The first [insert] in space
As significant firsts retreat further into history, journalists struggle to identify new firsts that will make their otherwise ho-hum reports stand out to the casual reader. So, it must've come as some relief to David Gritten when Rayyanah Barnawi became the first Arab woman in space.
Not that I'm decrying her achievement. I've never been the first Arab woman to do anything of note, let alone go into space. But there's gonna come a time when they'll be scratching around with sexual orientation and specific disabilities in order to define newsworthy firsts: the first black queer with a speech impediment in space
, for example. Unless that accomplishment's already been claimed.
During her scheduled 10 days in orbit on the ISS, the 34-year-old biomedical scientist plans to carry out stem cell and breast cancer research.
David Gritten, BBC news
Having some experience in the field—although not proficiency, please note that, predatory publishers—I'm genuinely curious as to what research is proposed that can actually be accomplished in such a short period of time.
And now we have not only the first mother/daughter couple to go into space, but the first Caribbeans to boot. A veritable double whammy. I can't help but think that the younger of the two is getting a little overexcited and above herself though.
"My intention is to just break any barriers that we set for ourselves or that the world sets for us. "I want people to know that it doesn't matter where you come from, who you are - anything - your dream is your dream and you can make that happen, despite what anyone else says."
You can make your dream happen no matter what obstacles lie in front of you? She makes it sound like she's made some notable achievement to realise this dream voyage. In actuality, her mother won the tickets for Virgin Galactic's second commercial flight in a freakin' Virgin Atlantic sweepstake, FFS! The daughter appears to have done nothing herself to make anything happen, other than being the motivation behind the transatlantic journey that occasioned her mother's win.
So the message seems to be that with pure luck—or the best part of $0.5M—you too can venture into space. And hopefully return to tell the tale.*(crossedfingers)
* Virgin Galactic makes no warranty for safe return or retrieval. Usual terms and conditions apply.
A first not involving space travel, but only because it didn't exist in 18th-Century Argentina. The Argentine president met the pope at the canonisation of their country's first female saint.
What with Arabs and mother/daughter Caribbean couples going into space, women are certainly achieving a lot of firsts of late. Jolly good show, ladies! (applause)
scallops, I say
scallop. The first thing African chefs learn about fine dining in London is the inverse relationship between fineness and quantity.
Yet another black woman making history for being the first black woman to do something. This time, it's Adejoké Bakare, a self-taught Nigerian chef whose London restaurant has been awarded a Michelin star.
She made gastronomic history, becoming the first black female in the UK to win a star and just the second in the world.
Danai Nesta Kupemba, BBC News
So, not even the first black woman to achieve this feat, just the first in the UK. The next will be the first in their town: the first black female chef in Felixstowe to be awarded a Michelin star
, to be followed by the first black female chef with a prosthetic leg in Felixstowe to be awarded a Michelin star
.
Actually, I can't imagine that Felixstowe has any Michelin-starred eateries, let alone two, so these would indeed be firsts worth recognising!