General Chuck Yeager—an idol of anyone who has ever sought to break a speed record, whether in the air, on land, or on the water— turns 96 today. He proved that speed that were thought to be impossible for humans were actually attainable.
That all started in October, 1947 with the flight of the Bell X-1, an experimental aircraft that was built for one reason: to break the sound barrier. The diminutive plane, nicknamed Glamorous Glennis, wasn't like other aircraft. It carried more than 5000 pounds of fuel, and that fuel wasn't just pump gas. The rocket engine needed liquid oxygen and water alcohol to run. If something went wrong during fueling, the fuel could explode with the equivalent force of 5000 pounds of TNT.
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