Origin of Neil Armstrong's 'One Small Step' Line Revealed

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Origin of Neil Armstrong's 'One Small Step' Line Revealed

Posted by timothy on Sunday December 30, 2012 @04:22PM from the too-bad-it-wasn't-mysterious-charades dept.

SchrodingerZ writes "In an upcoming BBC Documentary, Dean Armstrong, the brother of astronaut Neil Armstrong, reveals when the world famous 'one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind' line originated. For years, people have argued over when Armstrong came up with the line, whether it was on the spot or planned years ahead. Also debated is whether Armstrong meant to include 'a' before man, making the indefinite article 'man,' which alludes to mankind, into a singular, 'a man,' himself. According to Dean Armstrong, the quote was shared to him over a board game, months before the mission began. He says, 'We started playing Risk and then he [Neil] slipped me a piece of paper and said "read that." I did. On that piece of paper there was "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." He says "what do you think about that?" I said "fabulous." He said "I thought you might like that, but I wanted you to read it." He then added: "It was 'that is one small step for A man.'"' Armstrong had always insisted that he had said 'a,' that it was lost in communication static. This new story however conflicts with what Neil told James Hansen for his biography, stating he came up with the quote on the lunar surface. More on the historic moon landing and the life of Neil Armstrong in the new documentary Neil Armstrong- First Man on the Moon, on BBC."

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Re:first by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-30 16:29 · Score: 5, Funny

Hello, Neil.
dub in the "a" by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-30 16:34 · Score: 1

regardless of what he had in mind, it makes no sense, so can we just edit in the "a" and it will be a great quote.
1. Re:dub in the "a" by SomePgmr · 2012-12-30 17:27 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Last I heard, Armstrong (who insisted he said it right), was vindicated by analysis of the original audio.
2. Re:dub in the "a" by symbolset · 2012-12-30 19:23 · Score: 2
  
  Regardless of what he said or didn't say, it really was one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind.
  
  --
  Help stamp out iliturcy.
3. Re:dub in the "a" by ThePromenader · 2012-12-30 20:00 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  The missing "a" does make sense: aren't "man" and "mankind" synonymous? "A man" and "mankind" are obviously different, and if used would make a more meaningful (and humble) phrase meaning: "one l'il tippytoe for l'il old me, but what a mark of progress!".
  
  --
  
  No, no sig. Really.
  
  ThePromenader
4. Re:dub in the "a" by bjs555 · 2012-12-30 20:49 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Until about 10 years ago I remember hearing all broadcasts of Armstrong's quote with a definite crackling "a" before the word "man". Then the crackling "a" disappeared. It seems to me someone decided the audio sounded better without the crackling sound, edited it out, and threw away the original. Thus history was changed. It's disturbing.
5. Re:dub in the "a" by nospam007 · 2012-12-30 22:34 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  It's completely bogus! He said something completely different, but they were too politically correct to admit it.
  He said: "Holy living fuck... Are you fucking believing this? Over.
  I abso-fucking-lutely am standing on the surface of the fucking moon!"
  Here's the paper from that day that confirms it.:-)
  http://www.doobybrain.com/2009/07/18/the-onion-holy-shit-man-walks-on-fucking-moon/
6. Re:dub in the "a" by kelemvor4 · 2012-12-31 03:40 · Score: 1
  
  Until about 10 years ago I remember hearing all broadcasts of Armstrong's quote with a definite crackling "a" before the word "man". Then the crackling "a" disappeared. It seems to me someone decided the audio sounded better without the crackling sound, edited it out, and threw away the original. Thus history was changed. It's disturbing.
  I'd describe it as average, or expected rather than disturbing. This isn't 1950 anymore.
7. Re:dub in the "a" by JazzLad · 2012-12-31 05:47 · Score: 1
  
  Is that you, Mahmoud?
  
  --
  "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." - Every fascist, ever
8. Re:dub in the "a" by Ol+Biscuitbarrel · 2012-12-31 07:20 · Score: 1
  
  From the same source: Conspiracy Theorist Convinces Neil Armstrong Moon Landing Was Faked | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
  
  According to Armstrong, he was forced to reconsider every single detail of the monumental journey after watching a few persuasive YouTube videos, and reading several blog posts on conspiracy theorist Ralph Coleman's website, OmissionControl.org.
9. Re:dub in the "a" by cwsumner · 2013-01-02 04:50 · Score: 1
  
  I heard it live, and I heard the 'a'. But Walter Cronkite (the announcer) could not hear it very well and missed the 'a'. And no one, at the networks, wanted to disagree with the "great man" Cronkite.
  It is true, though, that Armstong did not "voice" the 'a' very much. So it was sort of low.
Doesn't matter by mrsam · 2012-12-30 16:40 · Score: 5, Insightful

