# Did NASA really ask Sally Ride this question? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478 "2016-09-21T01:05:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/1 "2016-09-21T01:05:50Z")
There is a list article somewhere (I know, the internet is full of them) of actual stupid questions. One of them is that NASA asked Sally Ride if 100 tampons would be enough for a 7 day mission. Now, I know she was the first female astronaut, but surely she wasn’t the first female ever to work at NASA. Please tell me this is one of those internet legends. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/2 "2016-09-21T01:53:06Z")
Per [this interview](http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/RideSK/RideSK_10-22-02.htm), apparently they did. > [@](#): > > **Ride:** It’s actually kind of funny, because there was a reasonable amount of discussion about it. The engineers at NASA, in their infinite wisdom, decided that women astronauts would want makeup—so they designed a makeup kit. A makeup kit brought to you by NASA engineers. [Laughter] So, “What?” You can just imagine the discussions amongst the predominantly male engineers about what should go in a makeup kit. So they came to me, figuring that I could give them advice. It was about the last thing in the world that I wanted to be spending my time in training on. So I didn’t spend much time on it at all. But there were a couple of other female astronauts, who were given the job of determining what should go in the makeup kit, and how many tampons should fly as part of a flight kit. I remember the engineers trying to decide how many tampons should fly on a one-week flight; they asked, “Is 100 the right number?” > > “No. That would not be the right number.” > > They said, “Well, we want to be safe.” > > I said, “Well, you can cut that in half with no problem at all.” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/3 "2016-09-21T02:14:44Z")
To be fair, as a male…as a male that grew up with a mom and two sisters then had a female roommate through college and lived with a girlfriend and (now ex) wife for 8 years after college I wouldn’t know that 100 is too many. Keeping in mind if you guess the wrong number there’s no running to Walmart at 3am. I can honestly say I have no idea at all how many tampons a woman goes through while on her period. Sure, I could guess it’s less than a hundred, but again, 200 miles above Earth isn’t the place to run out. The makeup thing is funny though. Wonder if they asked her if she needed a cocktail dress and a vacuum too. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/4 "2016-09-21T02:20:00Z")
And a pearl necklace like June Cleaver. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/5 "2016-09-21T02:23:45Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > There is a list article somewhere (I know, the internet is full of them) of actual stupid questions. One of them is that NASA asked Sally Ride if 100 tampons would be enough for a 7 day mission. Now, I know she was the _first female astronau_t, but surely she wasn’t the first female ever to work at NASA. > > Please tell me this is one of those internet legends. :dubious: What? No she was not. The first was[Valentina Tereshkova](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova) and they second was [Svetlana Savitskaya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetlana_Savitskaya). ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/6 "2016-09-21T02:26:33Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > ?..Sure, I could guess it’s less than a hundred, but again, 200 miles above Earth isn’t the place to run out… Exactly, and how can she be so confident that her body would behave in the same manner in a place completely foreign to her and her ancestry? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/7 "2016-09-21T02:27:49Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > To be fair, as a male…as a male that grew up with a mom and two sisters then had a female roommate through college and lived with a girlfriend and (now ex) wife for 8 years after college I wouldn’t know that 100 is too many. Keeping in mind if you guess the wrong number there’s no running to Walmart at 3am. > I can honestly say I have no idea at all how many tampons a woman goes through while on her period. Sure, I could guess it’s less than a hundred, but again, 200 miles above Earth isn’t the place to run out… Yeah, to be fair, I wouldn’t know either, and I’m married five years (together ten) and have lived with women a good portion of my life. I would guess maybe 3-5 per period day, but I have no actual idea based on empirical observation. 100 does seem like complete overkill to me, but better to ask than be sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/8 "2016-09-21T02:33:39Z")
I read that interview to Mrs. SMV, and she laughed. But then she said, “On the other hand, I don’t know what effect zero gravity would have on it. So maybe they might need more.” And then pointed out that astronauts might find absorbent cotton useful for other, non-menstrual tasks. Then again, they could have simply asked Ride if she was going to need tampons at all on a seven-day mission. Unless the NASA engineers thought that women menstruate continously? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/9 "2016-09-21T02:35:11Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > :dubious: > > What? No she was not. The first was[Valentina Tereshkova](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova) and they second was [Svetlana Savitskaya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetlana_Savitskaya). I read somewhere that as Svetlana Savitskaya was returning from her spaceflight, the guys at Russian Control told her, “We have an apron all ready for you, Svetlana.” Sigh. Which is worse, aprons or tampons? What if you’re like me, and you prefer pads? ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/10 "2016-09-21T03:15:11Z")
