We've Had a Problem: We Don't Understand Our Touchstone Quotes

There is no shortage of practical wisdom in the world, handed down over thousands of years. In fact, there's so much that it's hard to remember. Because of that, we carve out pocket-sized slices of inspiration in the form of quotes, and these sometimes embed themselves in the human psyche, at once exemplifying and strengthening an aspect of our culture. But check the original sources and you'll see we often miss the larger point.

Take the case of Apollo 13 in 1970. We all think we know what was said by one of these astronauts, who was 200,000 miles from Earth, hurtling away from it at 3,000 feet per second, and who had just heard a large explosion: “Houston, we have a problem.”

But that's not the actual line. The real quote is much better. Here's the transcript:

If you listen to the recording, Swigert sounds only mildly intrigued. I've said “The cat's up on the counter again” with more alarm.

The astronauts on Apollo 13 had all piloted fighter jets and held jobs flying newer planes to ensure they were not prone to pitching and yawing and, you know, breaking up in midair. This kind of person does not dwell on the past. Consequently, the tense of the phrase “we've had a problem”: the initial problem is over, now we focus on making a plan for repairing the damage and resuming the mission. It is no surprise that in the wider populace, the words were wrangled back into the present tense as a cry for help. To us civilians, an explosion that occurred a few seconds ago is a current problem, and so we treat ourselves to a few minutes of high panic.

The Apollo 13 crew did survive the mission, in part because they looked only forward.