31 Myths You Still Believe About Some of the Most Famous Quotes Ever

Einstein defined a lot of things, but insanity wasn’t one of them
31 Myths You Still Believe About Some of the Most Famous Quotes Ever
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We don’t know how famous quotes get misquoted or attributed to the wrong person, but here we are. We’re guessing it was one long, historical game of telephone, where people passed on what they thought the person meant, or even tweaked the line to give it a little more oomph. 

We truly hate to be oomph thieves here, but we’re sticklers for the truth. So here are the real versions of some lines you use on the regular — and the real people who said them…

The Definition of Insanity...

CRACKED The the TAKE name thing of over nsanity and over is doing and expecting different results. ALDERT EINSTEIN This quote has been attributed to Einstein, Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, and others, but the most likely source is an Alcoholics Anonymous book which says, Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results.

That’s One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind

CRACKED KE That's step for one man, small one giant leap for mankind. - NEIL ARMSTRONG ARMSTRONG NASA This misquote is way better and all encompassing than the actual quote, That's one small step for a man...

Money is the Root of All Evil

CRACKED FAKE Money is the root of a evil. - TIMOTHY 6:10 This verse from the King James Bible is actually, The love of money is the root of all evil.

Hello, Clarice

CRACKED KE Hello, Clarice. -HANNIBAL LECTER We just read it in his voice, but the now-iconic greeting doesn't actually appear in The Silence of the Lambs. Не greets her with, Good morning.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

CRACKED WINSTON CHURCHILL and tears Churchill did say, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat, but that's not quite as catchy.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

CRACKED Mirror, wall... I THE QUEEN The Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs summons the face in the mirror by calling him magic mirror, not by saying mirror twice.

Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned

CRACKED like Hell a FAKE woman scorned. fury - WILLIAM SHAKESPARE This was actually written by William Congreve in the 1697 play The Mourning Bride. Не originally wrote, Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned. Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.

Luke, I Am Your Father

CRACKED Luke, I am FAKE father. your -DARTH VADER Maybe people misquoted it to give it context, but the line is actually, No, I am your father.

Mama Always Said...

My mama always said, 'Life was like a box of chocolates. Forrest Gump People don't realize that this is a sweetened version of a more negative quote in the original novel: GRACKED.COM Let me say this: Bein' a idiot is no box of chocolates. People laugh, lose patience, treat you shabby.

The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil Is for Good Men to Do Nothing

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. - EDMUND BURKE His actual words: When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle. So, Burke only pointed out that it's vital to work together against bad men- he said nothing more. CRACKED.COM

God Will Never Give You More Than You Can Handle

GOD WILL NEVER GiVE YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE. The text it misquotes is actually about temptation: if you're tempted beyond what you can bear, God will provide a way to resist. CRACKED.COM

When One Door Closes...

CRACKED.COM The expression When one door closes another door opens is incomplete. The part that's left out turns this inspirational saying into a criticism of pessimistic society: ...but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.

Winning Is Not the Most Important Thing, It’s the Only Thing

GRACKED.COM The quote WINNING IS NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, stops being so motivational when you know the ending: IT'S THE ONLY THING.

May the Force Be With You

May the Force be with you. Obi-Wan Kenobi It's actually first said by General Jan Dodonna before the mission to destroy the Death Star, and later popularized by Han Solo, of all people. CRACKED.COM

I Pity the Fool

I PITY THE FOOL B. .A. Baracus Sure, Mr. T said it all the time - but never in an episode of The A-Team. CRACKED.COM

What’s the Deal...

What's the deal with airline food?? Jerry Seinfeld Seinfeld never earnestly began a joke that way. The two times he said it - once on an SNL gameshow sketch, once in-character on Seinfeld - he was mocking the myriad hack comedians who lazily ripped him off. CRACKED.COM

Lucy! You Got Some ‘Splainin’ to Do!!!

