Hasta La Ideas

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After Neil Armstrong passed away in 2012, the astronaut’s family contacted the Smithsonian Institute’s National Air and Space Museum to donate some of his belongings. Writes Allan Needell of the Smithsonian’s Space History Department,

I received an email from Carol Armstrong that she had located in one of Neil’s closets a white cloth bag filled with assorted small items that looked like they may have come from a spacecraft. She wanted to know if they were also of interest to the Museum. She provided the following photograph of the bag and the items spread out on her carpet.

An excited Needell and a team of experts realized what they’d found: An early version of NASA’s TSB, or Temporary Stowage Bag, colloquially named the McDivitt Purse after Apollo 9 Commander James McDivitt. “I developed that now famous bag during training,” McDivitt said, according to the Apollo 12 Lunar Surface Journal. “There [were] a lot of items that we took out to use and really didn’t have time to store and unstore so we just put them in the bag until needed again.”

The bag picked up the “purse” moniker because it opened and closed like a clutch purse, a practical, quick-access design for an aperture.

“Photographer Ulli Lotzmann holds open the top of the flown Apollo 12 purse.” – Apollo 12 Lunar Surface Journal

The white color was presumably chosen for both visibility (below is a shot of it in the cockpit of the Apollo 17 cockpit) and because it’s easier to see the tools and parts within against a white background.

Apollo 12 Lunar Surface Journal

“View of the front. The bag measures about 9 inches tall by 12.25 inches wide (23 cm by 31 cm).” – Apollo 12 Lunar Surface Journal

“View of the end. The pin on the right is at the back of the bag, probably for attachment to the underside of the DSKY [the nickname for the Apollo Guidance Computer].” – Apollo 12 Lunar Surface Journal

“View from the top of the hinge on the lefthand end and of the U-shaped stiffeners. The back of the bag is on the right.” – Apollo 12 Lunar Surface Journal

“Close up of one of the hinges.” – Apollo 12 Lunar Surface Journal

I bet if NASA starting producing these for retail, they’d sell like hotcakes. But in the meantime, a certain famous tool user has designed and is selling his own bag inspired by the TSB. Stay tuned.

When he was working as a modemaker in the movie industry, Adam Savage built himself this wicked, wheeled aluminum toolbox that elevates to working height on an integral scissor-lift:

Since that’s not exactly practical to carry around, Savage has evolved the design into something more portable, taking elements from both the toolbox and NASA’s Temporary Stowage Bag to create the new EDC One. Produced by Mafia Bags, the company we last saw partnering with Yves Behar and Sustainable Surf on the Deep Blue Bag, the EDC One is made from upcycled sailcloth.

Savage-specific design details abound. The handles snap together courtesy of internal magnets, and will hold their upright shape due to their stiffness. The bag itself holds its shape and does not collapse due to spring steel inserts. As with NASA’s TSB, the white color makes it easy to see the tools inside. And also like the TSB, the bag’s clamshell mouth snaps open and shut like a clutch purse.

Here are the full stats:

Made in the US by Mafia Bags
– Constructed primarily from upcycled and salvaged sailcloth, every bag is unique.
– Durable and lightweight.
– Bag comes with a web strap, as shown in the photos.
– Each bag is identified with a hand written serial number indicating the model and production number.
– Bags come wrapped in tissue paper printed with a drawing of my original toolboxes.
– Pencil holder/pocket on the inside
– Magnets hold the handles together upright
– Wide spring steel supported clamshell mouth
– Para-aramid synthetic fiber reinforced base
– Hook and loop on the inside bottom to add functionality
– Hook and loop on the outside for patch and identification
– Machine washable
– Lifetime repair warranty on stitching and construction
Dimensions: 8″ x 15.5″ x 10″ / 205mm x 395mm x 255mm
Weight: 1.6lbs or 25.6 oz. / 750g or 0.75kg

Writes Savage:

I have, and have always had, a bag problem. I use them constantly: for carrying tools, notebooks, or computers. I use them for shop work, when I’m in production, and for travel. I’m hard on my stuff and I’ve spent my life on the hunt for the perfect bag. One that fits my desire for utility, simplicity, durability, and also looks. I have collected over a hundred bags and tool boxes and while I have some excellent pieces, I’ve never found the bag of my dreams. So I decided to make it myself.

This bag is similar in form to the aluminum doctor’s bags I built and used as a modelmaker in the film industry for 15 years. It is also inspired by Neil Armstrong’s Purse that he took to the moon and stored some Apollo hardware in. Made here in the US and constructed primarily from recycled sailcloth, every bag is unique. It’s also nearly indestructible. Durable and lightweight, it’s ideal for whatever your need. It can be a tool bag. A camera bag. An overnight bag. It’s a literal blank canvas.

I kept it simple, focusing on access to contents and durability. The color is chosen because I love NASA, but more importantly because all other tool bags are dark and that is wrong: I’ve spent too long not being able to find things at the bottom of my toolbags. This ends now.

While I like the thought of the bag’s interior being white for internal visibility, my first thought was of how dirty the exterior would get after just a few rides on the subway. Wired’s Michael Calore had a similar thought and asked Savage about it, reporting that “it seems impractical for something that’s bound to soak up dirt and grime and oil [but] Savage sells me on it. It will develop a patina, and patinas are cool.” I’m on the fence myself.

In any case, the $225 bag is not something you’ll be picking up for this gift-giving season; you’ll have to wait until next month, when the first units begin rolling out. Savage has set up his own company, Savage Industries, to distribute the bag. Watch his website to keep abreast.

British passports will lose their burgundy covers and go back to having dark blue ones after Brexit, the government has confirmed.

In a bid to “restore national identity”, British passports issued after October 2019 will feature a blue and gold cover, like the ones the UK had before it joined the European Union in 1973.

The move was announced today by immigration minister Brandon Lewis, who said he was delighted that the country will be bringing back “the iconic blue and gold design”.

“Leaving the EU gives us a unique opportunity to restore our national identity and forge a new path for ourselves in the world,” he said.

He also said the new passports will integrate new security measures to better protect travellers against fraud and forgery, making the British passport “one of the most secure travel documents in the world”.

In the wake of Brexit, the design of the UK’s passport has been much discussed – as a symbol of the country’s post-EU identity.

Just days after Article 50 was triggered, a £500 million tender was sent out by the government for firms to come up with ideas for a new passport.

Dezeen also launched its own ideas competition to come up with alternative ideas for Britain’s post-Brexit passport.

The contest, which garnered more than 200 entries, was won by Scottish graphic designer Ian Macfarlane, with a design featuring a cover that transitions between the burgundy of the current UK passport and the dark blue of the old, pre-EU British passport.

Macfarlane claimed the the UK needed “a visual metaphor to honestly reflect the pre- and post-referendum spirit of the country”.

The winning design and shortlisted entries have been showcased at the V&A museum and Design Museum in London.

The official new passports will be issued, for those renewing or applying for a new passport, from October 2019. In order to “save the taxpayer money”, these passports will be introduced in phases, according to the Home Office.

More details about the UK’s official passport design are expected to be revealed when a supplier is appointed in Spring 2018. However, controversially, the design could end up coming from a French or German company.

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