As Neil Armstrong stepped out on the surface of the moon, and a billion people listened with a hushed fascination, he uttered those famous words … and flubbed it.
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Unfortunately “man” and “mankind” are both kind or type terms. After flying 240,000 miles, the guy forgot his indefinite article! He should have said:
“That’s one small step for a man, [the token] one giant leap for mankind. [the type]”
Better yet, he could have said:
“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for a young child.”
But best of all he could have tried this zinger:
“Yuri Gagarin was wrong. You can see God from up here.”
