New Evidence Indicates Amelia Earhart Survived For a Time on Pacific Atoll 365
In light of new evidence publicly released Friday showing artifacts believed to have been Amelia Earhart's, the U.S. Navy is prepping a mission to investigate the area where they were found. Next month marks the 75th anniversary of Earhart's disappearance, but the just-announced discovery of personal effects and the evidence of cooking represents the most concrete evidence yet that she did not simply crash into the ocean.
Who? (Score:3, Insightful)
No offense, but who is she? Can't you add this information in the damn summary?
Re:Who? (Score:5, Insightful)
I guess the writer assumed, and I would of as well, that every Slashdot user knows at least a little about general history, the history of technology, or has at least watched a little star trek.
She is the most famous pilot ever, and was one back when that it was a huge deal that she was a woman. She eventually wanted to be the first the cross the pacific or something like that and was never heard form again. As as such there are very many myths about her (abducted by aliens, etc.).
Re:Who? (Score:1, Insightful)
Most people have heard of the first woman to solo the Atlantic; it's a matter of basic historical education. If you haven't, can't you just search it yourself?
I'm sure you talk a lot about her in US, but the world is not limited to US (common knowledge in the rest of the world). Neither is Internet and Slashdot, so it would really be appreciated to provide proper information in the summary.
Why US Navy? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Who? (Score:5, Insightful)
Agree with all of the above, except for:
She is the most famous pilot ever ...
I think "most famous pilot ever" has to go to Charles Lindbergh, not only because of his achievements but also the infamous kidnapping of his baby. And if anyone doesn't know who he was, may I suggest you avail yourself of a search engine before you go getting all indignant?
Re:Why US Navy? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why on earth would the US Navy spend taxpayer dollars for this expedition? Unless they have too much money and don't know what to do with it all - which is quite plausible considering the proportion of budget allocated to the military. Meh!
This isn't even a drop in the bucket of the Navy's budget. Hell, this isn't even a fraction of a drop in a bucket. And sailors can always use the practice in honing their skills. Considering that this is truly a national mystery, I don't see the harm in it.
Re:*YAWN* (Score:2, Insightful)
Obviously not you, and yet you took the time to post. Tell me, exactly how boring is your life?
Re:Who? (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeager was a test pilot. He wasn't the greatest pilot ever, just the last man standing. The greatest pilot ever is and probably will forever remain anonymous.
Saying that pilots made popular by the media are the greatest ever is like saying Justin Bieber is the best singer ever.
Not good evidence (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Who? (Score:5, Insightful)
She is the most famous pilot ever...
Really, the most famous pilot EVAR? More famous than the Wright brothers?
Re:Who? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Who? (Score:2, Insightful)
I'm sure you talk a lot about her in US, but the world is not limited to US (common knowledge in the rest of the world).
That's right, bitch, USians only care about Amelia Earhart because she's Amuhrican, not because she's the FIRST WOMAN TO SOLO ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.
Make sure you KEEP your sexist, ethnocentric, xenophobic ass in that backwater you call a country and stay the hell away from us.
Re:Why US Navy? (Score:5, Insightful)
If you can't understand that, you aren't in the Navy. If you are, ask your superiors. They can explain.
Re:Who? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm not from the US but because I've had a basic education I've heard of her. Maybe every word in every summary should link to a dictionary or wikipedia page so even the dumbest visitor understands them?
Tough call (Score:5, Insightful)
This brings money into Kiribati (Score:3, Insightful)
Kiribati is the small nation that includes Gardner Island. A US Navy expedition into the area would pump money into the local economy. This sort of expedition is often encouraged by local governments. The military is a diplomatic tool as much as it is anything else. Considering the shifting politics of the region keeping a good relationship with a small but well placed country could bring significant benefits in time of crisis. For historical reference Tarawa, of the Battle of Tarawa, is the capital of Kiribati.
sorry for the double post, but this time I am logged in.
