I like Whoopi Goldberg, in general. She was awesome as Guinan (a character that was severely misutilized on TNG), and funny in a lot of movies. But in this clip on The View, she’s questioning the Apollo Moon landings. I know she’s being funny, but she also sounds a little serious.
The questions Whoopi asks aren’t hard to answer. No one took the footage of Armstrong’s first step (it was a camera he deployed before stepping off the ladder), and there was a video camera on the rover that shot the footage of the ascent module taking off (remotely controlled on Earth by Ed Fendell). The flag waves because the astronauts were struggling to get the pole in the lunar surface (let a belt hang from your hand at arm’s length and move your arm back and forth; watch the belt ripple despite the fact it can’t be the air making it move).
Etc., and so on, und so weiter, ad infinitum. Someone should point her here.
What does it say when Barbara Walters is the voice of reason? Egads.
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:06 am
Too bad Barbara Walters didn’t plug your website.
They need a Skepchick on that show.
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:16 am
Perhaps the Mythbusters episode would be more her style?
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:17 am
As if I needed another reason not to watch The View…
I was on the radio Monday talking about the anniversary, and I’m happy to report that none of the callers mentioned the conspiracy. It was quite refreshing.
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:30 am
“They need a Skepchick on that show”
Know what? That is a fantastic idea.
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:32 am
Yeah, I loved that episode of Mythbusters! I’m surprised a bit. I always thought Whoopi was usually reasonable and intelligent. Haven’t watched The View more than tid-bits on line, but in other interviews I’ve seen of her she seemed reasonable. Who knew?
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:52 am
1 Corinthians
14:34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.
14:35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:54 am
@MartyM you see, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with people asking these questions. I’m pretty sure most of us could be asked a question about the Moon landings to which we don’t know the answer. The BIG DIFFERENCE when someone gives us the answer we’re not gonna cover our ears screaming “conspiracy”! I’m pretty sure if someone right then and there explained (just as Phil did above), Whoopi would say “aha, that makes sense, thx for clarifying that for me” and moved on.
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:57 am
The best “moon landings were faked” site I’ve seen is at http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:B6o0eigyjHUJ:www.vgg.com/tr/tr_102201_moon.html+http://www.vgg.com/tr/tr_102201_moon.html&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
(http://tinyurl.com/n29yly)
Tells how NASA realized they couldn’t adequately fake the moon landings on earth, so they built a huge sound stage on the moon to fake the moon landings.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:01 am
“No one took the footage of Armstrong’s first step (it was a camera he deployed before stepping off the ladder)”
The sound on my PC ain’t working at the moment, so I can only infer from that statement that Goldberg asked something along the lines of “who took the footage of Armstrong’s first step?”.
That’s got to be one of the stupidest conspiracy theory questions (if I’m mistaken about Goldberg, it’s still a question I’ve heard asked before). Let’s face it, do they REALLY believe that NASA went to all this trouble to conspire to fake a moon landing, then just happen to *forget* that there wouldn’t actually be a cameraman waiting on the moon to take the footage?
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:14 am
@ 7. Gareth H
That’s my FAVORITE thing about this particular conspiracy theory. It’s supposed to be this amazing, meticulously planned, diabolical, genius level operation yet they supposedly make the following mistakes:
1. They forget the whole “cameraman” issue
2. They forget to turn off the fans (The “Flag Issue”)
3. They forget to do it in a planetarium (So they get “Stars” in the images)
Basically they make the most obvious mistakes possible.
So either these people are evil geniuses or complete idiots.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:18 am
Gareth
It reminds me of the claim that the crosshairs were painted on the background and weren’t on the camera. Why? What possible benefit would come from that? Hoaxes don’t work, I suppose, when you just put crosshairs on the camera.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:19 am
Ok the View is not as stupid as I thought, but some stupid things have been said on that show.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:31 am
Phil,
You should send an email to “The View” and say you would love to be a guest on their show so you could explain to Whoopi and the rest of the world why the Apollo Moon Landing was not faked.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:39 am
You said it, Dan!