Having watched and heard this moment in history more times than I can remember, playing it over in my mind, I do think there's a slight "hiccup" in the audio, but I'm not sure if it's long enough for a dropped "a".
But it doesn't really matter. "a" or no "a". It was a moment in history that will never be repeated, or surpassed, ever again. What Buzz Aldrin, Neal Armstrong, and Michael Collins (in alphabetical order) have accomplished stands on its own merits. It is no more and no less of an accomplishment no matter what he actually said, or didn't say.
1. Re:Doesn't matter by TheRealMindChild · 2012-12-30 16:55 · Score: 1
  
  This is one of those moments you imagine coming up in conversation many times, in which you have been working on a zinger for quite some time. It is a lot of rehearsal and a little part of the moment
  
  --
  
  "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
2. Re:Doesn't matter by Tablizer · 2012-12-30 19:05 · Score: 1
  
  Some audio experts claim there is an "a", or at least a plausible gap. I've read a couple of articles about that topic. It will probably be debated forever, like the JFK assassination.
  Here's one such reference Wikipedia gives:
  Goddard, Jacqui (October 2, 2006). "One small word is one giant sigh of relief for Armstrong". The Times (London). Retrieved August 28, 2007. [link is broken]
  
  --
  Table-ized A.I.
3. Re:Doesn't matter by baegucb · 2012-12-30 20:40 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11_in_popular_culture#Movies_and_television says
  Portions of the Apollo 11 mission are dramatized in the HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon episode entitled "Mare Tranquilitatis". In that episode, Michael Collins made the following suggestion as to what Armstrong should say upon stepping onto the lunar surface: "If you had any balls, you'd say 'Oh, my God, what is that thing?' then scream and cut your mic."
  Now that would have been epic :)
4. Re:Doesn't matter by oobayly · 2012-12-30 22:44 · Score: 1
  
  According to Arthur C Clarke in the foreword to 2001, they told him that they wanted to "report that they'd found a black monolith, alas discretion prevailed"
5. Re:Doesn't matter by SternisheFan · 2012-12-30 23:03 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  The man has said publicly that he said "a man". That's it. He's a man of honor, and insisting on proof is demeaning. Why does this even have to be argued? Does a man's word mean so little anymore? Move on, people.
6. Re:Doesn't matter by AmiMoJo · 2012-12-30 23:23 · Score: 2
  
  It doesn't make much sense without the "a". "Man" and "mankind" mean the same thing in that context, but pointing out that it was only a single step from the base of the lander leg onto the surface that represented a huge moment in human history is quite apt.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
7. Re:Doesn't matter by skine · 2012-12-30 23:55 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  It's actually not that unheard of for astronauts to play pranks in space. For example:
  Having successfully completed the first ever two-space vehicle rendezvous in orbit with Frank Borman and James Lovell, Jr. in Gemini 7, Schirra and Stafford were understandably in high spirits before they began their atmospheric reentry maneuvers.
  But, before beginning their journey home, NASA received a report from the pair saying they had spotted a UFO. According to Schirra's memoirs "Schirra's Space," Stafford contacted Mission Control and said: "We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, probably in polar orbit.... Looks like he might be going to re-enter soon.... You just might let me pick up that thing.... I see a command module and eight smaller modules in front. The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit."
  Before Mission Control had time to digest the "UFO sighting," they heard an extraterrestrial rendition of "Jingle Bells" coming from Gemini 6. Schirra and Stafford had smuggled a harmonica and miniature sleigh bells onto the spacecraft especially for this moment.
  http://news.discovery.com/space/big-pic-jingle-bells-first-space-music.html
8. Re:Doesn't matter by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-31 01:13 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Does man's word mean so little anymore?
  FTFY
9. Re:Doesn't matter by Paradise+Pete · 2012-12-31 01:28 · Score: 1
  
  The g is also missing from giant, but nobody claims he said "one eye ant leap."
10. Re:Doesn't matter by Seeteufel · 2012-12-31 01:44 · Score: 1
  
  It is on the symbolic action layer, it does not really matter what Neil Armstrong said. In particular as the story is wrong. Fritz Lang's team was first and stumm.
11. Re:Doesn't matter by dkleinsc · 2012-12-31 01:58 · Score: 2
  
  But, before beginning their journey home, NASA received a report from the pair saying they had spotted a UFO.
  And of course, the UFO conspiracy theorists have taken this report seriously ever since.
  