Lucy! You got some 'splainin' to do!! Ricky Ricardo Ricky asked Lucy to 'splain plenty of things, but he never actually said this particular catchphrase. People weren't obsessively watching reruns at the time, SO no one caught it when a reporter printed the misquote. CRACKED.COM

What’s That, Girl? Timmy Fell Down the Well?

31 Myths You Still Believe About Some of the Most Famous Quotes Ever

Those Who Matter Don’t Mind, and Those Who Mind Don’t Matter

OW Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter. Dr. Seuss Sometimes attributed to Sir Mark Young, sometimes to Bernard Baruch. In both cases, it was more about rich people complaining about seating at fancy 1940's dinner parties, and less about seizing the day after you graduate high school. CRACKED.COM

I Vant to Suck Your Blood!

I vant to suck your blood! Dracula In the 1931 movie, Dracula just straight-up never says it! The closest he comes - and it's also unnecessarily creepy - is I never drink... wine. CRACKED.COM

Wear Sunscreen

Wear sunscreen. Kurt Vonnegut We all know the Vonnegut commencement speech that inspired the Baz Luhrman song, right? It was actually a 1997 column by Mary Schmich for The Chicago Tribune. CRACKED.COM

I Mourn the Loss of Thousands of Precious Lives...

DIDN'T HAPPEN I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one. - Martin Luther King, Jr. Jessica Dovey The quote has I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, addin been traced to cannot drive out darkness: only light can do th this random Yesterday at 2: 15pm Like Comment Christina S David T Amber O Facebook post, Reena S made after the beautifully said!!!j would Yesterday at 2: 19pm Unlike 1 person killing of bin Julia S I agree, but I am still glad

Nice Guys Finish Last

NOT QUITE Nice guys finish last. - Leo Durocher Не actually said the nice guys are all over there, in seventh place. That's an important distinction; his original intent - encouragement to toughen up, to change, to become better-is a far cry from the hopeless mantra of misogynist gremlins who wish they could be meaner to women. Also? Seventh place is technically second-to-last. Checkmate, sexism. CRACKED.COM

Our Deepest Fear Is Not That We Are Weak

NOPE Our deepest fear is not that we are weak. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. - Nelson Mandela This is actually a 1989 quote from Marianne Williamson. Yeah, that Marianne Williamson. CRACKED.COM

Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History

WRONG Well-behaved women rarely make history. - Marilyn Monroe Pulitzer prize-winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich wrote this about Puritan funeral services. Not exactly Tinder profile fodder. CRACKED.COM

If You Can’t Handle Me at My Worst, You Don’t Deserve Me at My Best

WRONG AGAIN If you can't handle me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best. - Marilyn Monroe No one knows who actually said this, but it wasn't Marilyn. The ironic thing is that she hated misattributed quotes: When I was a little girl I read signed stories in fan magazines and I believed every word of them. Then I tried to model my life after the lives of the stars I read about. If I'm going to have that kind of influence, I want to be sure it's because of something I've actually said or written. CRACKED.COM

The End Justify the Means

MISQUOTE The ends justify the means. -Machiavelli What he actually said was one must consider the final result, which is slightly less... Machiavellian. CRACKED.COM

First They Ignore You...

SORRY, NAH First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. then they attack you. Then you win. - Gandhi Wise words! Just... actually said by a union activist, to the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, in 1918. CRACKED COM

Houston, We Have A Problem

NEGATIVE HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM - Jack Swigert What he actually said was okay, Houston, we've had a problem here, which sounds a lot more like a guy calmly doing his job than a frantic ASA engineer suddenly SUNGER freaking out about the vacuum of space. CRACKED.COM

Let Them Eat Cake

NEVER HAPPENED Let them eat cake. - Marie Antoinette The flippant tone is accurate, but it was philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau who attributed the quote to a hypothetical great princess. CRACKED.COM

Et tu, Brute?

NOPE Et tu, Brute? - Julius Caesar Caesar is generally thought to have said kaì sú, téknon, which translates to even you, son? But some historians think it was something a bit more defiant; roughly, you're next! CRACKED.COM

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