Re:Tough call (Score:5, Insightful)
Just a rough guess from the article, it wasn't a short while. I'd say at least a few weeks. Who knows what finally did them in though. A little while without rain could have depleted their water supply. Exposure to the sun could have done it. There wasn't a mention of any makeshift cover. For all we know, a particularly nasty storm could have swept them out to sea. A 1938 report stated that the highest point was 16 feet above low sea level, and nothing is to say that they camped at the highest point. Looking at the island with Google Maps, it appears the sea sweeps across the southern side on a regular basis.
It would be nice to think they only survived for days. It could have been months. With no real supplies, something as simple as a cut could have been fatal.
In any case, they didn't survive. That is very unfortunate, as they could have if they had been found in time.
Re:Tough call (Score:5, Insightful)
If there is no fresh water and it doesn't rain for a few days then no technique will help you.
Re:Tough call (Score:4, Insightful)
Fourth option: Thinking Amelia Earhart didn't understand basic survival skills, then finding yourself in a similar situation and dying very quickly because your smugness doesn't protect you when you're in the wild (rather than sitting on your fat ass).
Re:Tough call (Score:3, Insightful)
Evaporate the salt water and collect the water vapor. Do it right and you can get a run off of drinkable water. The hotter it is, the better it works.
Re:Who? (Score:5, Insightful)
My point was to illustrate that this is highly specific to a particular culture one was born and raised in.
I'm sure that in the English-speaking world, Earhart is much more popular - and, of course, if you use English spellings to search, that's what you're going to get. Searching in Cyrillic, on the other hand, gives (me) 640k hits for Chkalov and 98k hits for Earhart.
And I have no idea what name all the 1.5 billion Chinese would consider first, but I bet it's neither of those. So "world at large" might surprise you as well.
Re:Who? (Score:3, Insightful)
"What were you saying, again?"
I'm saying that in an strongly American-biased Internet is no wonder finding American idols being over-represented.
And I'm saying the first pilot to cross the English Channel or the first ones to flight over the Atlantic are in the same league than a woman known basically only to English/Americans and aviation freaks and certainly in a completly different league than the Wright brothers, Neil Armstrong or even Lindbergh (which already isn't the same league than the first two).
Re:Earhart was a resourceful, intelligent woman... (Score:4, Insightful)
If you're an American and never heard of her, then you're quite ignorant and obviously never got a decent education. She's an extremely noteworthy person in Americna history. Did you also never hear of Al Capone or Elliot Ness? If you don't know who many big names from the first half of the 20th Century are, then you're missing out on a lot of cultural knowledge that you really need to be considered a "well-educated, informed American".
Re:Tough call (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Who? (Score:5, Insightful)
a woman known basically only to English/Americans and aviation freaks
As someone who is male, neither American nor English and not particularly interested in aviation; I second that if you haven't heard of Amelia Earhart, you probably didn't pay attention in school (or live in a country that mostly ignores international history to focus too narrowly on its local history (USA does this too, for reference)); don't watch a lot of movies (even movies not about her may reference her from time to time); don't "wikipedia surf"; and are probably rather uninteresting.
I don't mean that as horribly offensive; just that even if you'd never been exposed to knowledge of who she is (which to me seems extremely unlikely on the assumption you live anywhere outside of the 3rd world - you probably just ignored/dismissed/forgot it); you could have at least done a quick Google search to find out.
and certainly in a completly different league than the Wright brothers, Neil Armstrong or even Lindbergh
I'd put her only slightly under the Wright Brothers and Armstrong for name recognition, and way above Lindbergh (when I read the name, it rang a bell, but wasn't immediately clear to me - quick Google search showed me the text "Spirit of St. Louis" and then I remembered).
Note that I did say "for name recognition" - not necessarily for their achievements/activities)
Re:Tough call (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Who? (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, I had never heard of Charles Lindbergh before.
I don't expect the current generation to know everything about the previous generations. But if a person's achievements resulted in a huge ticker-tape parade being thrown for them, and subsequently were on the front pages of every newspaper in the country when their baby was kidnapped, then that's a name you should probably have been taught in school. I don't blame you, I blame your teachers. Shame on them.