@ApolloPlus40 - Revenge of the squares
After the Apollo 8 mission, which orbited the Moon in late December 1968, acting NASA administrator Thomas O. Paine called the achievement "a triumph of the squares." (See a version of the UPI wire story in the 28 December 1968 Bend, Oregon Bulletin.)
The phrase resonated throughout the press. An editorial by William Hines widely syndicated on 14 July 1969 claimed the moniker and the astronauts' clean-cut image was a good thing. He wrote:
"The Apollo program is not only run by squares, but for squares; its thrills and glories appeal to the vast majority of Americans who, at bottom, are just as square as any Armstrong on Earth-Jack or Neil or any other."
Addressing public complaints that Apollo astronauts had sworn during their missions, Hines wrote somewhat presciently that "The Apollo 11 crew can be trusted to handle the English language, if not fluently, at least aseptically."
Photo: Thomas O. Paine / NASA
