[Ads-l] Quip Origin: It Is Impossible To Make Anything Foolproof Because Fools Are So Ingenious

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Way back in July 2012, Jonathan Lighter initiated a thread about the
following quip: "Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented
fool".

In September 2026, Pete Morris initiated a thread about "You can't
make anything foolproof because fools are too ingenious".

Now there is a Quote Investigator article about this family of quips.
Here is the link:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/09/17/foolproof-fool/

This joke is difficult to trace because it can be expressed in
numerous ways. Below is an overview with dates and attributions:

1934 May 21: Answering affirmative … "Is it possible to build a
fool-proof highway?" … he has no idea of the ingenuity of the fools
(Anonymous)

1934 Jul 12: Inventors make things … fool-proof, but they do not take
into account the marvelous ingenuity of fools (Anonymous)

1942 Nov 04: "Like to see things ... absolutely foolproof" "You never
will, because as th’ fool foolers get more brilliant th’ fools get
more brilliant too" (Canadian cartoonist J. R. Williams)

1946 Apr 01: The trouble with so-called fool-proof devices is that
they usually underestimate the number and ingenuity of fools
(Anonymous)

1949 Jan 11: Nothing is fool-proof. Fools are entirely too ingenious.
(McFadyen's Streamlines)

1957 July 07: They underestimate the fools who think there is any such
thing as fool-proof inspection (Anonymous)

1961 Aug 05: All these fool-proof gadgets underestimate the fools (Anonymous)

1966 May 27: Safety enthusiasts who envision a fool-proof automobile
underestimate us fools (Bill Vaughan)

1973 Mar 02: It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools
are so ingenious (Anonymous)

1979 Apr 21: It is impossible to make the ballot papers idiot proof
because idiots are so incredibly ingenious (Bernard Goodsall)

1992: Mistake … trying to design something completely foolproof …
underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools (Douglas Adams)

1993: You can't make anything idiot proof because idiots are so
ingenious (Attributed to Ron Burns)

1997 Jun 29: Nothing is fool-proof to a sufficiently talented fool
(Anonymous bumper sticker)

2002 Aug 25: They're not idiot-proof because idiots are so damned
inventive (Jerry Fortburger)

Feedback welcome
Garson O'Toole

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