Famous Quotes

This page contains famous quotes from people that made bold statements about what was impossible. History is filled with instances where most of society thought something was impossible only to be proven wrong. Usually the people that do the impossible are persecuted and ridiculed. 

We have come to the conclusion that nothing is impossible. And when someone says that "that's impossible", what they are really saying is that they don't know how to do it. 

Read the bold prognostications and see if they don't illustrate our point!

Quotes

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”
Western Union, internal memo, 1876

“The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a ‘C’, the idea must be feasible.”
A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith’s paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. Smith went on to found FedEx.

“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?”
Harry Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927

“I’m just glad it will be Clark Gable falling on his face and not Gary Cooper”
Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in “Gone With the Wind”

“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on its way out.”
Decca Recording Company, rejecting The Beatles, 1962

“Heavier than air flying machines are impossible.”
Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society, 1895

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”
Ken Olson, President, Chairman and Founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977

“If I had thought about it, I wouldn’t have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can’t do this.”
Spencer Silver, on the work that led to the unique adhesives on 3–M Post–It notepads

“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?”
David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920’s

“Everything that can be invented has been invented.”
Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Patent Office, 1899

“So we went to Atari and said, “Hey we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, what do you think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we’ll come work for you.” And they said, “No”. So then we went to Hewlett Packard and they said, “Hey, we don’t need you; you haven’t even got through college yet.”
Apple Computer Co–Founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and HP interested in he and Steve Wozniak’s personal computer.

“Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs is ridiculous fiction.”
Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

“You want to have consistent an uniform muscle development across all of your muscles? It can’t be done. It’s just a fact of life. You have to accept inconsistent muscle development as an unalterable condition of weight training.”
Response to Arthur Jones, who solved the “unsolvable” problem by inventing Nautilus.

“Airplanes are interesting toys, but are of no military value.”
Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre

“Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try to find oil? You’re crazy.”
Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859

“640k ought to be enough for anybody.”
Bill Gates, Co–Founder and CEO of Microsoft, 1981