Columnist John Katsilometes: Nosing around the cosmos

Benny LeGrand's nose is going into space.

It's not a real nose, actually. It's the fake nose of a fake character -- Benny LeGrand is the goofball clown played by Wayne Hronek in Cirque du Soleil's production of "Mystere," which has graced Treasure Island's main theater since 1993.

The slapstick Hronek provides some homespun comic relief to the whirling dervish circus show. His crimson-red, bulbous clown nose will be sent Thursday on the next space shuttle Discovery flight, blasting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and returning to Earth 10 days later.

(All of which will be recounted in Tom Wolfe's next book, "The Right Sniff.")

Hronek's schnozz -- or schnozzle, for Yiddish speakers -- is to be vacuum-sealed prior to liftoff and presented to Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette, a big fan of her home country's famous performance troupe, who nose (er, knows) talent when she sees it.

However, even more impressive is the list of equally deserving Las Vegas-related mementos that haven't made it onto the space shuttle:

Hair ball coughed up by a Mirage white tiger.

Chunk of Evander Holyfield's right ear.

Siegfried (or Roy, but not both).

Very first pair of ladies' undergarments thrown at Tom Jones in his first Las Vegas show (circa 1965).

Weather-beaten cinder block unearthed at Sands implosion.

Weather-beaten blackjack dealer, also unearthed after Sands implosion.

Andre Agassi's former hair.

Wayne Newton's former moustache.

Half of a fake human finger from "Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular."

Ninety-nine-cent shrimp cocktail from the Golden Gate.

Tube of mascara used by female impersonator Kenny Kerr.

Tube of mascara used by Michael Jackson impersonator William Bostick.

Ticket stub from ill-fated "Jackson Family Honors" TV special at MGM Grand.

Dice Dennis Rodman allegedly rubbed on a Mirage craps dealer, prompting a civil lawsuit.

G-string worn by a Riviera "Crazy Girl."

G-string worn by Dennis Rodman when he allegedly rubbed dice on a Mirage craps dealer, prompting a civil lawsuit.

Unconscious drunk found in Silver Spike parking lot.

Unconscious security guard, also found in Silver Spike parking lot.

Five-dollar gaming chip depicting Jesse Owens issued during the Olympics by Las Vegas Club.

Two-hundred-pound lavender, rhinestone-studded gown with matching pinky ring and wristlet from Liberace Museum.

Pancake makeup applicator used by longtime Las Vegas TV anchor Gary Waddell.

Our famous rikki cheese.

Towel gnawed on by Jerry Tarkanian.

Bright orange "men working" sign plucked from Spaghetti Bowl renovation site.

Busted Saturn taillight retrieved from rear-end accident, also from Spaghetti Bowl renovation site.

Frilly, bejeweled Elvis Presley jumpsuit stained with Skippy peanut butter (authenticity certified).

T-shirt from cut-rate Strip souvenir shop reading "LO$T WAGE$."

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