"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind..." - Neil Armstrong By Logan Hawkes It’s been called the most significant day in human history, a day that will always be remembered as the culmination of man’s great quest to reach the moon, a day when the entire world watched as American astronauts landed on the lunar surface proclaiming a long awaited victory for the pioneering spirit of mankind. Where were you when it happened? Amazingly, if you’re old enough, you probably remember where you were that day. So significant was the task, so important was the mission, that few forget where they were and what they were doing when Apollo approached the moon surface as the world held it breath. But do you remember the other significant headlines of the day? Do you remember what life was like in the pre-moon landing years? The date was July 20, 1969, and a few memories of the day, or the year, may be forgotten. For example, would it surprise you to remember that the cost for a first class U.S. stamp was .06-cents? That U.S. national unemployment was 3.6%?  Who remembers it was the year the NY Mets won the World Series, or the NY Jets won the Superbowl? Here’s one you should remember, but probably don’t: The Texas Longhorns were the NCAA National Champions. It was in 1969 that half a million screaming people gathered at Woodstock for the largest ever outdoor concert, and the year Sesame Street was born. The Best Picture of the Year was Oliver!, and the year for the release of such notable movies as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Midnight Cowboy, the Wild Bunch and East Rider. In the publishing world, two new books would go on to make history in their own way, The Godfather and Slaughterhouse-Five. The average family income in the United States was a whopping $8,389.00, and the price of gasoline ranged between .29-cents and .35-cents a gallon. A six pack of Coca Cola was selling for .59-cents and Hershey bar was .10-centts. The cost for a new Ford Mustang was a whopping $2,832.00 for a standard model. You could jazz it up with all the extras for about $400 more. While still a long way from ending, President Nixon announced the first U.S. troop withdrawals from Vietnam, a year before troops invaded Cambodia to destroy North Vietnamese positions. APOLLO 11 MEMORIES The Apollo 11 spacecraft was launched from Cape Kennedy on July 16, 1969. The lunar module (LM), with Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin aboard, was undocked from the command-service module four days later on July 20, following a thorough check of all the LM systems. The LM descent engine was fired for approximately 29 seconds, and the descent to the lunar surface began. The LM descent engine burned until touchdown on the lunar surface and the Eagle landed on the Moon 102 hr, 45 min and 40 sec after launch, with less than a second of fuel remaining in the descent engine. Immediately after landing on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin prepared the LM for liftoff as a contingency measure. Following the meal, a scheduled sleep period was postponed at the astronauts' request, and the astronauts began preparations for descent to the lunar surface. Astronaut Armstrong emerged from the spacecraft first. While descending, he released the Modularized Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA) on which the surface television camera was stowed, and the camera recorded humankind's first step on the Moon.