Above is a September/October calendar page printed by the Japanese film magazine Eiga no tomo, or “friend of movies.” And who is that ushering summer out and autumn in but Marilyn Monroe? As you’ve surely noticed by now, Monroe was a huge star in Japan. This is just one of many unique items we’ve located, along with this, this, this, and others. Though the calendar is for 1954, the photo dates from 1951, and a dandy one it is.
1961—Soviets Launch Venus Probe
The U.S.S.R. launches the spacecraft Venera 1, equipped with scientific instruments to measure solar wind, micrometeorites, and cosmic radiation, towards planet Venus. The craft is the first modern planetary probe. Among its many achievements, it confirms the presence of solar wind in deep space, but overheats due to the failure of a sensor before its Venus mission is completed.