How much make-up would an all female crew need on a Mars mission? ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/11 "2016-09-21T03:24:33Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > :dubious: > > What? No she was not. The first was[Valentina Tereshkova](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova) and they second was [Svetlana Savitskaya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetlana_Savitskaya). Cosmonauts. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/12 "2016-09-21T03:31:26Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > …The makeup thing is funny though. Wonder if they asked her if she needed a cocktail dress and a vacuum too. I once saw a documentary about women in the military; one of the subjects was an a retired US Marine who described having to take makeup application lessons during boot camp. > [@AK84](#): > > :dubious: > > What? No she was not. The first was[Valentina Tereshkova](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova) and they second was [Svetlana Savitskaya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetlana_Savitskaya). Those women were _cosmonauts_; Sally Ride is the first female astronaut. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/13 "2016-09-21T03:41:11Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > And a pearl necklace like June Cleaver. The lack of gravity would have made executing a pearl necklace rather troublesome. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/14 "2016-09-21T03:41:59Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Then again, they could have simply asked Ride if she was going to need tampons at all on a seven-day mission. Unless the NASA engineers thought that women menstruate continously? I think most consumables were pre-loaded into the shuttles weeks in advance. Given that a mission planned to lift off on the 9th could easily be delayed until the 22nd of the following month, it was probably a good idea to pre-load N tampons per female crewmember. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/15 "2016-09-21T03:47:39Z")
I don’t know if it was a real question or not but it isn’t a dumb one even if it was asked. I have lived with women all my life and I have no idea how many a typical woman goes through in a given period. 100 is obviously way too high but it is better to lean to the side of caution because a whole box of them weighs next to nothing and doesn’t take up much space. Tampons are also useful in case you need to soak up and dispose of almost any fluid or even use them as first aid tools to stop bleeding. The engineers have to cover almost all worst case scenarios. What if there is some type of hemorrhaging or being stuck in space for much longer than planned? They weren’t being sexist. It is the exact opposite. They are asking for a female opinion on something she would know much more about than they do. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/16 "2016-09-21T03:50:27Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > How much make-up would an all female crew need on a Mars mission? Depends. Do they double as emergency rations? Anyway, NASA was being cautious and conservative. You don’t want to have to Apollo 13 something to fit in a hole it wasn’t designed for when it comes to this stuff, after all. A hundred tampons is a small amount of extra mass which could prevent a large amount of extra suffering. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/17 "2016-09-21T04:13:24Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I read somewhere that as Svetlana Savitskaya was returning from her spaceflight, the guys at Russian Control told her, “We have an apron all ready for you, Svetlana.” > > Sigh. Which is worse, aprons or tampons? > > What if you’re like me, and you prefer pads? Actually, it was after arriving at the Salyut, when the [Cosmonaut in command gave her a floral apron and told her to get to work](http://www.astrochix.com/2013/03/15/women-in-space-svetlana-savitskaya-test-pilot-and-cosmonaut/)…cooking. This was obviously a joke, but [Western propaganda](http://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/29/world/an-apron-for-soviet-woman-in-space.html) at the time took it seriously. Incidentally, before Savitskaya’s flight, the Soviet authorities were a bit worried about what sending a woman up there would do to the crew dynamics. The Sovs had started doing long duration spaceflights and had discovered that crew developed phycological issues, more than one mission had to be ended early because they were worried that the cosmonauts might kill one another/were having hallucinations. Which apparently was the reason for the rather “jovial” atmosphere being encouraged and the segregation, IIRC she was told to sleep in the Soyuz as opposed to the station itself. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/18 "2016-09-21T05:11:20Z")
Do women even need them in zero-G? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/19 "2016-09-21T05:23:47Z")
There really weren’t ANY women working at NASA at the time? I like how all the guys here answered the same way: Well, I don’t know how many tampons a woman would need. Stands to reason no one at NASA would. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478/20 "2016-09-21T05:37:33Z")
Well, it’s not rocket science. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nasa-really-ask-sally-ride-this-question/766478.md?page=2)