Foolish Words: The Most Stupid Words Ever Spoken

The Story

What happens when someone sticks his foot in his mouth? Out come words like these!'Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life.'--Brooke Shields'Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do.'--Ronald Reagan'We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out.'--Decca recording company executive, turning down the Beatles, 1962Here they are: the dumbest lines, stupidest thoughts, and most confused logic ever put into words. They come from politicians, celebrities, and executives, military men and the IRS, and almost certainly the speakers wished they could take back what they said. Fortunately, for our enjoyment, they can't, and so they remain out there forever, providing hearty laughs and some amazed headshaking. Some show an appalling lack of judgment, others a profound lack of understanding, while yet more just reveal poor vocabulary skills and embarrassingly low intelligence. These are just some of the highlights:'Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.'--Marion Barry, Mayor of Washington, D.C. 'I've never had major knee surgery on any part of my body.'--Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward'Please provide the date of your death.'--from an IRS letter'The singer will have to go.'--Eric Easton (then a new manager of the Rolling Stones) assessing Mick Jagger's value to the group, 1963'The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history--this century's history--We all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century.'--Dan Quayle Each quote is hilarious.