Friday, October 27, 2006

Armstrong was an English professor after all.

When Neil Armstrong made his famous transmission to Mission Control, Houston in 1969 he essentially said: One small step for mankind, one giant leap for mankind.

Critics the world over scolded the Ex-US Navy pilot for "making no sense" with his gramatic snafu on his return to Earth.

However Armstrong maintained that he meant to say "a Man", and was sure he did. A burst of static however obscured the potential "a" in the transmission.

An Australian nerd however has said he's found the missing "a" from the astronaut's first words according to the Houston Chronicle. Thanks to some high-tech sound-editing software, Peter Shann Ford might have proved Armstrong right.

Ford claims he downloaded the audio recording of Armstrong's words from a NASA website and analyzed the statement with software that allows disabled people to communicate through computers using their nerve impulses and in a graphical representation of the famous phrase, he said he found evidence that the missing "a" was spoken and transmitted to NASA.

Armstrong supports the findings.

Source: Wired


Anonymous said...

O Dear, Colonel, I reckon that you are, like the time you executed that ITN reporter, in error, yet again.

Armstrong never said the words that you seem to be hamfistingly putting into his mouth.

One shudders at the thought of the other sick fantasies the Colonel has regarding such an international hero.

Major General Creedon said...

You're quite right. Thank heaven for civilian oversight. I should have not used quotation marks in that instance. What I should have said was:

What Armstrong essentially said, in saying: "One small step for man, One giant leap for mankind" was: One small step for mankind, One giant leap for mankind; As man and mankind in this context mean the same thing.

Apologies to Mr. Armstrong.

Anonymous said...

Now apologies to her Majesty for your poor english and to the Marine Corp for making them look like illerate boobs!

Major General Creedon said...

Is it not ironic that a man who spells illiterate as illerate is asking me to apologise to the Queen on my use of English?

Anonymous said...

That was a test, to see if you could speak ghetto, it's a dialect you are going to become intimately familiar with after your trial!