Post #639968 by TikiTomD on Sun, Jun 10, 2012 11:11 AM

Being a rocket scientist, I often wondered if there were any documented connections between Poly Pop and Space Age visionaries, so I decided to look around a bit. Here are a couple of intersections; perhaps fellow TC members can contribute some more...

In an August 4, 1999 article in the The Sacramento Bee entitled “The Mai Tais that Bind: Trader Vic’s Grandson Keeps Culinary Tradition Alive,” Peter Seely stated of his grandfather’s restaurant...

Peter Seely, Grandson of Trader Vic
Photo by The Sacramento Bee

As a kid, I can remember Wernher von Braun (the rocket engineer) as a regular customer. He'd doodle on the tablecloth during dinner. When he left, the Secret Service would come in and take the tablecloth with them.

Arising from a dark past, Dr. von Braun was arguably the greatest rocket scientist of all time...

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Director Wernher von Braun stands ready at a periscope in Kennedy Space Center's Blockhouse 34 on May 28, 1964 as he awaits the launch of the SA-6, the sixth Saturn I flight
Photo by NASA

Commemorative 1969 Apollo Envelope Cover

While so many of the great rocket pioneers of the mid-century have passed, we still have among us some remarkable space visionaries, at least one with a Tiki connection... Elon Musk, founder and chief designer of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX)...

Elon Musk at mission control
Photo by SpaceX, from Spaceflight Now

Elon helped his sister, Tosca Musk, launch her career as an award-winning producer and director of feature films, television programs and web content. Tosca of course went on to partner with creator Jeff Macpherson and produce the web video podcast series, Tiki Bar TV, which has a number of TC fans...

-Tom