random interesting information. this morning, for example, i learned that there was a speech written just in case the men we sent to the moon got stranded there. seriously. in the summer of '69, william safire had to write a speech for president nixon in case armstrong and aldrin weren't coming home. it went like this:
"Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice. These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding ... Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man's search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts."
now, i'm also slightly addicted to thinking we faked the mission to the moon, so this speech would have never been needed (unless armstrong or aldrin failed to sign the gag order & accept their hush money and needed to be offed by the government), but that's for another day. ;)
(thanks to mental_floss for the speech. mental_floss is one of my more awesome addictions.)
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