Gearing up for the Needle’s 50th

Published 9:40 pm Sunday, November 6, 2011

Taking the Needle for a Spin: The clockworklike turntable on which the Space Needle’s revolving restaurant sits was crafted by Everett’s Western Gear works. The mechanism was on display 50 years ago this week as work continued on the Space Needle for Seattle’s Century 21 World’s Fair.

Here’s a bit of trivia the Needle’s elevator operators don’t usually divulge: Western Gear won the contract after complaints that the original turntable, made by the company that made the Gravitron for the Fun Forest, pinned diners against the windows because it spun too quickly.

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Doesn’t play well with others: Seattle Seahawk quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who gave himself an “F” after last week’s loss to Cincinnati, struggled again against Dallas on Sunday throwing three interceptions.

We’d suggest a switch to a pass-fail grade, but it doesn’t change much.

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Terminal boredom: A 29-year-old Canadian man voluntarily lived for 80 days at Vancouver, B.C.’s international airport as part of a celebration of the airport’s 80th anniversary.

The man said it was a hardship being away from his girlfriend for nearly three months, but he got what physical attention he could during regular patdowns from airport security screeners.

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