  --
  I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
12. Re:Doesn't matter by Seeteufel · 2012-12-31 02:15 · Score: 1
  
  Thanks they didn't take gender study courses.
13. Re:Doesn't matter by Flentil · 2012-12-31 02:41 · Score: 1
  
  It matters because one brother is clearly lying. Neil insists that he thought of the phrase spontaneously on the moon and that he was humble and said "for a man", but his brother says he's lying on both counts, that he had the phrase pre-planned months earlier, and didn't intend it to be quite as humble. So there is meaning here. Either the brother is lying, or Neil was more dishonest than he'd have us believe.
14. Re:Doesn't matter by SternisheFan · 2012-12-31 02:50 · Score: 1
  
  I see, I'd not heard of the 'brother' angle, interesting. I had heard that, of course the speech was reheased/memorized.
15. Re:Doesn't matter by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-31 03:55 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  You hadn't heard of the brother angle? You win five (5) internets for responding to an article without reading the summary.
16. Re:Doesn't matter by SternisheFan · 2012-12-31 04:08 · Score: 2
  
  Firstly, I wish to thank the academy...
17. Re:Doesn't matter by SternisheFan · 2012-12-31 09:12 · Score: 1
  
  That"s funny, when I was leaving your mom"s room, she said the same thing. :-)
18. Re:Doesn't matter by Tablizer · 2012-12-31 10:55 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe he really did see aliens and suppressed it. The missing "a" would be the least of his worries. I'd probably state some non-family-friendly words if I hopped down from the ladder and saw a giant insect eye.
  
  --
  Table-ized A.I.
19. Re:Doesn't matter by SternisheFan · 2013-01-01 11:29 · Score: 1
  
  Hell, wish I had a dollar for every mistake I made, and I didn't have the entire world to call me on them. If he did, so what? His achievments more than make up for a sin of pride, or whatever youl'd call it.
20. Re:Doesn't matter by SternisheFan · 2013-01-01 11:39 · Score: 1
  
  Well played there. Not a bad comeback, kid. Not bad at all..., I mean, for a moment there you almost hurt my feelings. Then I realized your parents probably didn't have any kids that lived, so, I really feel pity FOR you...and I really feel UP your sister!
maybe he had to drop the "a" by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-30 16:41 · Score: 5, Funny

to lip sync with the footage they got from New Mexico?
Linguistic discussion by Fnordulicious · 2012-12-30 16:44 · Score: 3, Informative

Language Log has discussed this a number of times.
The second line by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-30 16:47 · Score: 1

Did he also remember to ask Mr. Gorsky about the second line he planned to say?
1. Re:The second line by TapeCutter · 2012-12-30 19:25 · Score: 1
  
  No, sadly there was no Mr Gorsky.
  
  --
  And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
2. Re:The second line by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-30 22:29 · Score: 1
  
  In the snopes article on this subject, I like the line at the bottom about "good luck Mr Hubble"
that he said it ON THE MOON is the good part by girlinatrainingbra · 2012-12-30 16:47 · Score: 5, Insightful

Why argue about whether he thought of it spontaneously on the moon or had thought of it or considered it before he took that first step. It's the fact that he said it ON THE MOON that is the good and important part. Personally, I believe that he probably did plan ahead and think about what he might say when he landed. Thus he most certainly did think of that phrase ahead of time (in my humble opinion). And who amongst us has not tried to get a little more glory by saying yeah I just thought of that spontaneously when we might have come up with the retort earlier. Certainly Armstrong does not NEED to be cooler or thought of as more: he walked on the moon. So who cares about whether that line was a spontaneous utterance or a well planned entrance line?
.
:>)
Neil Armstrong, my here. I would love to fly there someday and see those footsteps in the lunar dust, if the micrometeroids have not destroyed it. They'll probably put up a velvet rope around it to keep us tourist riff-raff away. If only. I wish. I truly wish. [Fly me to the moon!!! ;>) ]
1. Re:that he said it ON THE MOON is the good part by girlinatrainingbra · 2012-12-30 16:48 · Score: 2
  
  "my hero" is what I meant to say. I missed my typo when I previewed it. Saaahrry /. !
2. Re:that he said it ON THE MOON is the good part by hawguy · 2012-12-30 18:30 · Score: 2
  
  that he said it ON THE MOON is the good part
  riding 60s technology hastily designed, developed and built in under a decade that has, in the 40+ years since, yet to be duplicated for a return... despite all of our advances in engineering, astrophysics, technology, manufacturing, and other fields. we *should* be able to get there for a mere fraction of apollo's cost (was approx $190b in current dollars)
  We've developed much less tolerance for risk since then, which drives up costs and complexity - NASA wouldn't certify an Apollo era spacecraft for human spaceflight today.
3. Re:that he said it ON THE MOON is the good part by fostware · 2012-12-30 18:35 · Score: 2
  
  Priorities.
  We don't care about a desolate place that will require sinking great wads of cash into it, unless there's oil, rare earths and minerals, or our IP has been infringed.
  
