# Did JFK have a certain "other thing" in mind? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jfk-have-a-certain-other-thing-in-mind/172486 "2003-05-01T22:03:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jfk-have-a-certain-other-thing-in-mind/172486/1 "2003-05-01T22:03:01Z")
John F. Kennedy once gave a speech at Rice University, a famous quote from which was “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other thing, not because it is easy, but because it is hard.” Did he have a certain something in mind that he was referring to as the “other thing?” ---
**Author:** ![Fang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/96bed5/32.png) [@Fang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fang)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jfk-have-a-certain-other-thing-in-mind/172486/2 "2003-05-01T22:09:29Z")
In actuality he says “and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard”. I assume this is referring to the preceding paragraph([url=http://www.cs.umb.edu/jfklibrary/j091262.htm]speech text[/url): > [@](#): > > There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jfk-have-a-certain-other-thing-in-mind/172486/3 "2003-05-01T22:10:53Z")
From President Kennedy’s [speech](http://vesuvius.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/ricetalk.htm) at Rice University, 12 Sept. 1962: > [@](#): > > There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? > > We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. The “other things” are the other examples of “hard” goals–“climb the highest mountain,” “fly the Atlantic,” and “Rice play Texas”–that Kennedy mentioned in the preceding paragraph. ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jfk-have-a-certain-other-thing-in-mind/172486/4 "2003-05-01T22:11:01Z")
Actually, the correct quote is: > [@](#): > > We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. [http://www.cs.umb.edu/jfklibrary/j091262.htm](http://www.cs.umb.edu/jfklibrary/j091262.htm) I’m assuming that “the other things” is to be taken as a general statement, and does not refer to anything specific. I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jfk-have-a-certain-other-thing-in-mind/172486/5 "2003-05-02T03:51:33Z")
What a difference two minutes make. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jfk-have-a-certain-other-thing-in-mind/172486/6 "2003-05-02T19:54:30Z")
Thanks for the replies. It sounded to me like he was saying “thing” instead of “things,” but when you realize he doesn’t even pronounce “decade” right, it makes sense that what you hear isn’t always what they said. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jfk-have-a-certain-other-thing-in-mind/172486/7 "2003-05-03T00:35:04Z")
“Why does Rice play Texas?” [sub]Hee-hee[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jfk-have-a-certain-other-thing-in-mind/172486/8 "2003-05-03T03:04:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ringo \* > \*\*“Why does Rice play Texas?” [sub]Hee-hee[/sub] \*\* The same reason Duke plays FSU. It’s fun…🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jfk-have-a-certain-other-thing-in-mind/172486/9 "2003-05-06T06:06:56Z")
**Reeder** , just to give it some context, my Dad was a Dean at Rice for many years, and both my older sister and my younger brother attended, but did not finish there. I went to, and graduated from, UT on my own nickel. Hee-hee. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jfk-have-a-certain-other-thing-in-mind/172486/10 "2003-05-06T16:04:16Z")
> [@](#): > > but when you realize he doesn’t even pronounce “decade” right Just out of interest, how did he pronounce it? To my (British) ears, the usual US pronunciation of “de-CAYD” sounds ‘wrong’. Did JFK say “DEC-ayd” like us Brits, or what? ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jfk-have-a-certain-other-thing-in-mind/172486/11 "2003-05-06T16:19:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by r\_k \* > \*\*Just out of interest, how did he pronounce it? To my (British) ears, the usual US pronunciation of “de-CAYD” sounds ‘wrong’. Did JFK say “DEC-ayd” like us Brits, or what? \*\* If memory serves, JFK said “de-CAYD”, which always struck me as a northeastern aristrocratic sort of pronunciation. In these parts, it’s always “DEC-ayd”, accent on the first syllable. And yes, the “other things” are things which are difficult but ought to be done. [lament]How come our leaders today can’t dream big? Now, “other things” involve bombing weaker nations. Where are the JFK’s of today?[/lament] ---
**Author:** ![Fredge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@Fredge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fredge)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jfk-have-a-certain-other-thing-in-mind/172486/12 "2003-05-06T17:40:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Drum God \* > \*\*[lament]How come our leaders today can’t dream big? Now, “other things” involve bombing weaker nations. Where are the JFK’s of today?[/lament] \*\* JFK’s ‘big dreams’ included attacks on Vietnam and Cuba; that puts him on par with today’s leaders for the bombing weaker nations part. While the moon mission was a marvelous accomplishment from a scientific and technological standpoing, from a political perspective it was little more than Kennedy’s one-upmanship on the Soviets since they had already beaten us into orbit. Maybe I’m cynical, but I’d say Kennedy didn’t want to go to the moon because it was hard, he wanted to go to make America and himself look better in the eyes of the world. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jfk-have-a-certain-other-thing-in-mind/172486/13 "2003-05-06T19:15:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ringo \* > \*\*“Why does Rice play Texas?” [sub]Hee-hee[/sub] \*\* Hey, they almost _won_ in '89!