july 20

"That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."

-Neil Armstrong; July 20, 1969 at 10:56 EDT.

Apollo 11 traveled 240,000 miles in 76 hours; less than 66 years after Orville Wright traveled 120 feet at an average speed of 6.8 MPH into a 27 MPH headwind for man's first successful flight.

And in other news, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Giants pitcher Gaylord Perry hit the first home run of his career about 20 minutes later off Claude Olsteen of the Dodgers. Legend has it that Perry's manager Alvin Dark told a reporter in 1963 or 1964 that "they'll put a man on the moon before he ever hits a home run" after the reporter remarked that Perry had power when they were watching him take batting practice.