One small step for man
Recently, I received (for the gazillionth time) an email which seeks to prove that NASA's Apollo 11 mission to the moon was a hoax. Besides fulfilling President Kennedy's pledge to land a man on the moon by the end of the 60s and seizing the bragging rights in the Space Race from the Soviet Union, setting foot on the moon was a truly Momentous Occasion. And with a billion people listening in from home, it required a Quotable Quote to match the occasion - something which Armstrong would surely have thought about. Certainly, saying 'Look ma, I'm on TV' with a goofy grin plastered on his face just wouldn't do ,especially as the grin couldn't be seen through his space helmet unless it was a very low budget hoax.
Even if he did take his time to think up with an appropriate quote, there's no saying whether that it was good enough. Imagine the situation - our hero is back at the office after from his pioneering mission and is having a water cooler chat with his colleagues when someone says, " You know, you should have said,..." and gives him a far superior soundbyte. Again, it just wouldn't do. (Apparently , Michael Collins told him 'If you had any balls, you'd say "Oh, my God, what is that thing?" then scream and cut your mike'. )
I'm curious to know just how Armstrong/NASA came up with a truly memorable quote which, had it featured in a Hollywood space movie, would have featured rather prominently on any 'Greatest film quotes' list. Did NASA employ a bunch of maketing wizards or did they have a 'What would you say when you landed on the moon' contest amongst its employees? Or if Armstrong did think it up himself, did he have to get it okayed by NASA chiefs before he put on his spacesuit?
Another aspect of 'One small step for man, a giant leap for mankind' which interests me is that it makes no sense unless there's an 'a' before man. Being the irritating pedant that I am, this seems like concrete evidence the whole thing was not a hoax. Surely, if NASA had taken elaborate steps to recreate a lunar setting on earth, they'd undoubtedly taken the trouble to re-dub the soundtrack to insert the crucial 'a'. (And I haven't had the patience to go through the forwards which purport to be NASA's highly technical rejoinder to the points brought up in the 'Moon landing is a hoax' mail.)
And finally, read this to know an extremely wise man's take on the whole thing.
Even if he did take his time to think up with an appropriate quote, there's no saying whether that it was good enough. Imagine the situation - our hero is back at the office after from his pioneering mission and is having a water cooler chat with his colleagues when someone says, " You know, you should have said,..." and gives him a far superior soundbyte. Again, it just wouldn't do. (Apparently , Michael Collins told him 'If you had any balls, you'd say "Oh, my God, what is that thing?" then scream and cut your mike'. )
I'm curious to know just how Armstrong/NASA came up with a truly memorable quote which, had it featured in a Hollywood space movie, would have featured rather prominently on any 'Greatest film quotes' list. Did NASA employ a bunch of maketing wizards or did they have a 'What would you say when you landed on the moon' contest amongst its employees? Or if Armstrong did think it up himself, did he have to get it okayed by NASA chiefs before he put on his spacesuit?
Another aspect of 'One small step for man, a giant leap for mankind' which interests me is that it makes no sense unless there's an 'a' before man. Being the irritating pedant that I am, this seems like concrete evidence the whole thing was not a hoax. Surely, if NASA had taken elaborate steps to recreate a lunar setting on earth, they'd undoubtedly taken the trouble to re-dub the soundtrack to insert the crucial 'a'. (And I haven't had the patience to go through the forwards which purport to be NASA's highly technical rejoinder to the points brought up in the 'Moon landing is a hoax' mail.)
And finally, read this to know an extremely wise man's take on the whole thing.
| Permalink | 