The “flag waving in the wind” one to me is the most hilarious. Somehow the moon-fakers are nefariously ingenious enough to fake even the way that dust falls in a 1/6 G airless environment but yet forget to turn off the fans when they film the most important event of all. I mean seriously, the same guys who faked every minute detail of the launches, lunar ascent and recovery, fooled 400,000 people who worked on the project, have a stiff breeze blowing in their moon-fakery studio?? Oops.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:49 am
You’d think that if you applied any critical thinking, you wouldn’t be watching the View.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:55 am
Ah, but there IS a world wide conspiracy afoot,,,the Conspiracy of Reason, wherein millions of people are conspiring to undermine superstition and woo to drag all humanity up the evolutionary trail of tears,,,and sometimes They get caught,,,
One should recall, Whoopi is a highly intelligent, rational and occasionally sardonic person. I expect she was just dropping these “questions” into the mix because it was fun to stir up trouble,,,
I hope she does the same to Jenny,,,
GAry 7
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:01 am
I’ve found HBers I’ve conversed with fall into one of two camps. They believe they are the holders of some hidden or secret knowledge, and they privately hope that no one believes them so they can continue to be the ‘voice in the wilderness’ and gain attention in that way, or they are just too ignorant to understand the feat and can’t comprehend their ignorance, so they project that on others and claim the feat as impossible.
Like Whoopi, I also enjoy a good conspiracy tale, but rank them with good fantasy and science fiction stories as far as their relationship to real life. Capricorn 1 was a decent movie, but it was a movie.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:02 am
What concerns me is that if you should find yourself on trial for a homicide that you did not commit, you will be judged by 12 peers who were not smart enough to get out of jury service.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:03 am
Gah!
I could only watch 45 seconds of it.
I have a friend who thinks the same way and I can’t take much of this stuff till my head ‘splodes!
I second the idea of you appearing on “The View” to set them straight. Do it!
Rich
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:04 am
This really bugged me. I love Whoopi, and she is almost always the voice of reason on that show. I hope she was just stirring things up a bit.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:07 am
Ok, did the belt thing and now my pants are around my ankles, I haven’t seen any footage showing that happening to the astronauts.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:09 am
One thing that I always point out to Hoaxters is that the men in the astronaut program, especially back then, would have never gone along with any fake moon mission. These mostly military academy graduates, lived by a code that would have never let them lie so deeply, if at all.
The idea that guys like Alan Shepherd or Buzz Aldrin, just to name two moon walkers, would lie and debase themselves to cover up some government run conspiracy is pure stupidity. The last time someone hit me with Apollo 11 was a fake story, I laughed and asked them if they were born stupid, or did it have to do with old age. Watching their outrage at my response was quite enjoyable.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:11 am
I second #13! What better exposure for the JREF (the “E” does stand for “Education,” after all) than to be the voice of reason on a show that’s all about…well, honestly I have no idea what this show is about because I’ve never seen it except in clips like this one, so I presume it’s about four women screaming at each other and promoting pseudoscience. *shrug*
But yeah, Phil, you need to go on there and explain it.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:11 am
Phil,
Being the huge internet Red Giant (astronomy pun- har har) that you have become, I would think you could have your agent, contact her agent, and perhaps send her a signed copy of your book(s); might as well send both.
Maybe, and I think this is a long shot here, they might ask you to be a guest on their show; I only call it a long shot because (1) your not Brad Pit (2) your an astronomy nerd and (3) astronomy is not astrology, which is what their viewers mostly care about. But it could happen …
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:14 am
Folks, keep in mind this is the same show where one of the co-hosts, Sherri Sheppherd, didn’t know if the earth was flat or round:
http://www.thedailybackground.com/2007/09/18/video-the-view-co-host-doesnt-know-if-the-world-is-round-or-flat/
“SHEPERD: …how I’m going to take care of my family. The world, is the world flat has never entered into, like that has not been an important thing to me.”
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:15 am
My favourite Moon Hoax site is this one:
http://stuffucanuse.com/fake_moon_landings/moon_landings.htm
It helps if you remember the BBC kid’s show The Clangers:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/clangers/
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:16 am
#1, Cindy:
“They need a skepchick on that show”.
I thought that was why Elizabeth was there…
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 am
“They need a Skepchick on that show.”
nah, Skepchick’s should have their OWN show!
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:35 am
@ Phil,
“I know she’s being funny, but she also sounds a little serious.”
No, Phil, she’s totally serious. I know this because she’s not funny.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:38 am
@Ivan- jury duty
I was selected to a jury, not because I’m ignorant, but because I wanted to see that the person on trial actually got a fair shot (the 62 year old woman with diabetes and a heart condition and grandchildren would have spent 5-99 in prison had I not pushed the rest of the jury to give probation).
