Astronaut Buzz Aldrin punching moon conspiracy theorist in face GIF

[Jon]

A classic, now in GIF form, with slow-mo punch.



We've all seen the "man didn't really land on the moon" conspiracy theories, most famously planted by the Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? television broadcast, and regurgitated by the online distribution of a "rare" grainy video claiming to show the moon landings being filmed in a studio.

Surveys indicate that roughly 10-20% of Americans, many people in certain small countries, and various subcultures still subscribe to this theory. While extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, the third party evidence for Apollo moon landings certainly qualifies. NASA has also repeatedly issued a press release debunking these claims.

One such adherent to these theories was Bart Sibrel, taxi driver and moon hoaxer extraordinaire. In 2002, Sibrel contacted Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. Sibrel lured Aldrin to a Beverly Hills hotel, by claiming that he wanted to interview Aldrin for a Japanese children's television show. With cameras rolling, Sibrel demanded that Aldrin swear on a bible that he had indeed walked on the moon, and called Aldrin "a coward, and a liar, and a thief". Aldrin tried to walk away, but Sibrel persisted.

So Aldrin punched Sibrel in the face. The police found that Aldrin was provoked, and no charges were filed. Full video of the encounter:

Sibrel actually pulled this faux media credential bible-swearing gag with multiple Apollo astronauts, featured in his Astronauts Gone Wild movie. Here's him and Neil Armstrong:

Previously:
astronaut loses $100,000 tool bag during spacewalk
International Space Station tools
English/metric measurement error in the Mars Climate Orbiter