Talk:P. T. Barnum

Latest comment: 15 years ago by Brianmc

Somewhere, in the mists of time and the early days of the Internet, I came across the quotation, "The bigger the humbug, the better people will like it." Attributed to P.T. Barnum. --Brian McNeil / talk 00:07, 29 January 2009 (UTC)Reply

Unsourced edit

  • You can fool some of the people all of the time; you can fool all of the people some of the time, but you can never fool all of the people all of the time.

This has also been popularly attributed to Abraham Lincoln.

  • I don't care what they say about me, just make sure they spell my name right!

There's a large number of people to whom this is misattributed http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=215131

  • How are the ticket sales in Madison Square Garden?

Alleged final words

  • We have something for everybody.
  • Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Work at it, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well as now.
  • The bigger the humbug, the better people will like it.

The following quote is very popularly misattributed to P.T. Barnum:

  • There is a sucker born every minute.
  • "To the Egress" (a deceptive sign used to reduce crowding)

The following quote was not Barnum but a misquote of H. L. Mencken:

  • Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people

Unsourced 2 edit

  • There's a sucker born every minute or There's a client born every minute
  • we've got something for everyone
  • [his personal aims were] to put money in his own coffers.
  • A human soul is not to be trifled with. It may inhabit the body of a Chinaman, a Turk, an Arab or a Hotentot - it is still an immortal spirit!
  • The noblest art is that of making others happy.
Return to "P. T. Barnum" page.