Famous Quotations That No One Actually Said in the First Place

Blame it on a misunderstanding. Or mistranslation. Or wishful thinking. But there are tons of quotes you probably think famous people said. But they didn’t. It’s OK, though. Because you’re not alone. Everyone thinks they did. So who said what?

And have you ever mouthed off any of these popular quotes?

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi didn’t say this popular quotation. But he did say, “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.” So the more famous saying is basically a summary of what Ghandi actually said.

“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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The quote was used after Osama Bin Laden was taken down, and a lot of people gave Martin Luther King, Jr credit for originally saying it. But as it turns out, the quote came from the Facebook status of an English teacher.

But at least they didn’t put words in King’s mouth like they did with Gandhi. Now that was a major bust!

“The ends justify the means.” — Machiavelli.

This is a pretty popular quote, but Italian diplomat Niccolo Machiavelli never actually said this, although we’ve got to admit, it’s got quite a ring to it.

What he did say was: “One must consider the final result,” which doesn’t sound nearly as poetic as the fake quote. Damn.

“Bean me up, Scotty.” — Captain James T. Kirk, “Star Trek.”

As Captain Kirk, actor William Shatner never actually used this phrase! But any “Star Trek” fan will tell you that Kirk did call for an immediate beam out frequently, especially when he ran into trouble on some alien world.

The closest he came to saying that was, “Scotty, beam us up,” which sounds pretty similar. But this next quote will have you seeing double.