Today we explored two cutting edge bits of technology, space travel and Victorian sewage pumps.
Being half term there were an awful lot of prospective astronauts pushing buttons and climbing in and out of space capsules but they were all enjoying themselves and perhaps some of the information will sink in to the small brains.
Being weightless is not great for an astronauts health apparently, all their organs and body fluids end up in the wrong places which can lead to all sorts of problems and of course going to the toilet is an issue.
The picture shows the Russian solution, apparently each astronaut has their own custom made yellow funnel, the toilet sucks the poo into the tank underneath, the urine gets purified and recycled. Not sure which crew member gets the job of emptying the tank when it is full.
On the subject of poo, next door to the Space Centre is a wonderful Victorian pumping station with four huge beam engines. Lots of wonderful brickwork and nice shiny tiles. It was used right up to 1964 to pump sewage from Leicester to a sewage works outside the city, it is now an industrial museum.
The grandchildren have all now gone home so Gill and I can relax, we are booked into a really good Italian restaurant this evening after which we might have a early night, all this space travel is a bit much for us oldies.
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