First Moon Landing Quotes
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Speaker: Neil Armstrong
That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
Context
This quote was spoken by Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong when he set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969.
In 1969, people listened to music on vinyl and the internet was only a glimmer in Al Gore's eye, but NASA somehow managed to put a man on the moon. Maybe because gas only cost $0.35/gallon?
When Apollo 11 landed on the moon (or Stanley Kubrick's moon-like set), Neil Armstrong set foot onto the lunar surface and proclaimed, "that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Indeed.
Where you've heard it
You're looking at the most famous quote to come from the moon landing, and it signifies a major advancement in human history, one step along a path that…they haven't set foot on since.
Additional Notable References
- People in the 60s loved playing things backwards, and the moon speech is no different.
- There's controversy over everything regarding the moon landing, including whether or not Neil Armstrong thought up the phrase himself.
- Felix Baumgartner's super jump was called "one small step for man, one giant leap for Red Bull."
- Chris Farley rocks the vote.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Sure, the quote doesn't even make sense (Armstrong, or should we say Rmstrong, left out a critical "a"—or was misheard), but HE WALKED ON THE MOON, guys.