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Torn 4˝ x 2˝ swatch of teflon from the Skylab 'treadmill' devised by William Thornton, affixed within a 15.5˝ x 12.5˝ framed presentation from the Skylab 4 crew, featuring an engraved plate: "Thornton's Revenge, Dang it, Bill, we told you we could wear it out!," with the facsimile signatures of the Skylab 4 crew—Jerry Carr, Ed Gibson, and Bill Pogue—below. Also within the display are an embroidered Skylab 4 (SLM-3) mission patch and a photo of the treadmill in use. In good to very good condition, with water damage to the mat and frame.
After the first two Skylab crews demonstrated that the station’s bicycle ergometer alone could not adequately maintain leg and back strength in weightlessness, physician-astronaut William E. Thornton developed an ingenious treadmill-like exercise device for Skylab 4. Consisting of a Teflon-coated aluminum plate and a harness attached to bungee cords that supplied artificial downward force, the device allowed astronauts to 'march' or jog in place and became such a strenuous workout that the crew nicknamed it “Thornton’s Revenge.” During the record-setting 84-day Skylab 4 mission, the treadmill became a key part of the crew’s 1.5-hour daily exercise regimen and helped them return to Earth in better physical condition than the earlier Skylab crews.
Attested as flown by the William E. Thornton estate.
From the William E. Thornton Collection.
