BillTowne t1_j9lbd6j wrote on February 22, 2023 at 8:22 PM

Hubert Humphrey was asked how long it would take him to prepare a 15 minute talk, and he said a week. Asked how long for a two hour talk, and he said, I am ready right now.

note: I don't recall the actual numbers.

jwgriffiths t1_j9knu6v wrote on February 22, 2023 at 5:59 PM

So, he never said that? Or was he not the first to say that? Different things.

AdmiralAkbar1 t1_j9ks2kk wrote on February 22, 2023 at 6:24 PM

It doesn't seem like he said it at all. Mark Twain, much like Oscar Wilde, Winston Churchill, and Albert Einstein, has the fascinating ability to become associated with any pithy quote ever said in the English language.

BillTowne t1_j9lbqyl wrote on February 22, 2023 at 8:24 PM

The quote "I've been rich and I've been poor. And, believe me, rich is better" has been ascribed to almost every well-known black woman blues or jazz singer from before the 60s.

electronp t1_j9ofd8e wrote on February 23, 2023 at 12:55 PM

Seneca

ninjas_in_my_pants t1_j9msiq8 wrote on February 23, 2023 at 2:20 AM

Mark Twain was actually three kids in a trench coat.

jeremyjava OP t1_j9kr5vd wrote on February 22, 2023 at 6:19 PM

One of the sources of the NPR piece says, Mark Twain who is often connected to this saying did not use it according to the best available research, but one of his tangentially related quotations is given later for your entertainment.

DividedState t1_j9lotoa wrote on February 22, 2023 at 9:44 PM

Don't believe everything on the internet. - Albert Einstein

jeremyjava OP t1_j9mdlek wrote on February 23, 2023 at 12:31 AM

Thank you for sharing that... I never knew it was an actual Einstein quote!
:)

DroolingIguana t1_j9mwxao wrote on February 23, 2023 at 2:52 AM

"You ever tried going mad without power? It's boring, no one listens to you." - Albert Einstein

Cyberpunkapostle t1_j9mlfcq wrote on February 23, 2023 at 1:27 AM

I thought that was Abraham Lincoln!

_PM_ME_YOUR_FORESKIN t1_j9nvteh wrote on February 23, 2023 at 8:51 AM

Why is there a giraffe in the photo tho?

Poor_old_Rich_Young t1_j9kvf9g wrote on February 22, 2023 at 6:45 PM

I always thought it was Goethe.

Additional-Top-8199 t1_j9mki77 wrote on February 23, 2023 at 1:21 AM

Abe Lincoln

DroolingIguana t1_j9mxhy0 wrote on February 23, 2023 at 2:57 AM

"I always thought it was Goethe." - Abe Lincoln

jxj24 t1_j9l4sgr wrote on February 22, 2023 at 7:42 PM

And I can find no evidence that movie mogul Louis B. Mayer originated the telegram meme "Fuck you. Strong letter to follow."

8hundredpounds t1_j9lyv9v wrote on February 22, 2023 at 10:48 PM

He also famously never said “the coldest winter I had was a summer in San Francisco” or similar

jeremyjava OP t1_j9me51u wrote on February 23, 2023 at 12:35 AM

But he did say, "I spent a month in Poughkeepsie one weekend."

ZerochildX23 t1_j9lnd1c wrote on February 22, 2023 at 9:35 PM

"One man alone is pretty dumb but for real bonified Stupidity, there ain't nothing that beats teamwork." - Mark Twain, probably.

electronp t1_j9ofbd7 wrote on February 23, 2023 at 12:54 PM

Cicero, actually.

Pristine_Walrus40 t1_j9ladbx wrote on February 22, 2023 at 8:16 PM

I like that quote.

zomboromcom t1_j9kzcdo wrote on February 22, 2023 at 7:08 PM

He's good, right? I sometimes let him do wide shots if I feel like getting Blaised back in my winnie.

TIL Mark Twain is often wrongly credited with the quote: "I would have written a shorter letter, but did not have the time." Earliest credit goes to French mathematician and philospher Blaise Pascal in “Lettres Provinciales,” 1657.

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