[Ads-l] [QI] You can't make anything foolproof because fools are too ingenious

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Here are three more citations. The first two citations push the date back.

Date: May 21, 1934
Newspaper: Arizona Republic
Newspaper Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Article: (Filler item)
Section 2, Quote Page 6, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com
https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-republic-ingenuity/205792654/

[Begin excerpt]
A Harvard expert, answering in the affirmative the question, "Is it
possible to build a fool-proof highway?" tells us how. It is plain
that he has no idea of the ingenuity of the fools on Arizona highways.
[End excerpt]

Date: July 12, 1934
Newspaper: Arizona Republic
Newspaper Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Article: The Inventors And The Fools
Section 2, Quote Page 8, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com
https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-republic-fools/205793120/

[Begin excerpt]
Inventors make things which they think are fool-proof, but they do not
take into account the marvelous ingenuity of fools in discovering ways
to thwart inventors.
[End excerpt]

Date: April 1, 1946
Newspaper: The Calgary Herald
Newspaper Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Article: Prairie Wool
Quote Page 4, Column 4
Database: Newspapers.com
https://www.newspapers.com/article/calgary-herald-fools/205793580/

[Begin excerpt]
The trouble with so-called fool-proof devices is that they usually
underestimate the number and ingenuity of fools.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Fri, Sep 11, 2026 at 7:47 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Fun topic. Excellent citations, Pete. Here is a 1942 match that falls
> into the same family of jokes based on the word "foolproof". The match
> appeared in a one-panel comic strip. You can follow the link to see
> the comic.
>
> Date: November 4, 1942
> Newspaper: The Lexington Advertiser-News
> Newspaper Location: Lexington, Missouri
> Comic Series: Out Our Way
> Comic Title: The Brilliant Fool
> Comic Creator: J. R. Williams
> Quote Page 5, Column 7
> Database: Newspapers.com
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-lexington-advertiser-news-foolproof/205784805/
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> I'D LIKE TO LIVE TO SEE THINGS WHEN TH' WORLD IS ABSOLUTELY FOOLPROOF
>
> WELL, YOU NEVER WILL, BECAUSE AS TH' FOOL FOOLERS GET MORE BRILLANT
> TH' FOOLS GET MORE BRILLIANT TOO--SO IT MUST GO ON!
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson O'Toole
> QuoteInvestigator.com
>
> On Fri, Sep 11, 2026 at 6:27 PM Pete Morris <mr_peter_morris at outlook.com> wrote:
> >
> > "You can't make anything foolproof because fools are too ingenious"
> >
> > This old saying came up today in another forum.  I was wondering if the
> > sleuths of QI and ADS can trace the origin?
> >
> > Sometimes attributed to Douglas Adams. He wrote:
> >
> > "A common mistake that people make when trying to design something
> > completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete
> > fools."
> >
> > in the novel Mostly Harmless (1992), but he was far from the originator.
> >
> >
> > Often attributed to Groucho Marx, of course.  Pretty unlikely.
> >
> >
> > Here's a couple of  early cites. Can anyone find earlier?
> >
> > ============================
> > https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Safety_Maintenance/9TIp8wZOuMMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22fool-%20proof%20as%20long%20as%20fools%20are%20at%20large%22&dq=%22fool-%20proof%20as%20long%20as%20fools%20are%20at%20large%20%22&printsec=frontcover
> >
> > circa 1948
> >
> > No machine, no process, is fool- proof as long as fools are at large .
> > In fact the very term
> >   ' foolproof ' seems a challenge to the destructive ingenuity of that
> > type of individual who
> > knows a challenge when he sees one . "
> >
> > ===========================
> >
> > https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Water_Sewage_Works/5hZVAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=foolproof+fools+are+so+ingenious&dq=foolproof+fools+are+so+ingenious&printsec=frontcover
> >
> > circa 1955.
> >
> > Someone once asked an equipment manufacturer why they couldn't build
> > equipment rhat was foolproof.  The manufacturer replied , " It can't be
> > done ;
> > fools are too ingenious .
> >
> > ============================
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
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> > www.avg.com
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
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