In 1959, a cement mixer with a full load of cement, wrecked near Winganon, Oklahoma 🇺🇸

In 1959, a cement mixer with a full load of cement, wrecked near Winganon, Oklahoma

By the time a tow truck came to haul it away, all of cement had hardened inside of mixer. Tow truck was not able to remove all wreckage at same time because of weight, and decided to haul only cab/frame and would come back for detached mixer later, which never happened.

Today, 67 years later, it still sits where it fell. Locals have painted it and added "rocket thrusters" to make it look like a space capsule.

@archaeohistories

Cute, but a big hazard if a vehicle has to leave the road. I would move this thing off.

Or at least further away from the road. A crane could do this in less than four hours. Much cheaper than having a vehicle plow into it.

@davevolek That would likely require someone to pay for it. Given the little bits I've gleaned about local governance in the U.S. I can easily see no one having any spare budget for it.

@archaeohistories

@isaackuo @archaeohistories except the capsule had no thrusters on it.

@Chigaze @archaeohistories

I suspect it has stayed on the ground for 67 years because of its novelty and notoriety more than the expense of removing it. Locals probably like talking about it--------------until one of their own plow into it.

Renting a crane for four hours and a truck to haul it away is not a big expense. Municipalities use these machines a lot.

In 1959, a cement mixer with a full load of cement, wrecked near Winganon, Oklahoma

By the time a tow truck came to haul it away, all of cement had hardened inside of mixer. Tow truck was not able to remove all wreckage at same time because of weight, and decided to haul only cab/frame and would come back for detached mixer later, which never happened.

Today, 67 years later, it still sits where it fell. Locals have painted it and added "rocket thrusters" to make it look like a space capsule.

@davevolek That's definitely more likely but I am a little jaded by hearing about places where local government's get stuck because they need almost line item approval for stuff. The street my aunt lives on in a rural California community is an absolute wreck because they can't get enough people to vote to repave it.

@archaeohistories

In 1959, a cement mixer with a full load of cement, wrecked near Winganon, Oklahoma

By the time a tow truck came to haul it away, all of cement had hardened inside of mixer. Tow truck was not able to remove all wreckage at same time because of weight, and decided to haul only cab/frame and would come back for detached mixer later, which never happened.

Today, 67 years later, it still sits where it fell. Locals have painted it and added "rocket thrusters" to make it look like a space capsule.

@archaeohistories

Cute, but a big hazard if a vehicle has to leave the road. I would move this thing off.

Or at least further away from the road. A crane could do this in less than four hours. Much cheaper than having a vehicle plow into it.

@davevolek it's a really small town population of about 500 and it's not even in town...probably a lot of other things than that to worry about causing a car accident. Looking at the map, might be a struggle to get a crane out there cheeply.

@LanceJZ @isaackuo @archaeohistories

That's a piece of Art, and congratulations to the locals for maintaining it.

(Actually the capsule would have had thrusters: there would be Capsule:Flotation Bag:Heat Shield:Thruster Pack, with the thruster pack held on by straps so it could be jettisoned after deceleration but before hitting atmosphere. On one mission they re-entered with the thruster pack attached because the flotation bag light had come on and they were concerned about the heat shield.)

@LanceJZ @isaackuo @archaeohistories

That's a piece of Art, and congratulations to the locals for maintaining it.

(Actually the capsule would have had thrusters: there would be Capsule:Flotation Bag:Heat Shield:Thruster Pack, with the thruster pack held on by straps so it could be jettisoned after deceleration but before hitting atmosphere. On one mission they re-entered with the thruster pack attached because the flotation bag light had come on and they were concerned about the heat shield.)

@LanceJZ @archaeohistories They added fake thrusters to it.

@skryking

The photo looks like a rural highway to me. This means fairly high speeds. If a car "hits the ditch," a bumpy ride turns into a fatal accident.

I suspect the jurisdiction belongs to whoever owns the highway. It could be the state or it could be the county.

A couple of heavy tow wreckers could move this machine. Less than $5000.

But there may be political pressure to keep the machine in place. It does look cute.

@Chigaze @archaeohistories

I suspect it has stayed on the ground for 67 years because of its novelty and notoriety more than the expense of removing it. Locals probably like talking about it--------------until one of their own plow into it.

Renting a crane for four hours and a truck to haul it away is not a big expense. Municipalities use these machines a lot.

@Cadbury_Moose @isaackuo @archaeohistories there has never been a capsule with thrusters on them from Apollo on.

@LanceJZ @isaackuo @archaeohistories

Back then they were still in the Mercury or Gemini programmes, and the capsule *did* have thrusters.

I don't have my copy of "The Right Stuff" to hand, but the incident with the "Air Cushion Inflation" warning light and the decision to re-enter with the thruster pack attached was given to the astronaut _without_ telling them why. (So it would have been Mercury.) Continued... (1/2)

@davevolek based on Google maps image I things crushed oiled gravel.

In 1959, a cement mixer with a full load of cement, wrecked near Winganon, Oklahoma

By the time a tow truck came to haul it away, all of cement had hardened inside of mixer. Tow truck was not able to remove all wreckage at same time because of weight, and decided to haul only cab/frame and would come back for detached mixer later, which never happened.

Today, 67 years later, it still sits where it fell. Locals have painted it and added "rocket thrusters" to make it look like a space capsule.

@LanceJZ @isaackuo @archaeohistories

That's a piece of Art, and congratulations to the locals for maintaining it.

(Actually the capsule would have had thrusters: there would be Capsule:Flotation Bag:Heat Shield:Thruster Pack, with the thruster pack held on by straps so it could be jettisoned after deceleration but before hitting atmosphere. On one mission they re-entered with the thruster pack attached because the flotation bag light had come on and they were concerned about the heat shield.)