  --
  "We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over." - Aneurin Bevan
4. Re:that he said it ON THE MOON is the good part by erice · 2012-12-30 19:59 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Priorities.
  We don't care about a desolate place that will require sinking great wads of cash into it, unless there's oil, rare earths and minerals, or our IP has been infringed.
  "We" didn't care then either. We cared about one-uping the Soviets. Once we had landed on the moon and determined that the Soviets weren't going to try to top it, we lost interest.
  Apollo was never about science, exploration, or the opening of a frontier. It was a multi-billion dollar cold war publicity stunt that stole the thunder from the real pioneers that are still to come.
5. Re:that he said it ON THE MOON is the good part by AmiMoJo · 2012-12-30 23:20 · Score: 1
  
  You use the preview button?! That already puts you way aheed of 99% of Slashdotr posters, myself included,
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
6. Re:that he said it ON THE MOON is the good part by girlinatrainingbra · 2012-12-31 03:59 · Score: 1
  
  I started using the preview button after I once forgot to put the closing to go with the corresponding html entity. Then the rest of my entire entry ended up being bold, when I only meant for the phrase "rest of my entire entry" to be bold. In this case here, I'm doing it on purpose (leaving off the closing <b>).
7. Re:that he said it ON THE MOON is the good part by cusco · 2012-12-31 05:14 · Score: 1
  
  "We" my ass. That was only "we" if you happened to be a member of the Washington DC political elite. The rest of us were in it for the adventure.
  
  --
  "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
8. Re:that he said it ON THE MOON is the good part by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-31 08:11 · Score: 1
  
  I reminds me that what Abraham Lincoln said, in the presence of live witnesses from the press (obviously without radio interference) at the site of the memorial for Gettysburg is also not known with certainty:
  
  Despite the historical significance of Lincoln's speech, modern scholars disagree as to its exact wording, and contemporary transcriptions published in newspaper accounts of the event and even handwritten copies by Lincoln himself differ in their wording, punctuation, and structure. Of these versions, the Bliss version, written well after the speech as a favor for a friend, is viewed by many as the standard text. Its text differs, however, from the written versions prepared by Lincoln before and after his speech. It is the only version to which Lincoln affixed his signature, and the last he is known to have written. (WikiPedia)
  I say we go with what he claims to have said. Whether it was a flub, or intentional, rehearsed or spontaneous, he said it on the surface of the Earth's moon. Let's move the debate on to what should the first person say when they set foot on Mars. Then let's see if they get it right by sending someone there. I don't care if we have to manufacture a story about beating the Chinese there to do it, either. I'm starting to spread the rumor that the Chinese are going to beat us there because it turns out that Mars is full of oil. If you'll all help spread it, I think we can be there by 2015!!!!
9. Re:that he said it ON THE MOON is the good part by romons · 2013-01-01 09:18 · Score: 1
  
  Neil Armstrong, my here. I would love to fly there someday and see those footsteps in the lunar dust, if the micrometeroids have not destroyed it. They'll probably put up a velvet rope around it to keep us tourist riff-raff away. If only. I wish. I truly wish. [Fly me to the moon!!! ;>) ]
  NASA has strict regulations on what can be touched on the moon, as I recently found out while working on the Lunar-X prize. I wanted our vehicle to spring launch 20 or so tetrahedrons with cameras, and was shouted down due to huge amounts of paperwork that would be supposedly be required...
  See this for more info
  
  --
  Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company -- Mark Twain
10. Re:that he said it ON THE MOON is the good part by girlinatrainingbra · 2013-01-01 09:53 · Score: 1
  
  re: NASA has strict regulations on what can be touched on the moon, [boldface emphasis mine]
  .
  Thanks for the interesting link. I noticed that you said "strict regulations", while the article says "NASA ia asking them to comply with a set of guidelines to prevent them from damaging Apollo-era artifacts there" [boldface emphasis mine]. Here's the beginning of the 3rd paragraph from your linked article at http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1961/1
  NASA is careful to point out that the "recommendations are not legal requirements"; rather, they are guidelines "offered to inform lunar spacecraft mission planners interested in helping preserve and protect lunar historic artifacts and potential science opportunities for future missions." Although complying with the NASA Recommendations will make mission planning more difficult and expensive, GLXP teams have non-legal incentives to operate responsibly near the Apollo sites, including public scrutiny of their missions and a desire to protect their reputations. ...
  ... No US government agency, however, currently has jurisdiction to regulate the conduct of non-governmental spacecraft on the lunar surface. NASA can establish requirements for its own missions, but not for those conducted by a private entity.
  What team were you on or were you working with for the Lunar X prize?
11. Re:that he said it ON THE MOON is the good part by romons · 2013-01-05 09:15 · Score: 1
  
  Team Phoenicia. R.I.P.
  