ANYBODY can lie to get out of jury duty, but wouldn’t the system be more effective if rational people with valid life experience would participate instead of leaving the people on trial in the hands of these “not smart” people. You should use your intelligence to help people instead of trying to lie your way out of civic duty. Hopefully your never wrongly charged or need a merciful sentence.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:41 am
I’m no fan of “The View” either (Elisabeth Hasselbeck alone assures that), but it strikes me in this clip that Whoopi is playing the role of “cocktail party devil’s advocate” here (i.e. talking sh*te because it makes for conversation). After all, they have to fill an hour a day SOMEHOW.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:41 am
And to think Whoopi narrated the Hayden Planetarium’s new show – you’d think Neil Tyson would have straightened her out!
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:56 am
Has anyone seen this from Buzz Aldrin? Can someone tell me what is he talking about?
“Buzz Aldrin Reveals Existence of Monolith on Moon of Mars”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDIXvpjnRws
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:58 am
I fear that they’d go through a lot of skepchicks on that show – it wouldn’t be long before their heads exploded from the woo.
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:06 am
I couldn’t believe that she actually tried to question the Moon landing by asking “who shot the footage.” Even if we ignore that the video camera was operated remotely and suppose that someone was behind it, wouldn’t that person be professional enough to not turn the camera around and wave at it? Do the cameramen on The View regularly turn the camera off of Whoopi so that they can be on TV too? Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a cameraman on The View. Since we’ve never seen any cameramen, perhaps The View is a hoax!!!
At most, all the “hidden cameraman” theory would prove would be the existence of an additional man who walked on the moon. This hidden man would displace Neil Armstrong as the first human to walk on the moon, not disprove that we went there. (Of course, as Phil pointed out, the camera was operated remotely so Neil’s safe.)
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:09 am
Even Barbara Walters, trying to be the voice of reason, gets it wrong. She says something about the third astronaut in the capsule being the one who worked the camera. He was up in the command module orbiting the moon though.
They should have had you on the show to explain things to them, Phil.
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:18 am
Not “The View”s most stellar moment… but Babs makes some good arguments… Frankly, I’d rather watch the clip where they hand Glenn Beck his ass on a silver platter. LOL
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:26 am
I’m sorry but the MythBusters episode on Moon landing hoax is obviously a fake.
They did not blowup anything.
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:30 am
Whoopi is full of doo doo.
Not just on this. She also supported the knuckleheads who are anti-vaccine. I would clasify Whoopi Goldberg as anti-science.
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:34 am
I wish people would actually hear what people are saying rather than hearing snippets and misunderstanding. ~ sigh ~ I’m so surprised people thought that’s what she said – they obviously weren’t listening to her yesterday. That is NOT what Whoopi said. I was listening yesterday to what she said, she did NOT say she thought the moon landing was a hoax. She believes we landed on the moon. Geesh. Hope everyone watched The View today to hear her re-state what she said.
She’s a comedian, she was having fun talking about conspiracies – talking about how she gets a kick out of listening to various conspiracy theories (much like BadAstronomer does), she didn’t say she believed any of them, just that they make a fun story. She was being facetious!
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:46 am
“They need a Skepchick on that show.”
Everything and everyone should have a Skepchick.
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:46 am
Whoopi was the shark Next Generation jumped over.
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:46 am
BUt the REALLY important question is: who was the FIRST to fake a moon landing. Huh? Huh?
Seriously tho: You say you went to the Moon. To THE MOON, Alice. As my science teachers ALL said: extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof! !!! !
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:50 am
ugh. Whoopi said that the movie Capricorn One raises issues of whether the moon landing was faked. by that logic i gotta wonder about whether or not The Nexus is gonna wipe out our solar system before Kirk and Picard can save us. i wonder if my tin foil hat will protect me?
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:53 am
I know we’re all supposed to hate Glenn Beck around here, but it should be pointed out that he showed this clip on his show yesterday and then took some time to make fun of conspiracy nuts and set the record straight.
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:55 am
There is a great short story about a guard at a moon landing movie site built inside of a mountain in the desert. I read it long ago but now I can’t find it. Can anyone help me find it again, please?
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:58 am
Actually, the more disturbing moment in that clip is Barbara Walters informing everyone that she was being told in her ear that there were 6 moon landings, as if this was important breaking news being transmitted directly to this noted journalist from 1973…
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:07 pm
33. GPPlascencia Says:
Has anyone seen this from Buzz Aldrin? Can someone tell me what is he talking about?
“Buzz Aldrin Reveals Existence of Monolith on Moon of Mars”
Scroll down past the video for a photo of what he’s talking about
http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=7252
J/P=?
