Back in October, 1957, the Russians put an artificial satellite into Earth orbit. Sputnik transmitted a radio signal until its battery went dead and stayed in orbit until January 1958, when it fell to Earth in another win for gravity.

Everybody in the USA, it seemed to my six year old mind, freaked out. The Communists had a leg up on us. Our Nazi rocket 🚀 scientists were lagging behind the Russian Nazi rocket 🚀 scientists.

Pretty soon we were seeing books published with titles like What Ivan Knows That Johnny Doesn’t. The Commies had advantages galore that we lacked. I don’t remember what the advantages were exactly. The truth was that I didn’t care. I was more concerned with printing with the fat pencil ✏️ and colouring inside the lines with the fat crayons 🖍. But the adults were scared shitless about the Commies/Russkies.

My Uncle Bob took this aspect of the Cold War in stride and named his family’s dog Sputnik. That’s all I can recall about this mutt, his name.

But back in the day, we were scared of The Russians, just as we are right now. Some things never change. But the weapons and their accoutrements do change and we have to buy them.