  --
  Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company -- Mark Twain
The missing "A" by Ozoner · 2012-12-30 17:13 · Score: 4, Interesting

The missing "A" was not caused by static, but by the way that the VOX (Voice Operated Switch) operated.
The Sensitivity of the VOX is quite critical. If it's too sensitive, everybody gets to hear background noises like breaths and grunts. To work properly the VOX needs to be set quite "tight". If you listen to any of the recordings you can hear how the first syllable is always clipped. If the first word is a short sound, it will likely be cut completely.
In noisy conditions, most operators develop the habit of starting a sentence with a short "Ah". The "Ah" isn't transmitted, it just serves to open the mute.
Ask any Ham Radio Operator about setting up a VOX.
1. Re:The missing "A" by fufufang · 2012-12-30 17:27 · Score: 1
  
  So what VOX switched off before he said "a"?
  I think these days they should build a buffer circuit, and make everything delay for a few milliseconds, detect the voice, so the operators don't need to say "Ah".
2. Re:The missing "A" by Ozoner · 2012-12-30 20:40 · Score: 1
  
  > So what VOX switched off before he said "a"?
  The VOX is normally closed. When you start speaking in opens (after a pause), then closes again when you stop talking.
  > I think these days they should build a buffer circuit, and make everything delay for a few milliseconds, detect the voice, so the operators don't need to say "Ah".
  How would that help? Noise would still trigger the buffer circuit.
  Engage brain before putting mouth in gear.
3. Re:The missing "A" by Ozoner · 2012-12-30 20:51 · Score: 2
  
  > So what VOX switched off before he said "a"?
  The VOX in the astronauts suit transmitter
4. Re:The missing "A" by fufufang · 2012-12-30 23:15 · Score: 1
  
  How would that help? Noise would still trigger the buffer circuit.
  You get another circuit running, detecting whether the sound in the buffer has reached the trigger level. If it has, then send everything in the buffer, until it drop back down below the threshold. Otherwise don't send anything. How about that?
5. Re:The missing "A" by AmiMoJo · 2012-12-30 23:31 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  The problem with that theory is there was no pause or gap between "for" and "man". If it was swallowed by VOX or static the space would still be there.
  The guy fluffed his line, hardly something to be ashamed of when you are just about to be the first man in history to set foot on another planet and there is still a very slight worry you will just sink into the dust, and even if somehow you don't the spacesuit might fail, or the lift-off motor might not fire, or any number of other things might go wrong. Armstrong was human, after all, which is kind of the point since robots had been there before.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
6. Re:The missing "A" by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · 2012-12-30 23:56 · Score: 2
  
  Actually, the missing "a" was inadvertently dropped when the Doctor spliced in the "You should kill us all on sight" bit.
7. Re:The missing "A" by Apocros · 2012-12-31 02:42 · Score: 1
  
  Are most folks thinking of a long-A sound? Because to me, it seems like it works if you use a short-A sound for 'a' and quickly roll it into 'man'. Like pronouncing the name Amanda, but without the '-da' at the end.
  
  --
  "onward!" cried the copper man, little knowing brass corrupts...
8. Re:The missing "A" by Rockoon · 2012-12-31 02:50 · Score: 1
  
  You get another circuit running, detecting whether the sound in the buffer has reached the trigger level. If it has, then send everything in the buffer, until it drop back down below the threshold. Otherwise don't send anything. How about that?
  An audio buffer in a space suit in 1969? Really?
  
  You are just proving how fantastically ignorant you are.
  
  --
  "His name was James Damore."
9. Re:The missing "A" by Gordonjcp · 2012-12-31 03:50 · Score: 1
  
  So if vox gated off when he said "a" in "a man", why isn't there a gap in the transmission about the length of the missing "a"? Also "a" is a nice loud vowel, which will trip the vox quite easily.
  The vox gating off idea doesn't hold water.
10. Re:The missing "A" by fufufang · 2012-12-31 10:54 · Score: 1
  
  By "these days", I meant today, as in if I was designing a new one today. The GP said
  
  Ask any Ham Radio Operator about setting up a VOX..
  I will try to be more literate on Slashdot in the future.
11. Re:The missing "A" by fufufang · 2012-12-31 10:59 · Score: 1
  
  The missing "A" was not caused by static, but by the way that the VOX (Voice Operated Switch) operated.
  I really don't think it was caused the VOX. When the VOX is switched off, it makes a beep sound.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csO9VTtrg5A
Some of these were also considered... by mykepredko · 2012-12-30 17:15 · Score: 2

"In your Face, Aldrin!"
"A quarter million miles, billions of dollars, and you won't believe what I just stepped in."
"What's that monolith doing here?"
"Man, you can't believe what a fart smells like in here."
"Houston, has Aldrin told you about his crotch rot yet?"
"Honey, I think I left the stove on."
"Houston, you're not going to believe this, but there's a flag with the Hammer and Sickle standing here."
"Man, I could use the fresh, relaxing taste of Coca-Cola."
"Suck it, Aldrin!"
myke

--
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
1. Re:Some of these were also considered... by petman · 2012-12-30 18:42 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Don't forget,
  
  "FIRST!"
  
  --
  Dropbox drops it like it's hot.
2. Re:Some of these were also considered... by chrismcb · 2012-12-30 22:21 · Score: 1
  
  I just landed on the moon, and now I am going to Disneyland,
3. Re:Some of these were also considered... by SternisheFan · 2012-12-30 23:10 · Score: 1
  
  "My God, it's full of stars!"
4. Re:Some of these were also considered... by VAXcat · 2012-12-31 03:07 · Score: 1
  
  He could have made millions if the first thing he said on the moon had been "COCA COLA!"
  
