, less than 5’7” in height and 154 in weight. Four hundred applicants were selected as candidates for consideration. Of those, only 58 passed the first cut. In 1962;Tereshkova and four others were selected to be trained as cosmonauts for the upcoming Vostok missions.

Taken into the Soviet Air Force at the rank of “private”, but without any military experience, the five women started their rigorous training 9 months earlier than the male cosmonauts. During that time, Tereshkova also attended the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy, although she didn’t graduate until a few years after her flight.

As the flight grew nearer, two of the five dropped out, leaving Tereshkova as one of the three potential pilots. On May 21, 1963 Tereshkova was assigned to pilot Vostok 6 and promoted to lieutenant before her flight. She was promoted to captain in mid-flight.

UP, UP AND AWAY
Vostok 5 launched on June 14, 1963 with male pilot Valery Bykovsky in command for a five day mission. Two days later, June 16, “Tereshkova and her backup Solovyova were both dressed in spacesuits and taken to the launch pad by bus. Following the tradition set by Gagarin, Tereshkova also urinated on the bus tire, becoming the first woman to do so.” en.wikipedia.org/Valentina_Tereshkova

Image credit: Roskosmos Image Credit: RussianSpaceWeb
Image source: russianspaceweb.com/vostok6 Image Source: russianspaceweb.com/vostok6

The launch was perfect. The first female astronaut was on her way to stardom.
Voskos 5 and 6 spent three days in orbital planes about 30̥° apart and came within 3 miles of each other for one obit. They could talk but could not see each other’s ship.

Tereshkova was in flight for a few minutes short of three days and orbited the earth 48 times, logging more flight hours than the combined times of all American astronauts who had gone into space before that date.

Her flight log and the photos she took of the horizon were subsequently utilized to identify aerosol layers in the atmosphere.

She ejected at four miles above the earth and made good use of her previous parachuting experience to land, with a bit of difficulty but safely 385 miles north east of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, with only a bruised nose. Nothing indicated whether or not this was the scheduled location for touch down. A statue commemorating her feat was constructed at the landing site.

Image source: tumblr.com/tereshkova

IS THERE LIFE AFTER SPACE FLIGHT?
Tereshkova was immediately a hero. She and Bykovsky were awarded the “Hero of the Soviet Union” medal in Red Square in front of a massive crowd. They also received the “Order of Lenin” at the Kremlin. Of all the Soviet astronauts, she was the most popular and made 42 trips abroad between 1963 and 1970.

In November of 1963 Tereshkova married cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev. The party was attended by Kruschev and top government officials.

Image Credit: RIA Novosti Archive/Alexander Mokletsov
Image Source: astrobitacora.com/valentina-tereshkova

According to Wikipedia, “The marriage was encouraged by the Soviet space authorities as a ‘fairy-tale message to the country’. General Kamanin, head of the space program, described it as ‘probably useful for politics and science’”

A year later she gave birth to a daughter named Elena [spelled several ways] Andrianovna Nikolaeva-Tereshkova, the first person with both a mother and father who had travelled into space. In the U.S. a rumor circulated that they were forced to marry by the government for the purposes of scientific study. There was no information about the daughter except one reference indicating that Elena grew up to become a doctor.
Treshkova wanted to pursue her career as a cosmonaut and engineer, but the government had other plans. She was too valuable to them in other roles. Not long after she graduated from the Air Force Engineering Academy, the women’s cosmonaut corps was disbanded, and she was appointed to a political position.

In 1976, after being promoted to a colonel in the Air Force and earning her doctorate in aeronautical engineering, Tereshkova tried to qualify for another class of women astronauts, but she never had the chance to go to space again. The Russians did not send a second woman into space until Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982. [The first American woman, Sally Ride, went to space in 1983.]

Later, Tereshkova told her biographer that the marriage with Nikolayev ended in 1977, but they didn’t divorce until 1982. Later, she met and married Yuli Shaposhnikov, a surgeon, and they remained married until he passed away in 1999.

NO LONGER A HOUSEHOLD NAME
Tereshkova remained active in government for her whole career. She retired from the Air Force with the rank of Major General in 2007 at the mandatory age of 60, and in 2003 she was elected to the State Duma [Parliament].

When invited by Prime Minister Putin to celebrate her 80th birthday in 2017, she indicated to him she was ready to command a mission to Mars, even if it meant a one way trip.

During her career Tereshkova has earned and been awarded so many medals and honors there are too many to name, and she is one of the few living people with crater on the moon named after her.

March 3, 2017 – You do the math.
Image Credit: www.kremlin.ru.
Image Source: it.qaz.wiki/wiki/Tereshkova
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Sources:
https://www.stormfront.org/forum/t1202584/
https://it.qaz.wiki/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova
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https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/valentina+tereshkova?sort=top
https://www.astrobitacora.com/valentina-tereshkova-la-primera-mujer-en-el-espacio/
https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-first-woman-in-space-was-valentina.html
http://listverse.com/2018/09/08/10-incredible-women-forgotten-by-history/
https://www.stormfront.org/forum/t1202584/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/178525572703073504/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova
https://www.biography.com/astronaut/valentina-tereshkova
https://thestickyfacts.com/valentina-tereshkova-facts/
https://www.designobserver.com/feature/mothers-of-invention/39580
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/vostok6_flight.html
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/valentina-tereshkova-6586.php
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https://02varvara.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/a-multimedia-presentation-the-cinderella-of-the-stars-major-general-valentina-tereshkova-the-first-female-cosmonaut-the-female-achiever-of-the-century/03f-valentina-tereshkova/
https://www.designobserver.com/feature/mothers-of-invention/39580

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