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:12 pm
On a slightly tangential note, do we have any info on where the ascent modules are now? I’m assuming they all (except for Apollo 13′s) crashed somewhere on the moon. What are the chances of working out where they hit and getting an image of the impact site?
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:20 pm
I’ll bet the ascent modules are still in lunar orbit. Ought to haul the Apollo 11 one back to Earth…
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:20 pm
bigjohn756: Pretty sure that was a Cory Doctorow short story. Try craphound.com
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Richard Drumm The Astronomy Bum,
If I recall correctly, there are no stable lunar orbits. You can maintain one for a short time with course corrections, but over time you’ll either crash into the Moon or fly off into space. All of the ascent modules (since they haven’t been doing 40 years of course corrections) have likely crash landed by now. Not sure if we know where.
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:01 pm
@47, 48
If memory serves, the Ascent Module was docked with the Command Module for the return to earth. It was un-docked before re-entry, so presumably they burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere. They certainly wouldn’t be found on the moon.
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Makes no sense to haul the ascent module back to Earth, only to dump it into the atmosphere. (Unless, of course, you have a huge hole in the side of your service module and your command module must be powered down.) It would be a waste of propellant. I do seem to recall that the later AMs were purposely crashed into the moon to make some seismic activity.
I do think that Phil would be an entertaining guest on any show and should try to get on The View.
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Great, I think every conspiracy theorist and UFOlogist out there went crazy with “Buzz Aldrin confirming existence of UFO landing pad on Phobos” or whatever they spin it.
And for gods sake please tell me someone had MGS or any other mapper try to image it again, just in case?
I mean, no one would die or loose a job if a mars orbiter took a single picture of a single sight on Phobos just to stop a million conspiracies. And on the other hand, (in complete contrary to conspiracy theory mythos), if a picture revealed that thing, or anything else in Solar System to have slightest chances of being artificial structure NASA would be having press conferences 24/7 and would just go the hill with a blank check in their hand and say “sign it”.
For NASA and entire space community. Finding life or indications of present life anywhere in solar system, budget increase. Finding alien artifacts?! Blank check and a space race that would make ’60es slow and timid.
July 22nd, 2009 at 2:18 pm
@bigjohn756: i just read that story in the last few months. it must be in one of the “best scifi of year xxxx” books i have. it is on my shelf i am pretty sure. i will try to locate it tonight.
July 22nd, 2009 at 2:27 pm
@carbonUnit
Ah! Good point. So I found this.
http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/imagery/apollo/spacecraftlm.htm
It appears that all but two of the impact sites on the moon are known.
July 22nd, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Phil said “No one took the footage of Armstrong’s first step (it was a camera he deployed before stepping off the ladder), and there was a video camera on the rover that shot the footage of the ascent module taking off (remotely controlled on Earth by Ed Fendell).”
The first moon landing to use a lunar rover was Apollo 15. As a high school student deeply interested in astronomy and manned space exploration, I watched the Apollo missions closely and remembered that the first few did not include the rover. I verifyed this on the NASA website:
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_lrv.html
If my memory serves me after 40 years, for Apollo 11 a movie camera was planted or repositioned to allow the liftoff of the ascent module to be viewed. I specifically recall that camera did not move up to follow the path of the ascent module after liftoff.
I also recall that the ascent modules were deliberately crashed into the moon to generate seismic events for the instrument packages left on the moon’s surface to record for analysis.
July 22nd, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Richard Drumm The Astronomy Bum:
Of all the Apollo Lunar Modules that were sent into space, the Apollo 10 ascent stage is the only one left intact and is currently in a heliocentric orbit around the Sun. The Apollo 5, 9, and 13 LM ascent stages burned up in Earth’s atmosphere, the Apollo 11 and 16 LM ascent stages were left in lunar orbit and crashed onto the Moon when their orbits decayed, and the Apollo 12, 14, 15, and 17 LM ascent stages were deliberately crashed onto the Moon in order to obtain seismic readings from the seismometers placed on the lunar surface. (The Lunar Test Article LTA-B flown as ballast aboard Apollo 8 remained attached to the Saturn S-IVB stage that went into solar orbit.)
The Apollo 10 LM descent stage is expected to have crashed onto the lunar surface, but the exact location is unknown.
July 22nd, 2009 at 4:09 pm
“If memory serves, the Ascent Module was docked with the Command Module for the return to earth. It was un-docked before re-entry, so presumably they burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere. They certainly wouldn’t be found on the moon.”
