Feature Article

Astronaut Alan Bean and His “Second” Career

Astronaut Alan Bean and His “Second” Career

05/29/2018

Updated on 09/24/2022

When Alan Bean retired from NASA and decided to become a full-time professional fine-art artist, he had to shed his aeronautical engineering and astronaut self to allow his inner artistic vision come through to the canvas. Not an easy task for the former Apollo 12 astronaut, one of only 12 men to have walked on the surface of the moon,…read more

Fin Whale — World’s Second-Largest Animal

Fin Whale — World’s Second-Largest Animal

02/28/2018

Updated on 09/20/2022

Finner, razorback, flathead, common rorqual, herring whale, finback whale — these are all names for the fin whale, an animal that few outside of the marine biology or maritime communities know or care about. But it is a majestic animal with sleek hydrodynamic lines and curves that roams the world’s oceans gulping down plankton and fish in astonishing quantities. Second…read more

The History of K2 — The World’s Second-Highest Mountain

The History of K2 — The World’s Second-Highest Mountain

02/22/2018

Updated on 09/06/2022

Attempts to summit K2 begin in Islamabad. From there you will spend a day driving in a rickety bus toward the town of Skardu on the dangerous Karakoram Highway (and they’re using the term “highway” VERY loosely here). You’ll probably have an armed guard wth your party because aside from the road itself being dangerous, there are people on it who…read more

George Lazenby — Second Actor to Play James Bond

George Lazenby — Second Actor to Play James Bond

01/20/2018

Updated on 09/19/2022

After the fifth installment of the James Bond movie series You Only Live Twice hit the theaters, Harry Saltzman and Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli, the producers of the lucrative franchise, had a problem. Their Bond didn’t want to be Bond anymore. Indeed after spying, killing, and sexing his way through five James Bond movies, Scottish actor Sean Connery was ready to…read more

Dick Sargent — The Second “Darrin” on Bewitched

Dick Sargent — The Second “Darrin” on Bewitched

Updated on 08/05/2020

Dick Sargent is one of those actors who had roles in almost every major network TV show over the course of his career, which lasted just under 40 years from the 1950s to the 1990s. His resume included appearances or starring roles on Dr. Kildare, Gunsmoke, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Hazel, Wagon Train, The…read more

Ms. Pac-Man — Sequel to Pac-Man

Ms. Pac-Man — Sequel to Pac-Man

11/14/2017

Updated on 09/06/2022

When Pac-Man came out in 1980, it was big. I mean really big. Like “stand in a 10-person line to play for just a few minutes” big. For the price of 25¢, you could guide Pac-Man — a little, binge-eating, yellow, three-quarter circle — through a maze loaded with tasty little white pellets while being chased by four colorful little ghosts…read more

George Lawrence Price — Second-to-Last Soldier Killed in WWI

George Lawrence Price — Second-to-Last Soldier Killed in WWI

11/11/2017

Updated on 11/11/2018

The armistice1 that ended the fighting in World War I was signed by representatives from Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, at 5AM on 11/11/1918, in a railroad carriage in Compiègne, France, but the agreement didn’t go into effect for another six hours. WWI would end at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, which was fine for those who…read more

Kim Shattuck — The Second Person to Play Bass for the Pixies

Kim Shattuck — The Second Person to Play Bass for the Pixies

09/28/2017

Updated on 10/03/2019

(Editor’s Note: Kim Shattuck died on October 2, 2019. You can read more about her unfortunate passing here.) When the Pixies1 reunited in 2004, it was a huge prayer answered for many devoted fans. Having previously been disbanded in 1992 by frontman Black Francis, a.k.a. Frank Black—real name Charles Thompson (which is what we’ll call him for the rest of…read more

Second Day of School for the Little Rock Nine

Second Day of School for the Little Rock Nine

09/26/2017

Updated on 04/10/2023

Editor’s Note: SilverMedals.net defines the second day of school for the Little Rock Nine as the second day they were able to actually enter the school. Their first day was supposed to be 9/4/57, but they were turned away by soldiers from the Arkansas National Guard. The first day they were actually able to enter Little Rock Central High School,…read more