Eroe777 t1_j8s72jw wrote on February 16, 2023 at 4:06 PM

Reply to comment by Scottland83 in TIL the phrase “you can’t handle the truth” was created/ improvised by Jack Nicholson. The movie's original screenplay boasted the line "You already have the truth," which Nicholson trimmed to "You can't handle the truth." by SixedSigma

It’s kind of like “Failure is not an option.” From Apollo 13. It’s possibly the most famous line from the movie, yet Gene Kranz never said it. Didn’t stop him from using it as the title of his autobiography, though.

(The other famous line, “Houston, we have a problem.” was also never said in real life. Jim Lovell actually said, “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” or something very similar.)

Scottland83 t1_j8s7n1j wrote on February 16, 2023 at 4:10 PM

If you listen to the recordings from the mission it’s remarkable how calm and collected the astronauts were. I know it’s hard to overemphasize how much training they go through but still, I can’t imagine being understated while flying through space in a metal can that’s falling apart.

kangadac t1_j8sixte wrote on February 16, 2023 at 5:23 PM

“Better to die than to sound bad on the radios.”

I’ve seen this story over a dozen times on Reddit yet I’ll still reread it without fail.

substantial-freud t1_j8tfqnm wrote on February 16, 2023 at 8:48 PM

People stay calm in an emergency when they have something to do.

YouTube has a bunch of ATC recordings with lines like “the cargo is on fire” and “the pilot’s dead” said in near-monotone, because the people saying them are too busy trying to not die to get all emotional. If you were in that situation, you’d be the same.

If you were sitting in the back though, with nothing to do but hope the people in the front solve the problem and wonder if maybe you should have driven, you’d be freaking the fuck out.