The ascent modules did not make the trip home. They are all on the moon but in little pieces, purposely crashed to test seismic equipment left by the crews. Apollo 11′s and 16′s ascent stages were left in lunar orbit but they eventually decayed and crashed into the moon in the early 70s.
The only ascent module still in existence is Apollo 10, “Snoopy” which is currently (and forevermore?) in solar orbit.
July 22nd, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Just as I finished my reply I noticed IVAN3MAN did the same but with better detail.. Thanks!
July 22nd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Thanks John Paradox!
July 22nd, 2009 at 6:14 pm
What’s wrong with Barbara Walters as the voice of reason? I think she is one of the few who will actually accept evidence. She’s still on good terms with Randi, isn’t she?
Ooooh – a rare opportunity to tease Ivan3Man:
“… and is currently in a heliocentric orbit around the Sun”
OK, I’ll take the bait: I once launched a bird into a heliocentric orbit around the earth. (Yeah, I know that the bird will eventually go around the sun in about a year.)
July 22nd, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Someone needs to keep Buzz Aldrin away from Edgar Mitchell, I think
July 22nd, 2009 at 7:53 pm
I just saw the Hayden Planetarium’s new show today (Ben Oppenheimer showed it at Caltech), Whoopi actually narrated it. Sounded pretty pro-science to me, but what do I know?
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:14 pm
First of all Capricorn One was a movie about the first MARS landing being faked, not the moon. The flag “waves” because of simple physics “an object in motion tends to stay in motion” the inertia applied in the vacuum appears to wave. There were cameras on the lander thats why you can see Armstrong climbing down the lander. All the Astronauts on the mood had cameras about chest level. On some of the photos you can see them. And Barbara Walters “just been told there were six moon landings!!!” Where hell has she been and Hugh Downs here former cohost on 20/20 is an active member with space support groups. She never thought “Hey Hugh whats the story with the moon landing?” And someone said they haven’t seen any they were carried but unfortunately interest waned, also a few years back there was a movie APOLLO 13 what the hell does she thing that was about?! As for Joy who give a rats ass about what 35% of the Brits think. For the exception of Elizabeth asking for some cognitive thought on this show is like trying to get blood from a stone.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 pm
What annoys me with these show is, when a topic like this comes up in debate. They should then in a following episode bring on someone to discuss it even if just for 5 minutes to answer their questions.
As i was discussing on another forum last week, the moon hoax believers are in two camps, the minority who are the crazy wack jobs who will never believe the moon landing happened. They are the ones who keep pulling out the same bad evidence over and over again ignoring all the times it’s been debunked.
Then there’s the vast majority who is just ignorant on the issue.
Although this would be two camps of ignorant. Those who don’t know don’t care but while knowing so little and putting so little thought into it hold the fake opinion. The apathetically ignorant.
A mate of mine is an example of this, he knows nothing about it, doesn’t care but thinks it didn’t happened. Tried to challenge him and he had no arguments for it. Not even the standard ones.
Then there’s those like Whoopi who are the willfully ignorant. All the information is out there and readily available there’s no excuse to hold the opinion and to have no looked up the answers if you’ve put any thought into wondering the question.
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:07 pm
The blonde with gold earings and yellow top talking with Whoopi (afraid I don’t know her name – never watched the show) made a lot of sense when she noted that as well as denying the Moon landings many Conspiracy Hoax believers think the Holocaust was also faked …
… Hmm … Wonder if she’s also encountered the likes of “neil” the anti-semitic Moon landing & Holocaust denying troll who was blighting this blog a few weeks ago.
For what its worth, I don’t mind Whoopi Goldberg personally – but I did expect much better from her than this.
—
PS. Oh & ‘neil’ if you’re still lurking on here – the Lunar Reconnosance Orbiter is still flying and working fine. Your prediction of its “suspicious failure” has proven as humbug as all the other excrement you spouted.
PPS. Also its scary that the ladies there needed to be told about the other six Moon landings – apart from everything else have they forgotten Apollo 13 ( the movie that is with Tom Hanks) so quickly? Do they not, at least, realise that 12 comes between 11 and 13? The level of sheer plank-skulled ignorance here is just scary. Especially if you think some viewers are presumably watching and relying on these ladies for factual~ish(?) “infotainment.”
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Thinking more about what I just said – okay maybe they think Apollo 12 failed as well as 13 or something … Maybe they think it went 11 – 13 or something with 12 planned but cancelled or who knows what but surely doesn’t everyone know that there was more than just the one Apollo mission and more than just one moon landing?
