Strange Alabama – Miss Baker

Before humans were able to walk the moon, animals were used as the first test subjects for outer space exploration. But one mammal, a monkey named Miss Baker, is one of the most famous and she's also an Alabama native!

Miss Baker was a squirrel monkey who was launched into space on May 28, 1959 with one of her primate companions, Miss Able. After being rocketed 300 miles into the sky, the two brave souls endured a 16 minute flight then landed in the Atlantic Ocean. Although they were both found alive, Miss Able died a few days later due to an infected electrode.

Miss Baker lived to be 27 years old, making her the oldest surviving squirrel monkey to be recorded. She died in 1984 and was buried outside of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville. To this day, supporters of Miss Baker still place bananas on her grave.