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View Full Version : What 'ya say, Neil?

RStar
10-01-2006, 12:00 AM
Aparently we have all been lead astray again.


An Australian computer programmer says he found the missing "a" from Armstrong's famous first words from the moon in 1969, when the world heard the phrase, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

The story was reported in Saturday's editions of the Houston Chronicle.

Some historians and critics have dogged Armstrong for not saying the more dramatic and grammatically correct, "One small step for a man ..." in the version he transmitted to NASA's Mission Control. Without the missing "a," Armstrong essentially said, "One small step for mankind, one giant leap for mankind."

I guess we better recall all the science books to add an "a".....;)

Get the whole story here (http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/software-reveals-armstrongs-moon-quote/20060930181709990006?ncid=NWS00010000000001)
wendybeth
10-01-2006, 10:52 AM
I had no idea there was any sort of controversy over this. Poor Armstrong; he risks his life on this mission and then he gets attacked by the grammar police. How silly.
Snowflake
10-01-2006, 11:42 AM
I had no idea there was any sort of controversy over this. Poor Armstrong; he risks his life on this mission and then he gets attacked by the grammar police. How silly.

And this almost 30 years later?
JWBear
10-01-2006, 03:46 PM
And this almost 30 years later?
I see that someone needs a visit from the Math Police! ;)
Not Afraid
10-01-2006, 07:11 PM
Wans't it only 30 years ago? Am I not only 37?
Moonliner
10-02-2006, 06:35 AM
2006 - 1969 = 37

So grammatically speaking, "almost 30 years ago" would be incorrect. However I'm sure that 30 years from now some advanced computer forensics team will discover that what Snowflake really typed was "almost 40 years ago".
wendybeth
10-02-2006, 11:18 AM
Good one, Moonie.:D
RStar
10-02-2006, 01:09 PM
So grammatically speaking, "almost 30 years ago" would be incorrect. Or over 30 years ago ;) ..............
Frogberto
10-02-2006, 04:25 PM
Great post - I first heard about this from the Bad Astronomer on his blog ... "Neil Armstrong's Missing A-Hole" (http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2006/10/01/neil-armstrongs-a-hole/)
RStar
10-02-2006, 10:57 PM
That reminds me. When we go to the Micky and friends parking structure and get one of those green "A" papers (for handicap parking), and when we are leaving I take it off the winshield. I then fold it in half, tear out a hole, open it up and ask our guests what it is. Yes, an A-Hole!:)

Try it after a long day at the park, it will get a giggle for the most part.
Alex
10-02-2006, 11:01 PM
This (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/003630.html) might be of interest. A quick analysis from from linguists with tools that tends to reach the opposite conclusion, suggesting that if he did say any kind of "a" that he swallowed to such a degree it wouldn't have been audible anyway.