These 12 examples are credited to people who never really said them.
1. "Let them eat cake".
Not Marie Antoinette.
Not only did Marie Antoinette not utter these words, if she had, everyone probably misunderstood
her. In Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "Book 6" of his 12-volume autobiographical work, "Confessions",
he writes, "At length I recollected the thoughtless saying of a great princess, who, on being
informed that the people had no bread, replied, "Then let them eat pastry".
Most people assume "great princess" refers to Marie Antoinette. But Rousseau wrote these words
in 1767 - when Marie Antoinette was 12 years old. She also didn't marry Louis XVI until 1770.
Even if Marie Antoinette did utter the phrase, the original version in French, "Qu'ils mangent de la
brioche", means "Let them eat brioche" - a type of crumbly French pastry (not unlike cake but not
totally the same) eaten by the upper class. The misinterpreted quote portrays Marie Antoinette as a
callous patrician, unconcerned with the plight of the poor. But she could have meant the wealthy
should stop monopolising food and share with the lower classes - if she said it.
Other sources credit Marie-Therese, Marie Antoinette's eldest child (and the wife of Louis XIV).
2. "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
Not Voltaire.
Voltaire didn't actually speak these words but the idea does fall in line with his ideology.
In her well known biography of the French philosopher, "Friends of Voltaire", Evelyn Beatrice
Hall writes, "I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it, was
was his attitude now.
The author was paraphrasing how she thought Voltaire felt about a certain topic. Everyone just
decided the quote was real.
3. "Standing on the shoulders of giants".
Not Sir Isaac Newton.
Perhaps the most well-known phrase attributed to Sir Isaac Newton, these words appeared in a
letter Newton wrote to Robert Hooke, another English philosopher and mathematician. But
Newton didn't coin the phrase himself. He was alluding to a simile said much earlier by Bernard
of Chartres, a 12th century man.
John of Salisbury wrote that Bernard of Chartres used to say the "we (the Moderns) are like
dwarves perched on the shoulders of giants (the Ancients) and thus we were able to see more and
farther than the latter".
4. "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful
beyond measure".
Not Nelson Mandela.
This fanciful excerpt from the former South African President's 1994 inaugural address has floated
around the Internet for years. The passage goes on :
It is our light, not our darkness that most frighten us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your
playing small does not serve the world....As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence
automatically liberates others.
But crediting Mandela for these words right after getting out of prison seems downright
ridiculous. Brian Morton puts it best in The New York Times :
"Picture it : Mr. Mandela, newly free after 27 years in prison, using his inaugural platform to
inform us that we have all the right to be gorgeous, talented and fabulous and that thinking so
will liberate others". Morton writes.
In reality, self-help guru Marianne Williamson wrote these words in her 1989 spiritual best seller,
"A Return to Love". The front page of her website even boasts about the excerpt.
5. "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter".
Not Mark Twain/Jack Benny/Muhammad Ali.
People throw this quote around all the time, accompanied by arbitrary attributions. With a little
help from Quote Investigator, the problem becomes clear : No one knows who said it. The first
reference found comes from an anonymous government researcher in 1968. "Aging is a matter of
mind. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter".
Since then, the quote morphed to include "mind over matter". Comedian Jack Benny said it on his
80th birthday. And in 1981, Muhammad Ali flipped the phrase at a journalist while preparing for
his last fight.
6. "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who
matter don't mind".
Not Dr. Seuss.
QI also debunked this famous misconception. We'd like to think Theodor Seuss Geisel, better
known as Dr. Seuss, would wholly support the concept but the reality feels a little more
depressing : No evidence of the phrase exists in any of his books and a snarky engineer coined
the original.
The quote first appeared in 1938 in a London journal for municipal and county engineers. An
ambiguous "Mr. Davies" directed the words toward people who criticised his housing designs.
The phrase morphed into advice about seating arrangements and a poem used in The Wall Street
Journal. Dr. Seuss didn't come into play until the 2000s, mostly in high school yearbooks.
7. "Well-behaved women rarely make history".
Not Marilyn Monroe.
In 2007, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, a celebrated female historian, wrote a book titled, "Well-
Behaved Women Rarely Make History". Some suspect she swiped the title of her best-seller from
the 1950s' favourite buxom blonde : Marilyn Monroe.
But they're wrong. Ulrich first wrote the phrase in 1976 for an issue of "American Quarterly",
according to The New York Times. The original version refers to the colonial woman in a very
literal way. We know almost nothing about well-behaved quiet women from that time period.
8. "There's a sucker born every minute".
Not PT Barnum.
One of Barnum's biggest competitors and critics actually said this, according to "PT Barnum :
The Legend And The Man", a biography by AH Saxon.
In a 1948 article in the Bridgeport Post", the anonymous author asked Adam Forepaugh if he
could quote him on the "sucker" statement.
"Just say it's one of Barnum's slogans which I am borrowing for the occasion. It sounds more like
him than it does me anyway", Forepaugh replied.
Barnum did, however, say, "The people like to be humbugged", which somehow doesn't seem as
rude.
9. "If you have to ask how much they are, you can't afford one".
Not JP Morgan.
No evidence exists that Morgan actually spoke these words, typically referenced as his response
to an inquiry about the price of his lavish yachts. Biographer Jean Strouse doesn't think the quote
fits Morgan's language style either, according to the Quote Verifier.
Strouse did, however, stumble upon a recording of Morgan's response to Henry Clay Pierce's
question about his yacht's price. "You have no tight to own a yacht if you ask that question", he
said. Different words. Still uppity.
10. "If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by
the time you're 35, you've no brain".
Not Winston Churchill.
Churchill never said this, according to the Churchill Centre and Museum in London. In fact, Paul
Addison of Edinburgh University mentions this : "Surely Churchill can't have used the words
attributed to him. He'd been a Conservative at 15 and a Liberal at 35! And would he have talked
so disrespectfully of Clemmie, who is generally thought to have been a lifelong Liberal?"
Instead, Francois Guizot coined the phrase in the 19th century. "Not to be a republican at 20 is
proof of want of heart; to be one at 30 is proof of want of head".
11. "The ends justify the means".
Not Niccolo Machiavelli.
In "Heroides II", the Roman poet Ovid writes, "Exitus acta probat", which translates as "the
outcome justifies the means". The closest Machiavelli comes to this idea, according to the
Christian Science Monitor, occurs in "The Prince". He argues that people will always consider a
prince's means as honest and praise him.
Considering he dedicated the book to the Medici family, who later arrested and tortured him,
Machiavelli may have written the entire book satirically.
12. "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".
Not Albert Einstein.
Different versions of this quote appear everywhere (doing the same thing twice, expecting the
same result, etc.) and we owe none of them to Einstein.
After Michael Becker, an editor at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle (a local paper in Montana), let
the wrong version slide into an editorial, he did some research on his personal blog.
Becker traced the original back to Rita Mae Brown, the mystery novelist. In her 1983 book
"Sudden Death", she attributes the quote to a fictional "Jane Fulton", writing, "Unfortunately,
Susan didn't remember what Jane Fulton once said. "Insanity is doing the same thing over and
over again but expecting different results".
Now, go throw away half your coffee mugs and inspirational posters.
Note. Adapted from the article by Christina Sterbenz.
Tailpiece.
Got up on the dot and went for the morning walk. Felt good. Another quiet day. Put the house back in order after a fortnight's disorder in carrying out anti-termite and anti-woodborer applications and our two journeys. Phew!
Mithun and Ammu came in by teatime and lightened up the atmosphere. A late night, consequently! Earlier, had for the evening walk while they had gone to the Guruvayur temple.
1. "Let them eat cake".
Not Marie Antoinette.
Not only did Marie Antoinette not utter these words, if she had, everyone probably misunderstood
her. In Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "Book 6" of his 12-volume autobiographical work, "Confessions",
he writes, "At length I recollected the thoughtless saying of a great princess, who, on being
informed that the people had no bread, replied, "Then let them eat pastry".
Most people assume "great princess" refers to Marie Antoinette. But Rousseau wrote these words
in 1767 - when Marie Antoinette was 12 years old. She also didn't marry Louis XVI until 1770.
Even if Marie Antoinette did utter the phrase, the original version in French, "Qu'ils mangent de la
brioche", means "Let them eat brioche" - a type of crumbly French pastry (not unlike cake but not
totally the same) eaten by the upper class. The misinterpreted quote portrays Marie Antoinette as a
callous patrician, unconcerned with the plight of the poor. But she could have meant the wealthy
should stop monopolising food and share with the lower classes - if she said it.
Other sources credit Marie-Therese, Marie Antoinette's eldest child (and the wife of Louis XIV).
2. "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
Not Voltaire.
Voltaire didn't actually speak these words but the idea does fall in line with his ideology.
In her well known biography of the French philosopher, "Friends of Voltaire", Evelyn Beatrice
Hall writes, "I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it, was
was his attitude now.
The author was paraphrasing how she thought Voltaire felt about a certain topic. Everyone just
decided the quote was real.
3. "Standing on the shoulders of giants".
Not Sir Isaac Newton.
Perhaps the most well-known phrase attributed to Sir Isaac Newton, these words appeared in a
letter Newton wrote to Robert Hooke, another English philosopher and mathematician. But
Newton didn't coin the phrase himself. He was alluding to a simile said much earlier by Bernard
of Chartres, a 12th century man.
John of Salisbury wrote that Bernard of Chartres used to say the "we (the Moderns) are like
dwarves perched on the shoulders of giants (the Ancients) and thus we were able to see more and
farther than the latter".
4. "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful
beyond measure".
Not Nelson Mandela.
This fanciful excerpt from the former South African President's 1994 inaugural address has floated
around the Internet for years. The passage goes on :
It is our light, not our darkness that most frighten us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your
playing small does not serve the world....As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence
automatically liberates others.
But crediting Mandela for these words right after getting out of prison seems downright
ridiculous. Brian Morton puts it best in The New York Times :
"Picture it : Mr. Mandela, newly free after 27 years in prison, using his inaugural platform to
inform us that we have all the right to be gorgeous, talented and fabulous and that thinking so
will liberate others". Morton writes.
In reality, self-help guru Marianne Williamson wrote these words in her 1989 spiritual best seller,
"A Return to Love". The front page of her website even boasts about the excerpt.
5. "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter".
Not Mark Twain/Jack Benny/Muhammad Ali.
People throw this quote around all the time, accompanied by arbitrary attributions. With a little
help from Quote Investigator, the problem becomes clear : No one knows who said it. The first
reference found comes from an anonymous government researcher in 1968. "Aging is a matter of
mind. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter".
Since then, the quote morphed to include "mind over matter". Comedian Jack Benny said it on his
80th birthday. And in 1981, Muhammad Ali flipped the phrase at a journalist while preparing for
his last fight.
6. "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who
matter don't mind".
Not Dr. Seuss.
QI also debunked this famous misconception. We'd like to think Theodor Seuss Geisel, better
known as Dr. Seuss, would wholly support the concept but the reality feels a little more
depressing : No evidence of the phrase exists in any of his books and a snarky engineer coined
the original.
The quote first appeared in 1938 in a London journal for municipal and county engineers. An
ambiguous "Mr. Davies" directed the words toward people who criticised his housing designs.
The phrase morphed into advice about seating arrangements and a poem used in The Wall Street
Journal. Dr. Seuss didn't come into play until the 2000s, mostly in high school yearbooks.
7. "Well-behaved women rarely make history".
Not Marilyn Monroe.
In 2007, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, a celebrated female historian, wrote a book titled, "Well-
Behaved Women Rarely Make History". Some suspect she swiped the title of her best-seller from
the 1950s' favourite buxom blonde : Marilyn Monroe.
But they're wrong. Ulrich first wrote the phrase in 1976 for an issue of "American Quarterly",
according to The New York Times. The original version refers to the colonial woman in a very
literal way. We know almost nothing about well-behaved quiet women from that time period.
8. "There's a sucker born every minute".
Not PT Barnum.
One of Barnum's biggest competitors and critics actually said this, according to "PT Barnum :
The Legend And The Man", a biography by AH Saxon.
In a 1948 article in the Bridgeport Post", the anonymous author asked Adam Forepaugh if he
could quote him on the "sucker" statement.
"Just say it's one of Barnum's slogans which I am borrowing for the occasion. It sounds more like
him than it does me anyway", Forepaugh replied.
Barnum did, however, say, "The people like to be humbugged", which somehow doesn't seem as
rude.
9. "If you have to ask how much they are, you can't afford one".
Not JP Morgan.
No evidence exists that Morgan actually spoke these words, typically referenced as his response
to an inquiry about the price of his lavish yachts. Biographer Jean Strouse doesn't think the quote
fits Morgan's language style either, according to the Quote Verifier.
Strouse did, however, stumble upon a recording of Morgan's response to Henry Clay Pierce's
question about his yacht's price. "You have no tight to own a yacht if you ask that question", he
said. Different words. Still uppity.
10. "If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by
the time you're 35, you've no brain".
Not Winston Churchill.
Churchill never said this, according to the Churchill Centre and Museum in London. In fact, Paul
Addison of Edinburgh University mentions this : "Surely Churchill can't have used the words
attributed to him. He'd been a Conservative at 15 and a Liberal at 35! And would he have talked
so disrespectfully of Clemmie, who is generally thought to have been a lifelong Liberal?"
Instead, Francois Guizot coined the phrase in the 19th century. "Not to be a republican at 20 is
proof of want of heart; to be one at 30 is proof of want of head".
11. "The ends justify the means".
Not Niccolo Machiavelli.
In "Heroides II", the Roman poet Ovid writes, "Exitus acta probat", which translates as "the
outcome justifies the means". The closest Machiavelli comes to this idea, according to the
Christian Science Monitor, occurs in "The Prince". He argues that people will always consider a
prince's means as honest and praise him.
Considering he dedicated the book to the Medici family, who later arrested and tortured him,
Machiavelli may have written the entire book satirically.
12. "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".
Not Albert Einstein.
Different versions of this quote appear everywhere (doing the same thing twice, expecting the
same result, etc.) and we owe none of them to Einstein.
After Michael Becker, an editor at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle (a local paper in Montana), let
the wrong version slide into an editorial, he did some research on his personal blog.
Becker traced the original back to Rita Mae Brown, the mystery novelist. In her 1983 book
"Sudden Death", she attributes the quote to a fictional "Jane Fulton", writing, "Unfortunately,
Susan didn't remember what Jane Fulton once said. "Insanity is doing the same thing over and
over again but expecting different results".
Now, go throw away half your coffee mugs and inspirational posters.
Note. Adapted from the article by Christina Sterbenz.
Tailpiece.
Got up on the dot and went for the morning walk. Felt good. Another quiet day. Put the house back in order after a fortnight's disorder in carrying out anti-termite and anti-woodborer applications and our two journeys. Phew!
Mithun and Ammu came in by teatime and lightened up the atmosphere. A late night, consequently! Earlier, had for the evening walk while they had gone to the Guruvayur temple.
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