Sputniks

1. A series of Soviet satellites launched in 1957 and in following years. These were the first artificial satellites.

The appearance of Sputnik stimulated a great deal of effort in the education of scientists and engineers in the United States. This period is now referred to as the post-Sputnik boom.

Example Sentences

In their song “Sputniks and Mutniks,” for example, Ray Anderson and the Homefolks sing in jest about satellites and Soviet space dogs “flying everywhere.”

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Mr. Mendiola bought pigs and hundreds of chickens for the Sputniks’ Christmas feast last month.

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In the Sputniks, getting into a fistfight will be punished with five lashes, and if someone draws blood, that number jumps to 15 or 20.

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The Met’s crystal chandeliers, which have come to be called “sputniks” for their space-age starburst design, are among the most popular features of the theater.

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Steeped in a mythos of Sputniks, spooks and classroom shelter drills, this cult film is an animated feature about a 9-year-old boy who finds, saves and protects the humongous robot that drops from the sky — educating him with his comic books.

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