Term of the Moment
Coinbase
Definition: colored computer
An African American woman who used her mathematical skills to compute and verify rocket trajectories in the early years of NASA and for the Apollo space missions. Starting in World War II, "female computers" of all races sat at calculators for hours on end making extraordinary contributions to the war and space efforts. See kilogirl.
A Scene from Hidden Figures Movie
Based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly (top), the 2016 biographical movie distributed by 20th Century Fox featured Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, three African American women who made major contributions to the space program. In this scene (bottom), the sign on the wall reveals the still-prevalent segregation in 1960s America.