  --
  There is no God, and Dirac is his prophet.
5. Re:Some of these were also considered... by Ol+Biscuitbarrel · 2012-12-31 07:25 · Score: 1
  
  "I claim this land for the Queen of Spain."
6. Re:Some of these were also considered... by greyblack · 2012-12-31 08:10 · Score: 1
  
  It's made of CHEESE!
  
  --
  Everybody uses broad generalizations.
What he really said... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-30 17:20 · Score: 2, Funny

We're whalers on the moon...we carry a harpoon...
Suggestions for Armstrong's First Words by Hugh+Pickens+writes · 2012-12-30 17:32 · Score: 4, Interesting

Even before the landing Armstrong's first word on the moon were much anticipated and there was a lot of discussion for weeks in the press about what they would be.

Esquire Magazine even ran a story before the moon landing where they asked sixty prominent figures at the time including Marshall McLuhan, Isaac Asimov, Buckminister Fuller, Ayn Rand, Bob Hope, Hubert Humphrey, Tiny Tim, Sal Mineo, Vladamir Nabokov, Mohamad Ali, Truman Capote, and John Kenneth Galbraith for their suggestions on what Armstrong should say upon landing on the moon that would "ring through the ages.".

When Neil H. Armstrong, a blond, blue-eyed, thirty-eight-year-old civilian astronaut from Wapakoneta, Ohio, steps out of the lunar landing module this summer and plants his size eleven space boot on the surface of the moon, the event will eclipse in historic importance the landing of Christopher Columbus in the New World. Commander Armstrong's step will not immediately affect the nature of the quality of life on earth, of course (neither did Columbus'), but it will mark the departure point of a fantastic new adventure in the saga of man. For that step onto the moon will signal a readiness to travel throughout the solar system, even the universe â" in flights that will lead not merely to new worlds, new substances, new conceptions about the nature of matter and of life itself, but, it can scarcely be doubted, to contact with new beings as well. Moreover, Armstrong's will be the first such epic stride to be recorded in detail by the microphone and the television camera. Future generations will be able to relive all that was said and done at that moment as never before in the history of exploration. The stupendous magnitude and unprecedented visibility of what Commander Armstrong is about to do, therefore, combine to pose the question: when the astronaut takes the first step on the moon, what should he say?
I believe it may have been Gore Vidal who made the suggestion that still sticks in my mind after forty-three years: "We come in peace for all mankind. Now come out from behind that rock with your hands up."

--
Ponca City, We Love You
1. Re:Suggestions for Armstrong's First Words by R3d+M3rcury · 2012-12-30 18:11 · Score: 1
  
  Great article! My favorites:
  "I'll be darned, it's made of cheese!" -- Bob Hope
  "Now how the hell do we get back?" -- Jim Whittaker
  And, of course, the Eddie Izzard Classic.
2. Re:Suggestions for Armstrong's First Words by twosat · 2012-12-30 21:07 · Score: 2
  
  If he had encountered an alien, he would have said his name backwards, "Gnorts, Mr Alien!"
Is the primary commemorative plaque definitive? by BenEnglishAtHome · 2012-12-30 17:32 · Score: 4, Interesting

Last time I was there, at Tranquility Park in downtown Houston, across from the old federal building/current federal courts at 515 Rusk, there was a giant plaque at the entrance to the park quoting those first words from the moon.
The quote included the missing "a".
Somebody thought highly enough of the theory that the article belonged in the sentence that they cast it in bronze, decades ago, soon after the landing.
It's been a while since I've been in that park. Is there anybody who works nearby who can verify that the plaque, complete with the "a", is still there? It used to be at the corner entrance on the Rusk side of the park.
1. Re:Is the primary commemorative plaque definitive? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-30 18:01 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  You mean this thing?
  I can make out an "a" at the bottom of the granite plaque on the left.
2. Re:Is the primary commemorative plaque definitive? by drinkypoo · 2012-12-31 02:21 · Score: 2
  
  That is truly one of the finest pictures of a trashcan I have ever seen.
  Will someone, anyone please go stand next to that trash can and shoot a panorama?
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
3. Re:Is the primary commemorative plaque definitive? by BenEnglishAtHome · 2012-12-31 04:47 · Score: 1
  
  Informative, but no. Before the park was refurbished with a new central fountain, those walls, and those granite plaques, that spot had almost nothing on it except a few large bronze medallions set in the concrete at ground level at the entrance. You walked over the plaque I was originally thinking of.
  That's the right spot, though. Interesting to see what's there now.
  Wow - it HAS been a long time since I walked that park. Now that I think about it, it's probably been around 20 years. I shouldn't be surprised things have changed that much.
  But if the "a" was carried over from the original bronze to the new granite (I'll take your word for it; I can't make out anything), then I guess my original point still stands.
Missing the point by BenSchuarmer · 2012-12-30 17:36 · Score: 3, Informative

Neil Armstrong was a gaming nerd!
1. Re:Missing the point by Sulphur · 2012-12-30 19:40 · Score: 1
  
  Neil Armstrong was a gaming nerd!
  amen
In other news... by saleenS281 · 2012-12-30 17:49 · Score: 1

In other news, who cares? It was an amazing moment in history. Why on earth are people still quibbling over the *EXACT* thing he said? Who *REALLY* cares if he messed it up live? The point was the same whether he missed an A or not.
1. Re:In other news... by greyblack · 2012-12-31 08:22 · Score: 1
  
  Because it was an amazing moment in history.
  
