# Who owns the moon? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 26, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494 "2015-06-26T00:31:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/21 "2015-06-26T11:29:10Z")
I own the moon. But, because I’m so generous, I make it my policy that you’re all allowed to look at it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/22 "2015-06-26T11:35:42Z")
Gru. But he put it back. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/23 "2015-06-26T11:56:31Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What resources are actually worth strip mining for on the moon exactly? Is there anything up there, that isn’t down here? Not that I’m aware of anyway. The potential value of lunar resources is generally seen as being that it is, in fact, “up there”. If we ever want to build anything of any size in Earth orbit (or BEYOND!) the cost of boosting material from the Earth’s surface would be prohibitive. It’s (theoretically) a lot cheaper and easier to source what you need from the Moon, if you can. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/24 "2015-06-26T12:09:49Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > Eventually, most credible scientists and engineers predict that humans will derive a way to build a reasonably compact self-replicating factory. > [@Leaffan](#): > > I don’t buy this for one minute. > [@Habeed](#): > > Then you’re not a credible scientist or engineer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an unapologetic and bald use of the “no true Scotsman” fallacy. This is actually quite an achievement - it’s like a argumentative error the size of a Colossus. One must simply marvel at its size. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/25 "2015-06-26T12:15:38Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an unapologetic and bald use of the “no true Scotsman” fallacy. This is actually quite an achievement - it’s like a argumentative error the size of a Colossus. One must simply marvel at its size. It’s a reasonably compact self-replicating fallacy. All credible logicians agree on this. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/26 "2015-06-26T12:26:35Z")
The amazing part is, he left himself a big out with that “most” there – and then for some reason decided _‘naw, time to double down on one hundred percent.’_ ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/27 "2015-06-26T12:30:14Z")
Kotzash Mutual. There are valuable minerals there, honest. Why else would we be mining all over the place? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/28 "2015-06-26T13:05:41Z")
The [moon belongs to everyone](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-mad-men-robert-morse-bert-cooper-death-20140527-story.html#page=1) ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/29 "2015-06-26T14:10:22Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > So keep your tentacles off _our_ Moon, you damned dirty aliens! Do you have a FLAG?? Soz creature, no flag no country. [https://vimeo.com/21190418](https://vimeo.com/21190418) ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/30 "2015-06-26T14:44:03Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an unapologetic and bald use of the “no true Scotsman” fallacy. This is actually quite an achievement - it’s like a argumentative error the size of a Colossus. One must simply marvel at its size. It would only be a “no true Scotsman” fallacy if **Leaffan** had claimed to be a scientist or engineer. I’m not seeing where he did that. He did deploy the “argument from incredulity”, though, if we’re talking logical fallacies. Also “argument from ignorance”, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/31 "2015-06-26T14:59:29Z")
The USA is the only country with cloth flags on the moon. However, they have since all been bleached white from unprotected exposure to the sun and the environment (or lack thereof) of space. Which would make the moon the property of the Umayyad dynasty, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Minamoto clan, or possibly the Stewards of Gondor. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/32 "2015-06-26T15:03:22Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > The USA is the only country with cloth flags on the moon. > > However, they have since all been bleached white from unprotected exposure to the sun and the environment (or lack thereof) of space. Which would make the moon the property of the Umayyad dynasty, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Minamoto clan, or possibly the Stewards of Gondor. That just means the Moon has surrendered. And I accept their surrender. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/33 "2015-06-26T15:17:13Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an unapologetic and bald use of the “no true Scotsman” fallacy. This is actually quite an achievement - it’s like a argumentative error the size of a Colossus. One must simply marvel at its size. Reason I upped the ante is I remembered that self replicating factories do exist right now. If you could scoop up quite a few square miles of facilities located mostly in China and put them on the Moon, you would have a self replicating factory. Sure, you can’t afford the number of rockets it would take, and you need a lot of human labor as the plants aren’t fully automated-but a collection of buildings with machines in them could be constructed where the machines can be used to make every part used in all of the machines. My proof for this is trivial - you can purchase every part, somewhere, used in any machine that was made recently. Therefore, a machine must exist _somewhere_ to make that part. A self replicating factory, you have all of the machines used to make all of the machines, following this branching tree until you’ve selected every machine needed to make anything used in the set of basic machines you selected initially. Also, 3d printers and CNC lathes pack the role of thousands of these machines into just a few machines, so there is obviously a way to optimize. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/34 "2015-06-26T15:27:32Z")
The Moon is free and independent! Adam Selene died to make it so. Have some respect!!! ---
**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:** [June 26, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/35 "2015-06-26T18:41:51Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > It would only be a “no true Scotsman” fallacy if **Leaffan** had claimed to be a scientist or engineer. I’m not seeing where he did that. I agree. The argument is the equivalent of this: “Christians believe Jesus was a divine figure.” “I don’t believe Jesus was a divine figure.” “Then you’re not a Christian.” You’d only be in True Scotsman territory if there’s a challenge to the definition stated or implied in the first statement. “Christians believe Jesus was a divine figure.” “Unitarians are Christians and they don’t believe Jesus was a divine figure.” “Then Unitarians are not Christians.” ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/36 "2015-06-26T21:25:48Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > The Moon is free and independent! Adam Selene died to make it so. > > Have some respect!!! Ha! This so-called “Adam Selene” person was just a _computer!_ The whole “Lunar Revolution” was a great big fraud! _Wake up_, sheeple! ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/37 "2015-06-26T21:30:36Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > That just means the Moon has surrendered. > > And I accept their surrender. And since the lunar missions were launched from the South…that means the South shall rise again 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/38 "2015-06-26T23:03:37Z")
> [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](#): > > Kotzash Mutual. . . . Bah! I wallpapered my shed with those stock certificates! ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/39 "2015-06-26T23:05:33Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I agree. The argument is the equivalent of this: > > “Christians believe Jesus was a divine figure.” > “I don’t believe Jesus was a divine figure.” > “Then you’re not a Christian.” > > You’d only be in True Scotsman territory if there’s a challenge to the definition stated or implied in the first statement. > > “Christians believe Jesus was a divine figure.” > “Unitarians are Christians and they don’t believe Jesus was a divine figure.” > “Then Unitarians are not Christians.” Thank you! I was about to start thrashing through a rebuttal, but you covered it here, better than I would have. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494/40 "2015-06-27T06:59:06Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Bah! I wallpapered my shed with those stock certificates! We know. By the way, we were sorry to hear of the unfortunate incident out at your shed. Someone will be explaining himself to Panak quite soon, naturally. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-moon/723494.md?page=3)