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  Apollo 12's "rum incident" (xkcd: Harpoons)

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Author Topic:   Apollo 12's "rum incident" (xkcd: Harpoons)
Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 43576
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 08-01-2014 12:08 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Today's (Aug. 1) xkcd comic includes a reference to Apollo 12's "rum incident" as part of a graph of the number of harpoons in space by year:

Anyone have an idea what this is in reference to? The Explain xkcd wiki suggests it is "probably a joke":

Officially, Apollo 12 carried neither harpoons nor rum. However, as a former NASA contractor, Randall may know more about space shenanigans than the general public, and may be implying (perhaps jokingly) that a bottle of the Harpoon brand of Jamaican rum made it aboard.

lspooz
Member

Posts: 385
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Aug 2012

posted 08-01-2014 03:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for lspooz   Click Here to Email lspooz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I'd say it's a good-natured tip of the hat to the all-Navy crew of the Yankee Clipper [although Pete may keep some secrets]

ehartwell
New Member

Posts: 8
From: Waterloo, ON, Canada
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 08-02-2014 07:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for ehartwell     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
...or an homage to Calvin and Hobbes' "noodle incident."

moorouge
Member

Posts: 2458
From: U.K.
Registered: Jul 2009

posted 08-02-2014 07:36 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for moorouge   Click Here to Email moorouge     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The two people who might be able to give a definitive answer are Bean and Gordon. Perhaps Conrad did have a 'wee dram' in his PPK. After all, Aldrin took wine to the Moon.

YankeeClipper
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Posts: 622
From: Dublin, Ireland
Registered: Mar 2011

posted 08-07-2014 10:37 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for YankeeClipper   Click Here to Email YankeeClipper     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Quick chat with Alan Bean ... he can't recall any rum / harpoon incident occurring in relation to Apollo 12.

moorouge
Member

Posts: 2458
From: U.K.
Registered: Jul 2009

posted 08-08-2014 08:11 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for moorouge   Click Here to Email moorouge     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Having heard Bean talk about Conrad at Pontefract, I wouldn't expect him to say anything else.

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