Even if people don’t know the exact numbers or names of the other Moon-landings and astronauts, I would have thought it was “common knowledge ” that there was more than just the one Moon-landing ..??
Guess not. Sigh.
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:29 pm
@67
Then there’s the vast majority who is just ignorant on the issue.
In the words of my physics teacher “Ignorance is bliss. And there’s too damn many blissful people out there for just 1 physics teacher!”
So BA and others, thanks for helping the cause.
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:48 pm
@ 66. Rodan Says:
First of all Capricorn One was a movie about the first MARS landing being faked, not the moon.
These women literally don’t know what planet they’re on!
Come to think of it, *I* don’t know what planet they’re on either!
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:57 pm
@66 Rodan : D’oh! I missed your post entirely & so raised some of the exact same points. Sorry, I thought I’d read all the comments here but somehow I missed yours. Oops. (Blushes.)
July 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 am
Rodan:
Hugh Downs has been a frequent guest/supporting actor on the Kevin Trudeau infomercial crapolla… so…. anyone that supports a whacko like Trudeau has NO credibility in my books!
Rev. I.P Freely:
Best use of scripture Evah! LOL
July 23rd, 2009 at 3:22 am
@ Richard Drumm, TechyDad (50, 52) (edited to add: and 53 and 54) -
The used Ascent stages were deliberately crash landed on the moon after being jettisoned from the CSM. After all, you don’t want debris from the early Apollos increasing the risk for the later Apollos, do you?
The crash sites are known, but I don’t know where their locations are published. A few minutes with Google should find something useful on that.
July 23rd, 2009 at 3:25 am
OK, looks like Ivan3Man (59) has found the gen.
July 23rd, 2009 at 6:11 am
1) Yes, The View could use a full-time SkepChick.
2) Yes, Phil should do The View if at all possible.
3) *sigh* You people….sometimes you make me almost as sad as the woo-woos. It’s like you actually don’t understand television or the entertainment industry at all.
Whoopi’s not anti-science. She’s a pretty smart lady, but she doesn’t know everything, and it turns out that “Who shot the first step on the moon” is a great question with an interesting answer. She’s dead-on right that the Moon Hoax Theory is fun to explore for the layman. Like Bad Physics Movies, it gives an excellent launching point for discussing us some science. Which is the point of this site.
I realise all you guys are big Apollo geeks, but not everyone can put their finger on exactly what happened in each of seventeen missions, especially when they’re on the spot on national TV. Barbara has someone who whispers facts and arguments in her ear, and that person was giving her GREAT debunking fodder — There were SIX moon landings! SIX! Why, I seem to remember a certain Bad Astronomer advancing that same line of argument. Maybe someone on the show reads the site?
And she was giving credit where credit was due. The argument wasn’t her idea, it was coming in through her earpiece. That makes her look ignorant to you — but you’re apollo geeks, not relatively humble television personalities with a fact-checker whispering in your ear.
4) So The View isn’t your kind of show. Mine either: I don’t like the format, and some of the hosts have been real morons, but some of what I’m reading here is coming shockingly close to sexism.
July 23rd, 2009 at 6:44 am
For those knocking BW’s comment about “just being told” of the other six landings, please realize that she was speaking and listening at the same time. I have no doubt that she knew of the other six landings, but didn’t keep that information at the front of her mind. Perhaps she would have been better served to have said, “I’ve just been reminded that…”
Besides, I’m sure she was in shock over Whoopi’s comments, and that would be enough to scramble anyone’s mind!
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:32 pm
@ #63. MadScientist:
Yeah, I realized that after the edit option had timed out. The term “Heliocentric” means ‘relative to the Sun’, so it was superfluous to add the words “around the Sun” after the word “orbit”.
Likewise, it is also superfluous to say “to the ground” after the term “razed”, because the definition of “razed” means ‘demolished to the ground’.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:45 pm
It was superfluous, and therefore proper usage. Thank you!
Bartholomew Bartholomew
US Department of Redundancy Department
July 24th, 2009 at 5:20 am
The people who claim that the moon landing was faked overlook a salient fact. You may be sure that the Russians tracked every space vehicle launched by the US. If they could have shown, at the height of the Cold War, that this was fake, the world would have heard from them loud and clear.
I have been told that the crinkles in the aluminum flag were introduced as a “cute” gimmick by someone in NASA.
BTW, as a space scientist I have seen data from the solar wind aluminum foil experiment taken to the moon by the astronauts and it is very real.
Whoopie Goldberg should know better than to flaunt such a canard.