on 14/1/03 4:58 pm, Steve Sloan II at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> The voyages of the Vikings, Chinese, and Amerigo Vespucci > are all very impressive, but they all *quit going* after a > while, kinda like the US and the Moon. ;-) Columbus' trip > was different, because after he arrived, European presence > in the New World became permanent, and never stopped. > Columbus' timing was just better.
William T Goodall wrote:
So does that mean that the US Moon landings might end up getting disregarded in some future history books because it's somebody else who eventually establishes a permanent manned presence there?
Quite possibly. However, there's another big difference between Columbus and Apollo -- TV cameras. I remember reading somebody's comment about this very subject, a few years back: "Columbus wasn't first -- he just had the best PR." The Vikings didn't advertise their discovery to the rest of Europe, Vespucci wasn't believed (IIRC), and I would imagine there was an Imperial edict in China to erase the court eunuchs' discovery from the records. Columbus had money for a big expedition from powerful patrons, and he used that position to promote his discovery across Europe. ______________________________________________________________________ Steve Sloan ......... Huntsville, Alabama =========> [EMAIL PROTECTED] Brin-L list pages .............................. http://www.brin-l.org Chmeee's 3D Objects .................... http://www.sloan3d.com/chmeee 3D and Drawing Galleries .................. http://www.sloansteady.com Software ................ Science Fiction, Science, and Computer Links Science fiction scans ......................... http://www.sloan3d.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
