Grammar Sticklers Rejoice!

This is not exactly technology-in-the-classroom-related, but I felt the need to share this anyway:

Software revises Armstrong's moon quote

Mr Armstrong has long insisted that he meant to say “one small step for a man . . .” — which would have been a more meaningful and grammatically correct version, free of tautology. But even the astronaut himself could not be sure.

“Damn, I really did it. I blew the first words on the Moon, didn’t I?” he is reported to have asked officials later, amid uncertainty as to whether he had blown the moment or simply been drowned out by static interference as his words were relayed 250,000 miles back to Earth.

Now, after almost four decades, the spaceman has been vindicated. Using high-tech sound analysis techniques, an Australian computer expert has rediscovered the missing “a” in Mr Armstrong’s famous quote. Peter Shann Ford ran the Nasa recording through sound-editing software and clearly picked up an acoustic wave from the word “a”, finding that Mr Armstrong spoke it at a rate of 35 milliseconds — ten times too fast for it to be audible.

Mr Ford’s findings have been presented to Nasa officials in Washington and to a relieved Mr Armstrong, who issued a statement saying: “I find the technology interesting and useful. I also find his conclusion persuasive.”

How are astronomy classes surviving? First, the number of planets in the solar system is reduced from nine to eight, and now this.

Is it not interesting that, using fancy new technology, we can say that Neil Armstrong said a word that was "ten times too fast for it to be audible"? I'm using that excuse next time I say something stupid. "Oh, you misunderstood... you're only listening to the words I'm saying slowly enough to make them audible."