Caroline Donnelly
What Neil Armstrong Meant To Say
by Caroline Donnelly - September 16, 2008 - 5:04 PM

The Famous Line:

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

What He Meant To Say:

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

neil-armstrong.jpgAfter Apollo 11, Armstrong insisted that he uttered the correct line (“a man”) and that he had been widely misquoted. NASA representatives supported Armstrong, claiming that static on the radio transmission omitted the article.

Journalists have always been skeptical of the static claim, and analysis of the recordings remains unclear. Armstrong later wrote “There must be an ‘a’, I rehearsed it that way. I meant it that way. And I’m sure I said it that way.”

When a plaque with the quote (minus the “a”) was presented to Armstrong decades later, he got a little upset. The presenters played him a copy of the quote and no matter what speed or volume they listened to it, the mysterious “a” was never heard, nor was the static. Supposedly, Armstrong sighed and said, “Damn, I really did it. I blew the first words on the moon, didn’t I?”

Don’t worry, Neil. You still got the chance to utter one of the most famous sentences in history.

[See also today's Quick 10: 10 Movie Misquotations.]

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Comments (12)

  1. I could have sworn someone proved him right last year with some kind of software.

    posted by Johnny Cat on 9-16-2008 at 6:53 pm

  2. I think the entirety of human existence can be explained and defined by that story. You send three people all the way to the moon in a big can powered by all the technology found in the calculator you get free at the bank.
    and somebody’s still going to flub a line.

    I’d be more afraid that the capsule wouldn’t fire up again, rather than the script, though. Can’t blame the man.

    posted by Boggy Creek Creature on 9-16-2008 at 6:53 pm

  3. Regardless of the “a” he did an excellent job, and growing up hearing that phrase, I came to love the mystique of it. I didn’t know grammar at age 10, but I knew what he meant.

    And, yeah I heard your basic cell phone from 2004 had more computing power than the CM had in 1969.

    posted by Johnny Cat on 9-16-2008 at 10:46 pm

  4. I’d say you’re right Boggy Creek Creature (Did I really just say that?), it definitely defines human existence. “Yeah, you flew up to the moon, but you screwed up your line. EPIC FAIL!” We’re all a bunch of jerks…

    posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 9-17-2008 at 8:07 am

  5. What Neil Armstrong actually said:
    “Thats one small step for man, one giant leap for Mel Klein.” Why? Armstrong and Klien were fellow astronauts in training and lived in a thin walled BOQ. Armstrong frequently overheard Klein begging his wife for oral sex and her reply was always the same. “When they walk on the moon, Mel. When they walk on the moon.”

    posted by wkjiii on 9-17-2008 at 9:41 am

  6. JohnnyCat, I thought the same thing.

    posted by septer on 9-17-2008 at 9:42 am

  7. Seeing this post reminded me of an article that I read a while ago about a researcher who claims to have found the missing ‘a.’ I can’t post the link but if you search “armstrong missing word found” several articles discussing it come up.

    posted by Nick on 9-17-2008 at 12:43 pm

  8. Nice! wkjiii, Nice!

    posted by Jennifer on 9-17-2008 at 2:58 pm

  9. Seriously? Does it really matter? Personally, I think the line’s connontation without the a is more all encompassing and refers to all of humankind, not just Neil Armstrong, the way it should be.

    If Armstrong wants to beat himself up over whether or not he said “a man,” instead of recognizing the importance of his accomplishment, then damn, man, do it. But I think it’s sad to dwell on such a minor, minor issue when he had just changed the whole world with one step.

    posted by Justwords77 on 9-17-2008 at 3:21 pm

  10. I think that misses the analogy Just. the whole point is that a small step by a single man (what actually happened) constituted a giant leap for the entirety of human kind (what figuratively happened). Without the ‘a’ the line reads “one small step for mankind, one giant leap for man kind”

    posted by Mike D on 9-17-2008 at 5:13 pm

  11. There is still much debate over this. Armstrong has always maintained that he said “One small step for a man” both times, but that his own drawl, combined with the low-power incredible-distance transmission left the ‘a’ completely indistinguishable. I say “who cares?” the guy was on the frickin’ MOON!

    posted by Slippy Lane on 9-28-2008 at 11:48 am

  12. I know where I was at 2:56 UTC July 21, 1969.

    posted by Patrick on 1-14-2012 at 6:38 am

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