# Neil Armstrong death: Surprised at size of reaction? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 26, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729 "2012-08-26T16:49:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/61 "2012-08-28T14:04:53Z")
Am I the only one that when I see the thread title in the forum list read it as: \*\*Neil Armstrong death: Surprised at size of erection? \*\* ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/62 "2012-08-29T05:17:21Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Oh yeah? You think you’re so smart. I don’t see you with a Fungineering degree. Well, had the Armstrongs extended me an invitation to his visitation, I could’ve put the “fun” back in “funeral.” I perform a superb Moonwalk. Their loss. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/63 "2012-08-29T05:19:50Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Am I the only one that when I see the thread title in the forum list read it as: \*\*Neil Armstrong death: Surprised at size of erection? \*\* Which leads to the burning question: _Who had the first boner on the moon?_ ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/64 "2012-08-29T09:30:57Z")
Many years from now, historians will point to Armstrong’s landing first on the moon as being one of the top two or three top milestones of the 20th Century. This achievement and winning the race to the moon with the Russians wasn’t so much an individual achievement by Armstrong, but instead a group achievement by the astronauts, NASA, and the entire country because we funded it. Armstrong was in the right place at the right time, having recently become a test pilot when the space program was ramping up, and yet he also had the skills, experience and humility that stood out and caused him to be chosen to Be First. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/65 "2012-08-29T10:05:14Z")
Brit here. I heard about his death _from this thread_. Yes I do check the news, usually daily. Not sure how I’ve missed it, but part of the answer must be that it was only in the news over here very briefly. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/66 "2012-08-29T10:11:18Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Brit here. I heard about his death _from this thread_. > > Yes I do check the news, usually daily. Not sure how I’ve missed it, but part of the answer must be that it was only in the news over here very briefly. I am curious. Would you have heard about the death of a pop star known by both the UK’s and US’s people faster? Let us say that Victoria Beckham had died in a car crash (forbid the thought). Do you think the Daily Mail would have put it on the front page? ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/67 "2012-08-29T10:52:48Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > I am curious. Would you have heard about the death of a pop star known by both the UK’s and US’s people faster? Well, depending on the star, it may well be bigger news. If you’re asking whether I, specifically, would have known, that depends on a bunch of factors because I don’t read the tabloids and tend to skip entertainment news whenever I’m given the option. > [@](#): > > Let us say that Victoria Beckham had died in a car crash (forbid the thought). > Do you think the Daily Mail would have put it on the front page? Yes absolutely. Not only is she more current and better-recognized (visually I mean: most people here would struggle to pick Armstrong from a lineup), but the papers could find a stock photo of her looking hot (not that easy) and therefore have some eye candy on the front cover. yes, this is wrong on a number of levels ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/68 "2012-08-29T17:17:31Z")
I’m saddened that the reaction wasn’t bigger. People cried and whined for weeks and weeks when Whitney Houston kicked the bucket, and when Michael Jackson kicked the bucket (except for me - I had him in the Death Pool. 50 points, baby!). Now, it’s like “Armstrong died? Damn, that’s a shame. Oh, look - a hurricane.” ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/69 "2012-08-29T17:50:32Z")
I think the response has been appropriate. Yes, Armstrong was a great man, but the Moon landings were a long time ago, and old people dying is simply not that shocking. I’m pleasantly surprised that Armstrong has gotten as much coverage as he has; if he was an actor whose last major role was in the 1960’s, he’d have gotten one brief mention during the evening news, at the end after all the “real news” has been dealt with. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/70 "2012-08-29T18:16:00Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > I’m pleasantly surprised that Armstrong has gotten as much coverage as he has; if he was an actor whose last major role was in the 1960’s, he’d have gotten one brief mention during the evening news, at the end after all the “real news” has been dealt with. I find that a strange comparison. There’s a whole world of difference between an old matinee idol and _the first human being to step onto another world_. On the other hand, I was quite pleasantly surprised to see that even on some real conspiracy-woo internet forums, the Apollo hoax crowd were often outnumbered, and shouted down, by those with some respect: e.g. [http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=220738](http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=220738) (warning, may contain nuts). ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/71 "2012-08-29T22:43:17Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > There’s a whole world of difference between an old matinee idol and _the first human being to step onto another world_. If you’re born after it already happened, the sense of awe and achievement is lost on you. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/72 "2012-08-30T00:13:16Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > If you’re born after it already happened, the sense of awe and achievement is lost on you. I was born 8 years after it happened, and I think it’s one of the most awesome things (if not _the_most awesome thing) this species has ever achieved. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/73 "2012-08-30T13:19:36Z")
Maybe some Americans prefer not to be reminded of when the U.S. pulled off the most incredible feat in human history, now that their space programme is a shadow of its former self. Large armies, and wars don’t make a country great. Exploring Space does. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/74 "2012-08-31T17:32:45Z")
I would have expected more if I was just thinking in isolation, but, if I knew about what else was going on, I’d think it was about right. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/75 "2012-09-02T02:27:44Z")
I can see the yellow/orange moon out my window right now. I really can not believe that humans flew to it, then landed on it, then came home. Neil Armstrong was really someone great; not because he walked on the moon, but because of how he handled himself after that. ---
**Author:** ![oreally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ab992/32.png) [@oreally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oreally)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729/76 "2012-09-02T03:49:48Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > The first guy to walk on the moon should at least get as much attention as a dead pop star. ZOMG DUDE so I’m all like yknow that’s crazy talk. Besides we didn’t land on no moon! It’s all just PR stunt by the man. PS I give up: what’s the diff between “significantly” and “much much?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-death-surprised-at-size-of-reaction/632729.md?page=3)