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Tom Lehrer - Wernher von Braun

The Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel · music · Watch on YouTube

Music performance & songsSatire & parody

What it is

Tom Lehrer's satirical song about Wernher von Braun, the German rocket scientist who went from the Nazi missile program to the US space program. It includes the famous line about not caring where the rockets come down.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN quotes it constantly, mostly as a joke or reference, whenever rocketry, engineers' ethics or skill-versus-morality comes up.

  • 3 people recommended it
  • 3 different months
  • 0 strong recommendations
  • first 2016, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “His amazing wit is just as biting today as it was when he originally composed most of his songs”

    Live 1967 performance with wit that stays biting today.

    pdkl95, 2019-08 · Recommendation · in “Tech backlash has come to Stanford”

  2. “Tom Lehrer is indeed a national treasure, and his satire is top shelf.”

    Satirical song by a national treasure; recommended for those unfamiliar.

    Diederich, 2020-05 · Recommendation · in “Google deletes “communist bandits” from comments on Youtube”

  3. “I recommend the original”

    Original sung version carries sarcasm that text cannot.

    jacquesm, 2022-02 · Recommendation · in “Roman slaveowners were the first management theorists?”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: tom lehrer, satire, von braun, rockets, engineering ethics

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