10 famous misquotes (and what was REALLY said)
<p>Last month, we tested you on your ability to detect <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/music/2018/03/famous-quotes-by-musicians-real-or-fake/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">real quotes by musicians from fake ones</span></strong></a>. But as it turns out, there’s a lot more false quotes out there than we ever imagined – in fact, even some of the most iconic statements ever uttered have been misattributed.</p>
<p>So let’s clear up some of the most common misquotes from pop culture and history.</p>
<p><strong>1. “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”</strong></p>
<p>This quote, attributed to Gandi, is powerful and succinct, but it’s not quite what the Indian activist said. According to the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion/falser-words-were-never-spoken.html" target="_blank"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span></strong></em></a>, he actually said the following: “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him ... We need not wait to see what others do.”</p>
<p><strong>2. “The ends justify the means.”</strong></p>
<p>Machiavelli’s most famous quote is quite different to the original line, which was actually “One must consider the final result.”</p>
<p><strong>3. “Do you feel lucky, punk?”</strong></p>
<p>It’s one of Clint Eastwood’s most iconic lines, but the real quote is worded slightly differently – “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do you, punk?”</p>
<p><strong>4. “Mirror, mirror on the wall…”</strong></p>
<p>Wrong! The evil queen in Snow White actually says, “Magic mirror on the wall”.</p>
<p><strong>5. “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”</strong></p>
<p>Again, this famous line from <em>The Wizard of Oz</em> has been repeated so often that several words are left out. It’s actually, “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”</p>
<p><strong>6. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”</strong></p>
<p>This misquote comes from English writer William Congreve’s 1697 play <em>The Mourning Bride</em>. The real quote is, “Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned/Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.”</p>
<p><strong>7. “If you can’t handle me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best.”</strong></p>
<p>It’s a favourite for women around the world, but there is no evidence suggesting these words were ever said by Marilyn Monroe. In fact, no one really knows where this quote came from.</p>
<p><strong>8. “Well-behaved women rarely make history.”</strong></p>
<p>Another oft-repeated quote supposedly by Marilyn (or Eleanor Roosevelt, depending on what you read), this quote was actually the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/books/review/harrison.html" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">brainchild of Laurel Thatcher Ulrich</span></strong></a>, a University of New Hampshire student who went on to become a Harvard professor.</p>
<p><strong>9. “Blood, sweat and tears.”</strong></p>
<p>This common phrase was adapted from a speech by Winston Churchill, although his version was a little less catchy: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”</p>
<p><strong>10. “Let them eat cake!”</strong></p>
<p>You probably know this by now, but Marie Antoinette never uttered this iconic statement. It actually came from French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who wrote, “I recalled the make-shift of a great princess who was told that the peasants had no bread and who replied: ‘Let them eat brioche.’” But he wasn’t talking about Marie Antoinette, who was born 10 years after the quote.</p>
