Phrase Origins: Houston, We Have a Problem

Whenever a slight problem happens, some people like to joke by saying, "Houston, we have a problem." I know that this phrase comes from the Apollo 13 mission that could have sent the astronauts aboard to their death. However, I don't know all that much about the origin of the phrase from the mission.

First of all, the phrase "Houston, we have a problem," didn't become popular until after the 1995 movie Apollo 13 . The movie did use the phrase "Houston, we have a problem." It was the tag line for the movie. It is also in the dialogue of the movie.

It goes, "Uh, this is Houston. Uh, say again, please? / Houston, we have a problem. We have a main bus B undervolt."

However, the astronauts never used the exact phrase "Houston, we have a problem." They only came close to using the phrase.

John Swigert, Jr. first said, "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here."

Somebody in Houston replied, "This is Houston. Say again please."

Then James Lovell said, "Houston, we've had a problem. We've had a main B bus undervolt."

After this happening on April 14, 1970, which was a report of a possible life threatening event some people may have started misquoting the astronauts when being silly about "having problems." However, it cannot be certain when it moved into mainstream dialogue. All that is know is that it is once again popular, as state above, because of the movie.

"Houston, we have a problem," was a phrase used in the news for a restaurant called Houston's and for Whitney Houston. These happened in 1995 and 2001, respectively. More recently, the phrase has been purposely misquoted as "Wii have a problem." This refers to the Nintendo Wii.

Source:

Martin, G. (n.d.). Houston, we have a problem. The meanings and origins of sayings and phrases . Retrieved June 30, 2011, from http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/houston-we-have-a-problem.html