Calling snopes.com re: Neil Armstrong/Mr. Gorsky

[wndycty]

*****Sorry about the caps, but I cut and pasted this from an e-mail*****

ON JULY 20, 1969, AS COMMANDER OF THE APOLLO 11 LUNAR MODULE, NEIL
ARMSTRONG WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO SET FOOT ON THE MOON.

HIS FIRST WORDS AFTER STEPPING ON THE MOON, "THAT'S ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN,
ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND," WERE TELEVISED TO EARTH AND HEARD BY MILLIONS.

BUT JUST BEFORE HE REENTERED THE LANDER, HE MADE THE ENIGMATIC REMARK "GOOD
LUCK, MR. GORSKY."

MANY PEOPLE AT NASA THOUGHT IT WAS A CASUAL REMARK CONCERNING SOME RIVAL
SOVIET COSMONAUT. HOWEVER, UPON CHECKING, THERE WAS NO GORSKY IN EITHER THE
RUSSIAN OR AMERICAN SPACE PROGRAMS.

OVER THE YEARS MANY PEOPLE QUESTIONED ARMSTRONG AS TO WHAT THE "GOOD LUCK,
MR. GORSKY"STATEMENT MEANT, BUT ARMSTRONG ALWAYS JUST SMILED.

ON JULY 5, 1995, IN TAMPA BAY, FLORIDA, WHILE ANSWERING QUESTIONS FOLLOWING
A SPEECH, A REPORTER BROUGHT UP THE 26-YEAR-OLD QUESTION TO ARMSTRONG. THIS
TIME HE FINALLY RESPONDED.

MR. GORSKY HAD DIED, SO NEIL ARMSTRONG FELT HE COULD ANSWER THE QUESTION.

IN 1938 WHEN HE WAS A KID IN A SMALL MIDWEST TOWN, HE WAS PLAYING BASEBALL
WITH A FRIEND IN THE BACKYARD. HIS FRIEND HIT THE BALL, WHICH LANDED IN HIS
NEIGHBOR'S YARD BY THE BEDROOM WINDOWS.

HIS NEIGHBORS WERE MR. AND MRS. GORSKY.

AS HE LEANED DOWN TO PICK UP THE BALL YOUNG ARMSTRONG HEARD MRS. GORSKY
SHOUTING AT MR. GORSKY. "SEX! YOU WANT SEX?! YOU'LL GET SEX WHEN THE KID
NEXT DOOR WALKS ON THE MOON!"

TRUE STORY.

[alexwcovington]

1. Cute

I live space-related trivia like that.

[A HERETIC I AM]

2. Snopes says this is false

A quick search at www.snopes.com using the search "Neil Armstrong" brings up this myth as the 2nd entry. Neil never said it.

[monchie]

3. snopes.com already debunked this one

My BS detector went off immediately. Usually it's those incredibly annoying right-wing emails that set off my detector -- Hillary & Gold Star Mothers, Dan Quayle quotes slightly rewritten and then dishonestly attributed to Al Gore, Robin Williams supposedly spouting ignorant right-wing garbage, fanciful "predictions" of the Iraq invasion in the Koran, hagiographic Biblical quotes that are said to praise the Shrub, etc., etc. -- but this one struck me as phony right away as well.

So, I went to snopes, searched for "Armstrong Gorsky" and came up with this page. Here's an excerpt:

Any doubts about the veracity of this legend are laid to rest by the NASA transcripts of the Apollo 11 mission, which record no such statement having been made by Armstrong. Armstrong himself said in late 1995 that he first heard the anecdote delivered as a joke by comedian Buddy Hackett in California.

Slightly OT: I keep wondering whether there is a division of the Right-Wing Propaganda Machine that invents phony emails like the ones I mentioned above. I must've received about 10 or 12 of them, and my usual practice is to first go to snopes, find the inevitable debunking, then hit the reply all button and write up a summary of the debunking along with the URL. Not surprisingly, some folks get incensed at me for destroying their illusions.

[DrBB]

4. On t'other hand, Neil swears he said "a man"

"One small step for A man, one giant leap for mankind." Which would have made sense, unlike his actual statement, which doesn't. Course we all knew what he meant.

[DragonMage]

5. Its a song

The story is based on a song by midwest singer/filker Michael Longcor, entitled "Good Luck, Mr. Gorsky." I know, because I listened to him sing it live less than a month ago. At the session, he told how he got to perform at NASA, and did the same song there. He was told thast they have been getting inquiries about the story, which just goes to show the power of rumor.

As someone who actually watched and listened to Armstrong that night, I can also verify that the story is strictly URBAN LEGEND.

[newyawker99]

11. Hi DragonMage!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Octafish]

6. "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story."

... is how my father-in-law puts it. He should know. He's from Texas and is an old-time, honest Republican.

Thanks for the good ready, wndycty!



BTW: The moon program, snopes probably knows,
was initiated by President John F. Kennedy.
In making the manned moon landing a national priority,
President Kennedy started the process of turning
what had been a dream — an impossible sci-fi story —
into reality.

[wndycty]

7. You guys are awesome. . .

. . .I knew I could count on my fellow DU'ers!

[alphafemale]

8. LOL! Then there's that "I'm on the F-cking moon!" story

I don't know which one I like better.

[boxster]

9. You should have called Snopes.com first - this is a fake. n/t

[BiggJawn]

10. Way I heard it, Mr. Gorsky was wanting a Hummer...

"Oral Sex??? You want ORAL SEX????? Listen, Gorsky, for you to get Oral Sex, that kid next door will have to walk on the Moon!"

Good luck, Mr. Gorsky....