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Armstrong, Neil - Moon Landing Flub
Mr. Armstrong's quote left out that ever important letter "a". His qoute "One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind" should have been "One small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind" without it he basically said "One small step for mankind; one giant leap for mankind.".
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Rated 3.3/10 (2815 ratings) Your opinion?
Special Requirements: a copy of the original moon landing
Contributed By: on 08-16-1999 and Reviewed By: Webmaster
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Comments:
Obiwonkenblowme writes:
Actually he DID say "Thats one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind." but because of a glitch in the radio transmission the "a" was not audible. So actually it was a flub on NASA's part, not Mr. Armstrong's!
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Albert writes:
There's no discernable pause between "for" and "man" where static might have covered up an "a". You can hear the audio clip yourself at http://www.snopes.com/quotes/onesmall.htm.
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Vortex writes:
I listened to the audio clip, and YES, he did forget the "a" which does in fact cause a huge difference. But we all knew what he meant anyway.
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Alric writes:
Yep, he forgot the "a" and left a few people confused. And it didn't help much that NASA tried to cover up the flub by explaining it as static.
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Ara Darkhunter writes:
Here's what happened...he said "for a man" but kinda blurred the words together, Like "foraman". Just the way we do with things like "wanna" for want to, and the list goes on.
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Hack Ace writes:
Yes, he did mess up and he knew it! Just listen to feeling in his voice as he tries to complete the saying. It was NOT radio static.
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Will writes:
Perhaps the feeling in his voice was more to do with the fact that he was feeling a little emotional at being the first person to set foot on the moon.
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hawkeye writes:
Neil Armstrong definitely messed up. Michael Collins, the man who was still orbiting the moon, wrote a book about his experiences in which he mentioned this.
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Catkin writes:
Actually this is highly controversial. No one exept Neil knows what he actually sais. Neil, of course, denies he messed up, and he may telling the truth. Others,such as Michael Collins, for instance, deny this. ***IT IS NOT CERTAIN!!!*** (so shut up about it)
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Albert writes:
Actually, it is very certain: http://www.snopes.com/quotes/onesmall.htm Or read how this page quotes him (it's from NASA itself): http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level2/armstrong.html It just goes to show that most people won't let the truth stand in the way of a good story.
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Zanthor writes:
Go to the url above and listen to the sound clip. You can easily tell that there is no pause between "for" and "man," and there is no "a."
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The Shed writes:
It is very obvious that he made a mistake, firstly there is no 'a' or any space for one, secondly that big pause sort of makes it clear that he was thinking 'OH SH..' P.S has anyone ever tried reversing that quote, it clearly says "no man ever spacewalked" may be a subliminal message that it was just filmed on a desert as some people have claimed
15 of 6576 found this helpful. Did you? Yes
Psyche writes:
He did mess up. He drafted what he was going to say, got there, got a smidge overwhelmed at WALKING ON THE MOON, and left out one letter that i'll wager few people watching the landing even noticed. Okay, it changes the meaning somewhat, but the gist is the same. I'm pretty sure he admitted this after he got back. I don't think anyone blamed him much. PS If the moon landing was faked, i don't think NASA would have a sense of humor enough to give us a little hint about it. And Neil probably isn't talented enough to modulate his voice so that it means one thing forwards and something else backwards. That's all i'll say on that.
15 of 6576 found this helpful. Did you? Yes
Johnny writes:
I have discussed this subject as well, at http://members.aol.com/xwdbarelybad/xwderrors.htm. Search for "armstrong" to go straight to it, then take a listen for yourself. Clearly there is no pause whatsoever between "for" and "man," so the "static" explanation makes no sense. And although I don't say so on that page, I agree with the commentors above who read something into the really long pause after "man." I cannot know, of course, but I suspect he realized right away that he'd goofed and, after thinking about it during that pause, decided to go ahead rather than correct it. It almost sounds to me as though at that point his voice and tone drop, because he knew he'd blown this particular moment. I also agree that whether he goofed or not, it's not all that important.
15 of 6576 found this helpful. Did you? Yes
Tadabiyashi writes:
He did not mess up. It sounds better without the "a"
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Mace_Windu writes:
He did mess up. And to top that "Buz" Aldrin was supposed to be the one who walked on the moon first.
