Mythical Type

New zine! “Astronaut Food” is a mini zine about freeze-dried food that astronauts eat in outer space.

The zine includes history about developing food for NASA missions. The back side of the zine (when unfolded) shows vintage Tang ads and a list of sources.

If it’s giving Bill Nye episode, that’s my intent. 😉

I made a collage using space imagery for the background of the zine. All text is typed.

Copies are available in my Etsy shop (U.S. only), and I’m also open to trades.

See below for photos and full text of the zine.

What do astronauts eat?

Freeze-dried food was first used in NASA space missions during Project Gemini in the 1960s. 

Since freeze-dried foods are shelf- stable, lightweight, and don’t require refrigeration, they’re an excellent choice for taking into space. 

Astronauts use on-board water to rehydrate food in its vacuum-sealed package. Then they cut the package open to eat.

Every food package includes some liquid to hold the food together, so small food particles do not float away in zero gravity. 

Food quality and options improved during the Apollo missions. 

In the 1970s, Skylab, the first U.S. space station, included a galley with a table, trays, and heating elements to warm up food. The station also had a refrigerator for frozen foods, including ice cream. Yes! Regular ice cream is safe to eat in space. Just not on a cone, because crumbs could float away and get into instrumentation or irritate astronauts’ eyes.

What about freeze-dried ice cream?

Astronauts don’t eat freeze-dried ice cream in space, so why was it made in the first place?

To sell in gift shops!

Freeze-dried ice cream was a way to excite people about space exploration, by giving them a similar food experience to astronauts.

The original and most popular company that makes freeze-dried ice cream is Astronaut Foods. 

You can find freeze-dried ice cream treats in museum gift shops, amusement parks, and online.

Did NASA invent Tang? 

Tang, a powdered orange drink mix, is usually associated with space missions, but NASA did not invent Tang.

Tang came out in 1957 and was marketed as a breakfast drink full of vitamin C. Since Tang is a powder, it’s shelf-stable, which makes it convenient at home…and also in space.

Tang was first taken into space in 1962, when John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. After that, Tang became popular as a space-age drink.

Because of zero gravity in space, astronauts can’t mix Tang and water in a glass. Instead, they have a vacuum-sealed pouch containing the powder. They use a needle to squirt water into the pouch. Then they shake the pouch and insert a straw.

Tang is still popular around the world and comes in additional flavors, including pineapple, mango, and lemon.

Sources

What Really is Astronaut Food?

Former NASA Astronaut Explains How Food Is Different in Space

The History of the Most Polarizing Novelty Treat of All Time

Freeze-dried ice cream

Freeze-Dried Foods Nourish Adventurers and the Imagination

Vintage Space Fun Fact: Tang in Space

Tang, the retro orange drink mix that astronauts & Florence Henderson liked

Tang! The space-age drink that’s still a worldwide staple

“Left-brained art” is a mini zine that includes tips for how to make art without having to plan all the details up front. Each page includes a tip and brief explanation.

This zine encourages you to work with the materials you already have and not worry about what people will think of the finished work.

I drew the background by hand with markers. Layout and text in Canva.

Copies are available in my Etsy shop (U.S. only). I’m also open to trading! (Message me.)

Full text in the zine:

Front cover

Left-brained art

Page 1

If you are a left-brained person (like me!), sometimes making art feels difficult. 

You want there to be order. You want to sort out all the details from the start. And if you can’t do that, you feel stuck.

Here are some things I try to remember so I don’t get stuck. 

Maybe these will be helpful to you, too.

Page 2

Simply start

Easier said than done. 

Try making something (anything) before you decide on what the end result will be.

One idea might spark another idea..and then another.

Page 3

What’s “good”?

Don’t get hung up on what’s “good.”

Whatever is trending or popular for the moment doesn’t matter. 

Make what interests you.

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Page 4

No plan is okay

You don’t have to plan everything. (It feels uncomfortable. I know.)

Figure it out as you go.

You can take it one step at a time.

Page 5

What you have

In most cases, you don’t need special tools to start a creative project.

You can start with what you already have.

“The best camera is the one you have with you.” – Chase Jarvis

Page 6

You, first

Make stuff for yourself.

If other people like it, that’s a bonus.

If no one else likes it, you’re still learning and growing.

Either way, you win.

Yesterday I ran a zine-making station at a public library fundraiser. 🙂

The library had a Fall Fair with a bake sale, raffles, magic show, and games. Arts and crafts tables were inside the library. Here’s the zine-making station.

The library provided magazines, scrapbook paper, markers, glue sticks, scissors, and plain white paper. I brought copies of How to make a mini zine and What’s a zine?

This is the first time I’ve done a zine event with kids. Having collage materials definitely helps, so kids don’t have to write something on the spot.

Two girls spent about an hour and a half at the table, making two zines each, because they said they were having so much fun. 🥹

I think if I do more kid-focused zine events, I might make some kind of template that they can fill in. Having more of a guide might be a nice option besides having a blank piece of paper.

Here’s a zine I made during some downtime.

“The antidote to social media” is a mini zine that looks at how negative things are outweighing positives on social media. But social media platforms are still a good way to find people to connect with. The zine suggests ways to work around the negative aspects of social media.

Copies are available on Etsy (U.S. only).

A lot of my zines start in a notebook page. Here’s where I started writing out what I wanted to include in this zine.

“Useless Venn Diagrams” is a mini zine with random observations, put into Venn diagram format. Topics include puzzles, note-taking, and movies.

Printed in black on teal paper. I drew this zine by hand and then adjusted spacing and layout in Canva.

“Cat’s Cradle” is a tiny story about mimicking someone. It’s not quite sci-fi, but it feels like it…maybe because it was inspired by a scene near the end of Annihilation. (I won’t spoil the movie and neither does the zine.)

Here’s the full text of the story:

It’s like playing cat’s cradle, but we aren’t using string.

I do one thing. She does something else that feels like… an extension. A continuation.

And then we swap.

She does one thing— says a phrase, draws some lines, moves her arm just so.

I extend— a line of poetry, a floral doodle, a yoga pose.

And then we swap.

The training protocol doesn’t specify how to teach. Just that I’m supposed to.

I report progress back to the team.

And then we swap.

“Modern-day Sisyphus” is a mini zine about 21st century tasks that never go away.

The zine is inspired by Sisyphus, a figure from Greek mythology who is tasked with rolling a boulder up a mountain, only for the boulder to roll back down every time he reached near the top.

Copies are available on Etsy.

Page 1 has a summary of the story of Sisyphus.

Page 2 lists chores that are repetitive: washing dishes, doing laundry, dusting, and vacuuming. At the bottom of page 2, there’s an illustration of a man rolling a boulder up a hill.

Pages 3 and 4 list tasks that are repetitive: making the bed, replying to emails, mowing the lawn, taking out trash, and paying bills. At the bottom of the pages, there’s an illustration of a man rolling a boulder up a hill.

Pages 5 and 6 list positive things that are repetitive: listening to favorite songs, making a cup of coffee, saying good night to loved ones, cooking favorite meals, celebrating holidays, and spending time on hobbies. At the bottom of the pages, there’s an illustration of a man rolling a boulder up a hill.

Here’s the back cover: