Posted on 02/13/2019 9:16:42 AM PST by SeekAndFind
We've all heard Albert Einstein's famous line: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." As it turns out, insanity might be crediting that quote to Einstein over and over again. He never said it.
Misattributions like this happen pretty often. One person quotes someone else without a shoutout, and all of a sudden, they become the original speaker. Or we just decide a quote sounds like something Mark Twain would say.
These 12 surprising 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 countrypeople had no bread, replied, "Then let them eat pastry!" according to Phrase Finder.
Most people assume "great princess" refers to Marie Antoinette. But Rousseau wrote those 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 upperclass. 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 monopolizing 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).
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Vince started a speech with “Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all of the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing....”
“I never forget a face, but in your case I’m willing to make an exception.” - Groucho Marx
“Water? An abominable substance, my boy. Fish f&^% in it.”
“Any man who hates dogs and children can’t be all bad.”
“Scram, kid, before I break both your legs.”
“On the whole, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.” (epitaph)
- not W.C. Fields
When quoting something that tradition says someone said it and (supposed) facts say they didn’t, I like to throw in
“Well he would have said it if he had thought of it at the time”...
(that should ‘cover’ it)
“Big ‘ole jet airliner” — Steve Miller Band
“The preacher locked the door, he knows I’m gonna stay.” — not The Mamas and the Papas
You got it!
Yep (Snicker, snicker)
maybe it’s meant as “coined” or “credit” for the phrase ?
Lombardi did say “winning isn’t every thing; it’s the only thing.” (though he claims to be was misquoted) and was given credit for the quote.
wiki has a nice summary of it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winning_isn%27t_everything;_it%27s_the_only_thing
I heard that quote in a John Wayne movie “Trouble Along The Way”, which came out in 1953.
If sounds goofy, you are safe guessing Yogi Berra.
The “Mission Accomplished” banner in 2003.
-—Not George W. Bush
(Actually, it was General Tommy Franks)
“The girl with colitis goes by...”
-—Not the Beatles.
I never heard it that way, but I was in seventh grade when it came out and hadn't heard of colitis.
Related: some children who have cystic fibrosis have called it "sixty-five roses."
-PJ
I thought that was quantum mechanics instead of insanity. Or maybe just a superposition of the probabilty functions of insanity and quantum mechanics.
A lot of people may have said that, but not Humphrey Bogart's character in the movie Casablanca .
He said, "Play it, Sam. You played it for her, you can play it for me".
That’s funny, right there.
The third one sounds like Yogi Berra.
I’ve heard that too.
“I didn’t do that.” not Bill Clinton... oh wait. Never mind.
“I did not have sex with that woman” — Yes Bill Clinton
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