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mee-moo of lms writes:
he may have messed up, but the point is he walked on the moon 1st and that's all that matters. oh, and that URL above proves it too. ;)
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Homer writes:
Hey!!! The guy WALKED ON THE MOON!!!!! I might've blurted out "Holy Crap!! I'M ON the F@#$!%^&* MOOOOON!!!!!!!!
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DarkBunnyofInle writes:
you all need to get lives. Who cares if he messed up or not (I don't think he did personally)? Neil Armstrong was the FIRST MAN to leave the Earth billions of miles away and WALK ON THE MOON, and you're worried about whether he said "a" or not??? I think you should be more concerned with how he even got there in the first place . . .
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Johne Smithe writes:
Erm ... the moon's mean distance from the earth is about 380.000 kilometers or roughly 250.000 miles, so surely not billions. Not even millions. Watch out for those slipups ...
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Matrix_Forensics_Laboratories writes:
I agree completely with Homer, well done. Instead of debating over how a man missed a small 'a' when he was an average of 384403 km (238857 miles; thats thousands, not billions, not millions) away from earth, why dont we all debate over a more important issue, the one that interests me(and so many others) more, WAS THERE REALLY A LUNAR LANDING? Many forensic people (like me, only they dont specilaise in film slipups) proved (through shadows) that there was no lunar landing. Obviously, this was NASA's slipup in itself, but this is a completely different issue. We are all more intersted in the letter 'a' aren't we?
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Revegelance writes:
Two words - Who Cares?!?
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Elliot Melloy writes:
He didn't even land on the moon...
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Brian Kell writes:
Heck, here's proof that there really ISN'T a moon at all! Read this page and stop this stupid discussion. http://www.reptiles.org/~madrev/Moon/Moon1.htm (By the way, the page is for fun, but I'm serious about stopping the discussion.)
15 of 6576 found this helpful. Did you? Yes
Morfeus writes:
I can't believe this caused such heated debate. He screwed up. So what?!
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Bubba BoBaBrain writes:
I was there with him, so I can tell you exactly what he DID say: "One small step for man. One... giant leap for mankind. Aww s**t." Of course, if you listen to the recording you'll hear that NASA beeped out that last bit.
15 of 6576 found this helpful. Did you? Yes
The Shed writes:
"who cares" Mm.... This's a SLIP-UPS web-site, an ENTIRE site full of famous mistakes.. Lots of people find this thing quite funny. Reverse the sound file..It definitely says " Man will never space walk"
15 of 6576 found this helpful. Did you? Yes
pokedave2001 writes:
Maybe he was so excited that he didn't realize his mistake. But I agree, we know what he missed.
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g-man writes:
Really now, I heard an interview with Neil not long ago, and he says he is not sure that he said the "a" or not now, he wants us to believe that he meant to say it if he didn't. Now, I don't really care if he did or not, I know what he meant, and that is good enough for me. After all, his words traveled a quarter million miles to get here, and he could've recited a nursery rhyme and I still would've been impressed where he did it from.
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13thmoon writes:
Try saying the words out loud yourselves. Say, fast like Neil did, And you'll see even when you do say ~A (ahh) man~ you will rarely hear the A. Try it on tape too. Plus he was somewhere no one had ever been before, he was awestruck! Give the guy a break! As for all this crap about we never went to the moon, it's ignorant and stupid nonsense. For a real answer to the truth AND NASA's lies about the moon landing, because they did lie and cover up a lot of stuff, but not about the actual moon landing. Although a fake tape WAS made in the event something happened to the guys. That would be bad for the press. Go to www.enterprisemission.com and check out "Who mourns for Apollo." All the questions and answers about the "hoax" will be laid out, by a former Nasa man himself.
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gantrep writes:
the fact that he messed up his line proves that he really landed. if it was fake, they would've re-shot or doctored it so there was static or an "a"
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saydee writes:
OK, Man doesn't HAVE to mean Mankind. You're looking really deep into that to make it absolutely have to mean mankind. Leave the guy alone.
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dragonbat writes:
How can you say the radio static didn't interfere? He was on the moon! Of course the radio static interfered. I think we should just take his word for it. He says he had the "a" in there than he had the "a" in there.
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Lilac2216 writes:
Ok, think about it like this. He is about to step out and be the first man on the moon! Don't you think he might be just a little bit nervous/excited, or at least have more on his mind than to word things PERFECTLY!!! I listened to that clip and I do not think that he put an "a" in his statement but who honestly cares!? He was obviously a BRILLIANT man or he wouldn't have been the first to actually go out there. I doubt he had made too many mistakes in his life but lets face it, he is human. This was just a reminder of it. So cut the guy some slack, honor him for his accomplishments and MOVE ON!
