# Americans: did you know what the moon was before 7/20/69? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 16, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854 "2011-03-16T00:00:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/21 "2011-03-16T01:46:39Z")
OP is clearly ignorant of bygone popular culture. Up till the rock era, anyway, many pop songs referenced the Moon directly, usually in terms of its appearance in the night sky and the quality of its light (a phenomenon much less apparent since street lighting became universal). It might be that people who came of age in the 1950s and later were comparatively ignorant of the Moon due to the lack of rock songs referring to it. People who came of age before this period are now a demographically insignificant group, so the OP’s posing the question is perhaps excusable, although it betrays a very limited degree of intellectual curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/22 "2011-03-16T01:49:01Z")
\*\*Americans: did you know what the moon was before 7/20/69? \*\* What about non-Americans? Do they STILL not know what the moon is? ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/23 "2011-03-16T01:51:36Z")
I was in space in June 1969, but decided to visit Mars instead, thinking I could just visit the moon next time. Then they moved the whole thing to a sound stage in California and made it off-limits. I should have visited when I had that chance. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/24 "2011-03-16T02:08:37Z")
M-O-O-N…that spells moon ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/25 "2011-03-16T02:12:22Z")
Do you mean that large, round object in the sky that shines brightly in the daytime, right? Yeah, I knew what the moon was. Bob ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/26 "2011-03-16T02:15:33Z")
At the risk of being a sucker for a huge whoosh here… I am flabbergasted that anyone who got through, say, 3rd grade would not know what the moon was. In _ **first** _ grade the teacher used an orbiter model (akin to [this](http://www.scientificsonline.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/3/0/3053597_1.jpg)) to teach us about the relative motion of the moon and the sun. This was in the late 50’s. If you really were not taught that in grade school, I’m wondering if you ever heard of George Washington or know what 2+2 equals. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/27 "2011-03-16T02:17:05Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > OP is clearly ignorant of bygone popular culture. Up till the rock era, anyway, many pop songs referenced the Moon directly, usually in terms of its appearance in the night sky and the quality of its light (a phenomenon much less apparent since street lighting became universal). > > It might be that people who came of age in the 1950s and later were comparatively ignorant of the Moon due to the lack of rock songs referring to it. People who came of age before this period are now a demographically insignificant group, so the OP’s posing the question is perhaps excusable, although it betrays a very limited degree of intellectual curiosity. Later, it was only the Dark Side of the Moon that was recognized in pop culture. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/28 "2011-03-16T02:30:12Z")
Actually, it’s all dark. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/29 "2011-03-16T02:39:26Z")
Yes, but I am still afraid of that big glowing yellow thing in the sky during the day. Not sure what it is called. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/30 "2011-03-16T02:51:10Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Yes, but I am still afraid of that big glowing yellow thing in the sky during the day. > > Not sure what it is called. Did you know what it was before dawn this morning? You don’t need to reply if you lived there. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/31 "2011-03-16T03:00:40Z")
Just curious. I did not know: I think I knew that there was a small rock flying around the Sun, but when people said, “Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto” I a) had no idea that they were referring to a planet and b) had no clear idea what a “planet” was - i.e., how do you define “planet”? I don’t think that I’m that unusual in that. Now that they’re so famous, I think people assume that everyone always knew what they were - but I don’t think that’s necessarily true. (People who attended public high school either during or before the definition don’t need to reply unless they somehow didn’t always trust what their teachers told them.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/32 "2011-03-16T03:06:08Z")
Was this parody really necessary? ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/33 "2011-03-16T03:07:47Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > At the risk of being a sucker for a huge whoosh here… > > I am flabbergasted that anyone who got through, say, 3rd grade would not know what the moon was. In _ **first** _ grade the teacher used an orbiter model (akin to [this](http://www.scientificsonline.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/3/0/3053597_1.jpg)) to teach us about the relative motion of the moon and the sun. This was in the late 50’s. If you really were not taught that in grade school, I’m wondering if you ever heard of George Washington or know what 2+2 equals. Woosh is the sound the moon makes when it’s full. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/34 "2011-03-16T03:09:37Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > I keep getting caught between this thread and the one about New York City… This post redeems the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/35 "2011-03-16T03:10:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Was this parody really necessary? This post redeems the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/36 "2011-03-16T03:13:59Z")
I did, but I was the kind of nerdy kid who spent all his time reading about gigantic rocky satellites which orbit a few hundred thousand miles from the earth. I may not be typical in that respect. And no, I had never been there. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/37 "2011-03-16T03:14:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Was this parody really necessary? Parody? Oh, good. The last line of the OP made no sense at all. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/38 "2011-03-16T03:15:49Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Would enjoy it more if I knew what was the parody or referenced **même** … (Bolding mine) The what, now? ---
**Author:** ![Rotlla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Rotlla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rotlla)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/39 "2011-03-16T03:33:31Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Would enjoy it more if I knew what was the parody or referenced même… > > And I may have had just turned 8 but darn tootin’ I knew whut th’ Moon wuz and Ah wuz ticked off they didn’t ask if I wanted a ride Are you honestly confused about the difference between the common French word “même” (meaning ‘same’) and the word “meme”? Like, are you really, honestly, _completely_ unfamiliar with the last thirty years of evolutionary theory – as you’d have to be, if you didn’t actually know the difference? I signed up because I saw people talking about how smart folks here were but I am feeling awfully confused now. I mean, any high school graduate of normal intelligence would know the difference between these two totally separate things. Jesus. I tend to think of spelling as the lowest possible standard to judge people by but folks always manage to creep under the lowest possible standards of education, don’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854/40 "2011-03-16T04:34:30Z")
You tell 'em, tiger. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-moon-was-before-7-20-69/574854.md?page=3)