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Did They Say It?

There are many quotes that have been misattributed to famous figures. Given a quote and a figure who allegedly said it, can you guess whether they really said it or whether it's a likely misattribution?
In a few cases, these quotes may be slightly paraphrased
It's difficult to completely prove they didn't say these things private. However, if there is no explicit evidence that they said it, it is likely they didn't say it.
Quiz by JWatson24
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Last updated: March 2, 2022
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First submittedMarch 2, 2022
Times taken40
Average score60.0%
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1. "Let them eat cake!" ~Marie Antoinette
Yes, she said it
No, she didn't say it
It is possible that the phrase came from Maria Theresa, a Spanish princess who married into the French nobility 100 years before Marie Antoinette did. Also, despite her opulent lifestyle, Antoinette was quite charitable, and such a statement would have been strange from her.
2. "I invented the internet." ~Al Gore
Yes, he said it
No, he didn't say it
Gore said, "I took the initiative in creating the Internet," but he never meant to point to himself as its founder. Rather, he meant that, as Vice President, he created a nurturing environment for the growth of the internet.
3. "Workers of the world, unite!" ~Karl Marx
Yes, he said it
No, he didn't say it
This is the best English translation for the German phrase, "Proletarier aller Länder vereinigt Euch!" in The Communist Manifesto
4. "You can get more with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word." ~Al Capone
Yes, he said it
No, he didn't say it
The word was used mostly in comedy routines starting in the '50s. It was only attributed to Capone in 1969, but most likely as a joke.
5. "I can see Russia from my house!" ~Sarah Palin
Yes, she said it
No, she didn't say it
This was said by Tina Fey pretending to be Sarah Palin on SNL.
6. "Nothing is certain, except death and taxes." ~Benjamin Franklin
Yes, he said it
No, he didn't say it
Full quote, written in a letter to French physicist Jean-Baptiste Le Roy: "Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
7. "They misunderestimated me." ~George W. Bush
Yes, he said it
No, he didn't say it
Bush said this during a campaign speech in the 2000 election. He later used the same word in a speech to the CIA after 9/11.
8. "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." ~Mohandas Gandhi
Yes, he said it
No, he didn't say it
It was used by Louis Fischer, a biography of Gandhi, to describe his philosophy.
9. "This was their finest hour." ~Winston Churchill
Yes, he said it
No, he didn't say it
He said this in a speech to the House of Commons in 1940.
10. "It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness." ~Eleanor Roosevelt
Yes, she said it
No, she didn't say it
This may be a Chinese proverb, and it was used by Adlai Stevenson to describe Eleanor Roosevelt after her death.
11. "Speak softly, and carry a big stick." ~Theodore Roosevelt
Yes, he said it
No, he didn't say it
He first said this in 1900, claiming it was a West African proverb. However, these is no evidence of this; it is possible it was made up by Roosevelt himself.
12. "A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic." ~Joseph Stalin
Yes, he said it
No, he didn't say it
It was attributed to Stalin in 1947, but there is absolutely no evidence he said it.
13. "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." ~Abraham Lincoln
Yes, he said it
No, he didn't say it
This may come from Proverbs 17:28 ("Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue"). It didn't appear in modern writing until 1931, long after Lincoln's death.
14. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" ~Ronald Reagan
Yes, he said it
No, he didn't say it
Said in 1987 in front of the Berlin Wall.
15. "I am not a crook." ~Richard Nixon
Yes, he said it
No, he didn't say it
Said in 1973 to Associated Press editors.
+2
Level 65
Mar 2, 2022
11/15, I mostly guessed that the super well known ones are fake and the slightly less known ones are real lol
+1
Level 71
Mar 2, 2022
Some of them are definitely trickier than others :) Overall, that's a pretty good strategy though.
+2
Level 84
Mar 3, 2022
Interesting quiz. Appreciate the explanations.
+1
Level 71
Mar 3, 2022
Thanks! The Quote Investigator website is pretty cool. And honestly, some of the quotes I put on here I didn't even realize were fake until I made this quiz!
+2
Level 73
Mar 5, 2022
I got 11, more than I had expected. The first one really surprised me! Explanations were very much required here, so thanks for adding that beforehand! :)
+1
Level 71
Mar 6, 2022
Yep, you're welcome. Thanks for taking it! :)