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Kevin writes:
If Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon how do we have footage of his first step out of the eagle onto the surface. If they really did go to the moon Armstrong wouldn't have been the first one out.
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Goon writes:
The guy just landed on the moon. Maybe we can cut him a little slack...
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becki123 writes:
Well perhaps there's something we should learn from this...never allow an American to do something that will be historically monumental, he'll just screw it up.
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me writes:
PEOPLE!!!! Did you ever actually stop to consider that it means at least generally the same thing? Things, quotes, poems, etc. are more beautiful and profound when you aren't so picky about the technical part. Like the other person said- he was being poetic. Even if that wasn't the case, don't you think he'd be too exited to care about super-correct grammar? How many actually noticed-and cared-the first time you saw the clip, let alone the live one? Likely most people were too exited to be technical-and they weren't even on the frickin' moon.
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Leslie writes:
I agree with everyone who said that due to a glitch, the 'a' was unheard. It is completely true. I remember watching a special on the moon landing and they actually spent about 10 minutes talking about it. If you have ever talked on a walkie talkie or cb radio or even a cell phone, you should know that sometimes there is a static-like noise that blocks out some words.
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Seabass writes:
"One small step for man..." still makes sense. no need for excuses like "you couldn't hear the a" "or "it was NASAs fault" or anything like that. what is wrong with you people?
15 of 6576 found this helpful. Did you? Yes
Ally writes:
Who cares? We all know what he meant and people might have said things differently back then!
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meadowzephyr writes:
I think that he was saying that to literal physical men that literal step taken was small, but to mankind (a term that has a loftier connotation generally associated with its accomplishments and aims) that step was a great advancement.
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ZoSo writes:
The thing he didn't say the "a" in that sentence actually proves he never went to the moon! And the reverse message "Never been here. No man ever space-walked!" confirms this.
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Nunkies writes:
About all this "reverse message" nonsense supposedly proving that the moon landing never happened...if all these various goverment agencies (including NASA, the CIA, etc.) were so intent on keeping the fact that the moon landing was a fraud a secret, why did they bother to put in those subliminal messages in the first place? Maybe the boys in the control room wanted to have a good laugh at the conspiracy theorists for the next 30 years.
15 of 6576 found this helpful. Did you? Yes
Veel_Chop writes:
Many have mentioned how it is easy to miss hearing the "a" in "for a man" and I agree, but Armstrong also spoke pretty slowly and carefully. Listen to a recording or sound-byte or whatever and you will see. The "a" should have been perfectly audible at that speed, so in fact, he most likely did NOT say it.
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Glitch writes:
I heard Neil Armstrong realtime and the man said "That's one small step for a man....". If he hadn't said "a man", then where did the controversy come from ? A book called "First On The Moon" (Little Brown & Company, June 1970) mentions that the "a" was editted out, but doesn't explain why.
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Rusty writes:
Hey bubba whatever... WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU YOU WERENT THERE WITH HIM?!?!?!
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daunrealist writes:
The "a" is not needed. When he says, "That's one small step for man," he refers to mankind. You would never say, for example, One giant leap for a mankind. it is OUR mankind. 'Man' is referring to human beings, i.e. homo sapiens. And plus, you guys posted WAY too many comments here.
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Tom writes:
Well, I wasn't actually alive for the moon landing, so I can't really comment on how it came through (I've actually listened to it though). But frankly, I don't believe that he actually landed, I believe it was filmed to throw off the Russians, so, if he wasn't the first man on the moon, who really cares? (and even if he was, still, who cares?)
15 of 6576 found this helpful. Did you? Yes
Seg writes:
Neil Armstrong was the commander for the mission, he should have been first naturally, Buzz Aldrin was only the lunar module pilot. Armstrong was higher in seniority.
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Dudehead writes:
The guy walked on the moon. End of story.
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Matt writes:
I agree with Horner. I think I would've blurted the same thing out! That was definitely a milestone in the world of science! I would've been completely at a loss for words!! I probably would not have been able to think straight!
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steve writes:
Hear from Neil himself...buy the book "First Man" , an autobiography of Neil...He kinda swings both ways , but lets face it , the feat of landing on the moon and coming home safely far outweighs the slip up of a famous quote.
15 of 6576 found this helpful. Did you? Yes

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