That is an incredible coincidence. Stay the heck away from me. :-)
Yes, I know.
After witnessing the Challenger, I was physically ill when I watched it happen to Columbia. I’ll never forget either, but the memory of Columbia is especially vivid.
I had just been telling my daughter about Challenger while I was taking her to gymnastics. We pulled over to watch Columbia. Afterward, I went inside the gymnastics center to tell other parents that we had just lost Columbia. I was clearly in shock, but what struck me was that nobody cared. They went about their business as usual after pausing for a brief moment to mutter, “Hmm. How sad.”
I had to get out of there.
Re: the coincidence ...
I always post a similar comment on any article I find that mentions Challenger or Columbia. I have yet to find anyone else who experienced both in person. It was traumatic.
It’s not that incredible.
I saw Columbia’s remnants from a parking lot in North Austin (TX) on the way to a funeral for a guy who collected NASA memorabilia.
He actually had a blow-up shuttle at the grave site. 8o