Episode 124 - Famous Sayings You Should Stop Listening To

[JulyDiaz 2797]

If you know that the early bird gets the worm, I'm sure you also know to stop and smell the roses, that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and variety is the spice of life. Or maybe not, because those are all completely contradictory and made up by who, exactly? Some sort of internal rhyme shaman or sarcastic centuries-old grandmother?

 

Where the hell did we get all these idioms from? A stitch in time saves nine? Turns out we've been saying that one wrong, there should be a comma in there. Don't put all your eggs in one basket? Well, I only have two hands, how many baskets should I be carrying?

 

These situational little quips make us feel better in very specific moments, but the amount of them that seem to be direct opposites lead us to believe maybe none of them are worthwhile. On this week's episode, Jack O'Brien is joined by Michael Swaim to pour through the dozens of axioms that, when you think about them for a little bit, don't really give the best advice. Later they open up Poor Richard's Almanack, the 18th century source for many of these proverbs, and go through some of the sayings that didn't quite make it to the 21st century.

 

 

Footnotes:

 

Quotes from 'Poor Richard's Almanack': https://goo.gl/MUCZ4m

 

Source Amnesia: https://goo.gl/PNIf9W

 

Fake Kurt Vonnegut Speech: http://goo.gl/TgT9Xg

 

Richard Dawkins' 'The Selfish Gene': https://goo.gl/n8BTJA

 

Nicolo Machiavelli's 'The Prince': https://goo.gl/wKZV75

 

5 Famous Wise Sayings That Are Secretly Dumb: http://goo.gl/uVM6p2

 

5 Bits of 'Common Knowledge' Science Has Disproved: http://goo.gl/apg2r1

 

6 Famous Movie Wisemen Who Were Totally Full of Shit: http://goo.gl/mgBo

 

5 Staples of Wisdom That Need To Be Retired: http://goo.gl/TMBDbH

 

7 Quotes By Famous Geniuses (That Everyone Gets Wrong): http://goo.gl/imTECQ

[DavidHealy 94]

I'm pretty sure, these two idiots, got every saying's mean wrong.

[Cameron H. 23786]

I'm pretty sure, these two idiots, got every saying's mean wrong.

 

I'm not going to say they're "idiots" because I think both Jack and Michael are generally very bright, but there did seem to be a lot of willful ignorance for...comedy?

 

For example, I think it's a real stretch to take "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" as a call for action for people to hurl abuse on others? With very little effort, I think any rational person would agree that it's meant as a) a reminder that no one is without their faults, so we shouldn't be so quick to judge others for their faults, and b ) if there were such a person who is so virtuous that they were able to meet the stone throwing criteria, they probably would be too good of a person to throw it anyway.

 

And getting on Yogi Berra for his sayings "not meaning anything?" Um...that was kind of the point.