Thirty-nine years ago, two humans set foot on the Moon, the first to do so. The footage sent back to Earth entered television legend, still eerie to look at today. Neil Armstrong was conscious that whatever he said would be of historical magnitude, so he prepared his famous line: “One small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind.” Except, you know, that is not quite what he ended up saying.
What is remarkable is not that he flubbed it. Hey, the man was under quite a bit of pressure. What is incredible is that he claimed to have been misquoted afterwards, and that NASA engineered a cover-up.
Anyone doing PR for any amount of time has had spokespersons flub punchlines. It’s maddening, but what can you do… what is on the record can’t be changed. You move on and try to get it right the next time.
Final Spin 