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peter-doubt t1_itiu5ht wrote

Just a nit that needs picking:

>Seventy-five years ago, a sonic boom thundered for the first time over the high desert of California.

Over Peenemunde, Germany, it was broken in 1944. By the V2.

Agreed, not a plane.. but the article said first, and that's wrong

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QWERTYroch t1_itiytvb wrote

To be really pedantic, that sentence isn't technically wrong. It was the first time it was broken "over the high desert of California", even if not the first time on Earth.

Obviously the context implies that it was the first ever, but in a vacuum each of their claims could be rationalized.

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tom-8-to t1_itk16qs wrote

Actually the OG is the pistol shrimp he’s been exploiting supersonic weapons since forever

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happyscrappy t1_itj15b8 wrote

Meteors did it before 1944 and in many places other than Germany.

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PorkyMcRib t1_itj51ru wrote

And rifle bullets. The Bell X1 was shaped somewhat like the .50BMG bullet, a shape known to be stable at supersonic speeds.

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Ok-Welder-4816 t1_itj60u3 wrote

And every time you crack a whip, or a towel.

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happyscrappy t1_itj64zc wrote

And whip tails.

I wonder, is there a complete list of everything that went supersonic within the Earth's atmosphere before the X-1 did?

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alucarddrol t1_itjk9lj wrote

some insect have different appendages that strike at supersonic speeds

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RoninRobot t1_itjblk1 wrote

It’s been hypothesized that dive bombers surpassed the barrier before 1944 in vertical flight. Not that many or any survived the accomplishment. If we’re picking nits.

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peter-doubt t1_itjpz4d wrote

Were they designed for that flight?

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RoninRobot t1_itjqmzf wrote

Vertical dive? Yes. Supersonic? No.

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Oh_its_that_asshole t1_itkzuzk wrote

super zoomy, but also super "why aren't my control surfaces working much anymore? Oh god that ground is coming up fas..."

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