How did deaf people riding the waves in Nova Scotia contribute to space exploration?
During preparations for space travel in the late 1950s, there were several unanswered questions about the ability of human physiology to adapt to conditions in space. NASA recruited 11 deaf men (the “Gallaudet Eleven”) to study the effects of weightlessness and motion sickness on the human body. At early ages, these men had contracted spinal meningitis, which damaged their inner ears. They became deaf, but more importantly to scientists, their vestibular (balance) systems no longer functioned properly, making them immune to motion sickness. They underwent flights in the “Vomit Comet” aircraft and endured countless tests. When these men sailed the raging seas off the coast of Nova Scotia, the experiment had to be cancelled because researchers were overcome with sea sickness. The deaf test subjects, blissfully unaware, were playing cards and watching the stars bounce around in the sky.
Head Over Heals 