  It's the same with Admiral Nelson's last words. "Kiss me Hardy" is the most famous version, but scolars now believe his actual last words were "fan, fan ... rub, rub ... drink, drink"
  
  --
  Everybody uses broad generalizations.
I've seen better. by tool462 · 2012-12-30 18:28 · Score: 2

Not a huge fan of this origin story. I'm personally waiting for the Brian Singer reboot.
Re:WikiLeaks: The Spy Files by johnsnails · 2012-12-30 18:31 · Score: 1, Informative

Admittedly more interesting than the story at hand, wait your turn and submit the story following the correct procedure instead of hijacking this boring story!
43 years by hcs_$reboot · 2012-12-30 18:44 · Score: 1

is the time during one could have asked Mr Armstrong directly...

--
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
Grammar? We don't need no steenkin' grammar! by RicardoGCE · 2012-12-30 18:51 · Score: 1

Also debated is whether Armstrong meant to include 'a' before man, making the indefinite article 'man', which alludes to mankind, into a singular, 'a man', himself.
"Man" is a noun, not an article. The addition of the indefinite article "a" is the difference between a count noun ("a man") or a non-count noun ("man").
1. Re:Grammar? We don't need no steenkin' grammar! by VortexCortex · 2012-12-30 19:14 · Score: 1
  
  Also debated is whether Armstrong meant to include 'a' before man, making the indefinite article 'man', which alludes to mankind, into a singular, 'a man', himself.
  "Man" is a noun, not an article. The addition of the indefinite article "a" is the difference between a count noun ("a man") or a non-count noun ("man").
  If we're going to call the grammar police then we might as well correct the whole thing. The sentence is missing either a comma or quotes:
  
  Armstrong meant to include 'a' before 'man', making the indefinite article 'man', ...
  -or-
  
  Armstrong meant to include 'a' before, man, making the indefinite article 'man', ...
  Well, that's just, like, my opinion, man.
Yabba Dabba Doo! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-30 19:06 · Score: 2, Interesting

My 6 year old son was asked what the first moon lander's famous words were, and he said "yabba dabba doo". I laughed but then thought, that was almost certainly much closer to what Armstrong was probably thinking, despite what he said.
1. Re:Yabba Dabba Doo! by Nocturnal+Deviant · 2012-12-30 19:12 · Score: 1
  
  Now to build a time machine and switch myself with him just to say yabba...dabba...doo.
  
  --
  -Noc
2. Re:Yabba Dabba Doo! by Strider- · 2012-12-31 05:26 · Score: 2
  
  Now to build a time machine and switch myself with him just to say yabba...dabba...doo.
  Much better would be to shout "Oh my God, what's that?!" and then cut the mic. ;)
  
  --
  ...si hoc legere nimium eruditionis habes...
People have lousy memories, by qeveren · 2012-12-30 20:07 · Score: 1

Even astronauts. Even about stuff they themselves did. Brains are dumb things sometimes. :)

--
Don't just stand there, get that other dog!
Automatic PTT by MichaelSmith · 2012-12-30 20:56 · Score: 1

Armstrong paused for the a and I suspect the voice controlled push to talk in his OPS pack dropped out for a moment.

--
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Comment removed by account_deleted · 2012-12-30 22:10 · Score: 1

Comment removed based on user account deletion
I watched that original broadcast by Trax3001BBS · 2012-12-30 23:22 · Score: 4, Interesting

With Walter Cronkite.
The first words was a big deal, everybody was anxious to hear what
they would be. After the "one small step" line Cronkite says to his
co-host well you have to understand he was under a lot of pressure
over what to say. Nobody really thought it was great by any means
but it's what we got.
For me: "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."
will always be the first words spoken and quality stuff.
Everyone always misses out the most important part by wonkey_monkey · 2012-12-31 00:32 · Score: 2

I don't know why, but everyone always misses out the most important part:

"That's one small step for [a] man [static] YOU SHOULD KILL US ALL ON SIGHT [static], one giant leap for mankind."

