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 ...
“Excuse me while I kiss this guy” - not Jimi Hendrix
: “To minister to the needs of God’s creation is an act of worship. To ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made us.” —misattributed to the Bible by Nancy Pelosi
“I like big butts and I cannot lie.” - Not George Washington
“Make it so” - Captain Petard
“Pecker tracks all across her back. I can see you had your fun. ” - not Jimi Hendrix
I love America as founded - No Democrat, ever.
The first one makes me question without looking them all up, lol, but I am pretty sure the last two are Reagan.
And if they did not originate with him, he darn sure made them popular ;)
Tatt
Last year, I came across a great Winston Churchill quote that I hadn’t heard before. I researched the veracity of it and ended up at a website for the Churchill Center. I emailed and asked them about the quote. Within a few hours, Winston Churchill’s great grandson emailed me back to let me know the quote was inaccurate.
Bump
Next thing you’ll be telling me is that Fred Flintstone never said “Yaba Daba Doo!”.
“Big ‘ole jet had a light on” — Not Steve Miller Band
“You can quote me on that.” — Unknown
““Big ‘ole jet had a light on”
—
That’s considered a famous quote?
.
.
—Probably Alfred P. Sloan, CEO of General Motors
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.’”
—Ronald Reagan
I thought the business quote is mostly attributed to Calvin Coolidge?
Bit of a stretch, that one.
Perhaps when influenced by certain chemicals...
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