On this day in history in 1962, the Air Force conducted a rather unique test to determine the safety of ejections at high supersonic speeds. Because forces from the rapid slowing of the ejection capsule could reach up to +40g and hitting the air at supersonic speeds could cause further injuries, it was deemed to unsafe to ask a human to participate in this test. Therefore, the test pilot selected was a hapless black bear named Yogi. She was taken up to 35,000 feet in the notoriously unpredictable B-58 Hustler bomber and ejected at Mach 1.3, becoming the world’s fastest bear. She survived the ejection and was slightly disoriented but otherwise uninjured when she landed.
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