--
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
oh well all the same by drankr · 2012-12-31 00:55 · Score: 1

Turned out it was one giant leap for Armstrong, one largely irrelevant step for mankind.
Falsification of history by dpbsmith · 2012-12-31 02:13 · Score: 3, Insightful

I listened to the event live, and I and everyone in the room heard it as "one small step for man." And I remember at the time hearing a comment, "shouldn't he have said one small step for a man?" The audio recording is perfectly clear. There's no squelch, no gap, and nothing half-buried under static. The New York Times reported it as it was.
Neil Armstrong originally insisted he had said "a" but later acknowledged that he could not have said so. Wikipedia cites sources.
Yet some encyclopedias and history books include the "a." It is a kindly falsification of history, made out of misguided respect for Neil Armstrong's feelings.
And I find it shocking.
It is a trivial distortion, but it is a distortion of an event that was witnessed in live broadcast by half a billion people and electronically recorded.
If such a thing can be distorted simply to spare one man's feelings about a completely inconsequential mistake, what does that tell us about the trustworthiness of basic, prosaic factual details of historical events with few eyewitnesses, no electronic records, and money, politics, or national pride hanging in the balance?

--
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
Sad that this is brought up by WindBourne · 2012-12-31 03:28 · Score: 1

He has created multiple controversy towards the end of his life:
1) his blasting of Obama's push for private space support while ignoring the fact that NASA's main-line rockets are disasters.
2) his blasting of SpaceX, elon musk, and then his retraction of it.
3) now, questions about his earlier statements; IOW, a question about his veracity.

While it appears that his mind is going, or that he has allowed his political extremism to take hold, I just hope that none of this overshadow's his earlier accomplishments. Prior to his getting involved with politics, he did a lot of good work.

--
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
1. Re:Sad that this is brought up by smpoole7 · 2012-12-31 03:39 · Score: 1
  
  > While it appears that his mind is going
  As for this specific story, I think that's all it is. Youngsters have no idea how much fun it is to start getting old.
  My wife has the same birthday as my boss. I know I've told her this; she acted surprised yesterday to "discover" it again.
  But I'm not picking on her; I've forgotten things, too -- and the only reason I can't provide an example is because I can't remember one at the moment! :)
  Armstrong probably pondered what to say some time before the moon landing, then it lapsed into subconscious. He's not lying when he says that it came to him on the moon, but it might be more accurate to say, "I forgot that I remembered it and said it on the spur of the moment!"
  Nothing to see here, move along.
  
  --
  Cogito, igitur comedam pizza.
2. Re:Sad that this is brought up by WindBourne · 2012-12-31 13:43 · Score: 1
  
  As a 53 y.o that is having memory issues due to vertigo, I understand about the losses (to the point where it is making it difficult to code anymore). However, if you look carefully at his attitude over the last 6 years, he has changed. I think that at this time, his mind is going, and this is just more proof of it.
  
  --
  I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Re:first by Pax681 · 2012-12-31 04:42 · Score: 1

Hello, Neil.
hat doffed.. well done sir!
Bliadhna mhath ùr!
Playing Risk like the rest of us nerdy kids by thrich81 · 2012-12-31 04:43 · Score: 1

I've read about the missing 'a' controversy for years and was watching live on TV when Neil made his step and statement, but the big news for me from this story is that Neil and his brother were playing Risk a few months before the mission. So was I, how cool is that!
Re:he's a lier by cusco · 2012-12-31 05:19 · Score: 1

More likely Hansen couldn't remember how Armstrong answered so made it up.

--
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
Tranquility Park plaque by FatLittleMonkey · 2012-12-31 06:42 · Score: 1

I assume you mean this? Neil Armstrong's bootprint.
http://img.groundspeak.com/waymarking/78a83d0a-889c-4d0a-9e90-aa8e42efaa74.jpg

--
Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
1. Re:Tranquility Park plaque by BenEnglishAtHome · 2012-12-31 14:18 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, I think that's the one I remember. It's in rougher shape than I remember, though. Did you take the pic recently? Is it still somewhere in the park?
2. Re:Tranquility Park plaque by FatLittleMonkey · 2012-12-31 14:51 · Score: 1
  
  Not my pic. I live on a different continent. Just googled it and that came up. I was curious what those large wall-plaques said. (Weirdly there were no better images than the "bin" one on Wikipedia. So I still don't know what they say.)
  
  --
  Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
Indeed. No other country on the planet... by Radical+Moderate · 2012-12-31 06:48 · Score: 1

could send a guy named "Buzz" to the moon. America, F**k Yeah!

--
Never let a lack of data get in the way of a good rant.
How about by Richy_T · 2012-12-31 08:41 · Score: 1

"That's no moon..."
There is proof of the original intended quote. by mickq · 2012-12-31 23:41 · Score: 1

There is an old photo that exists, which I saw maybe 5 years ago when arguments about this were also going on, which has Armstrong and the team in a room at NASA doing...whatever it is that astronauts do in the weeks/months they fly.
I cant recall if it was on the internet or a documentary. I think it may have been a doco.
On a blackboard or similar in the background in the room they are all posing it the quote written. It was different from what he said.
I had a quick google but couldnt find the photo. If someone knows where it is or the name of the doco, please post the link!