John Glenn, the famous astronaut and politician, wrote about his history-making earth orbit flight, “As I hurtled through space, one thought kept crossing my mind: Every part of this rocket was supplied by the lowest bidder.” Today, we are all John Glenn.

The news about the 737 MAX has got me thinking about my own experience with the aerospace industry. There’s something cultural about the avionics and aerospace industries, the Defense Department and the FAA; they are impervious to ideas. The status quo cannot be unseated.

A professor at Purdue University believes that icy bobsled tracks could someday be replaced with a lubricated plastic surface.