Douglas Adams? J. R. Williams? Bill Vaughan? Ron Burns? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: There is a family of comical sayings which highlight the paradoxical intelligence of fools and idiots:
(1) Nothing is foolproof. Fools are entirely too ingenious.
(2) They’re not idiot-proof because idiots are so damned inventive.
English humorist Douglas Adams employed this quip, but I do not know whether he coined it. Would you please explore the history of this joke?
Reply from Quote Investigator: 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)
Below are details for selected citations in chronological order.
In May 1934 the “Arizona Republic” of Phoenix, Arizona published a filler item containing a version of the joke without attribution. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
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.
In 1934 the “Arizona Republic” published a short piece under the title “The Inventors and the Fools” which contained an instance of the joke. No author was specified:2
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.
In 1942 syndicated Canadian cartoonist J. R. Williams published a one-panel comic in the series “Out Our Way” which depicted a group of men discussing a person who had drilled some holes in the wrong positions:3
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!
In 1946 “The Calgary Herald” in Alberta, Canada printed a column containing miscellaneous jokes including the following item:4
The trouble with so-called fool-proof devices is that they usually underestimate the number and ingenuity of fools.
In 1949 the “Stanly News and Press” in Albemarle, North Carolina printed a column titled “McFadyen’s Streamlines” which contained a concise instance of the quip:5
Nothing is fool-proof. Fools are entirely too ingenious.
In 1957 “The News and Observer” in Raleigh, North Carolina printed an instance using the word “underestimate”:6
They underestimate the fools who think there is any such thing as fool-proof inspection in atomic or any other fields.
In 1961 “The Brandon Sun” in Manitoba, Canada printed a column of miscellaneous jokes under the title “Sun Gleams” which included the following:7
All these fool-proof gadgets underestimate the fools.
In 1966 the syndicated column “Senator Soaper Says” by Bill Vaughan included an instance:8
Safety enthusiasts who envision a fool-proof automobile underestimate us fools.
In 1973 “The Clarion-Ledger” in Jackson, Mississippi printed an instance while acknowledging the Mississippi Education Association’s Newsletter:9
It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
In 1979 the “Evening Post” in Bristol, England printed a letter from Bernard Goodsall which contained a variant using “idiot proof” instead of “fool proof”:10
I believe it is impossible to make the ballot papers idiot proof because idiots are so incredibly ingenious.
In 1992 Douglas Adams published the novel “Mostly Harmless”, the fifth book in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Adams employed the quip:11
Only an absolute idiot would be sitting where he was, so he was winning already. A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof was to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
In 1993 the third edition of “The Harper Book of Quotations” appeared. The following instance and attribution were included:12
You can’t make anything idiot proof because idiots are so ingenious.
Ron Burns
In 1997 “The Daily News” of Jacksonville, North Carolina printed a piece about the messages on bumper stickers which included the following item:13
Nothing is fool-proof to a sufficiently talented fool
In 2002 the “Plainview Daily Herald” in Plainview, Texas published an article about Jerry Fortburger who operated a motorized hang glider. Fortburger spoke about the dangers of hang gliders:14
“In the early ’80s, they were dangerous,” he said. Now, designers use computerized, aeronautical design techniques and have years of experience on which to base their work.
“They’re not idiot-proof because idiots are so damned inventive,” he said.
In conclusion, this family of quips entered circulation by 1934. The creator remains anonymous. Canadian cartoonist J. R. Williams employed a version in 1942. U.S. columnist Bill Vaughan employed an instance in 1966. English humorist Douglas Adams employed an instance in 1992.
Image Notes: Public domain illustration of a jester’s hat.
Acknowledgements: Great thanks to Jonathan Lighter and Pete Morris whose discussion and inquiries led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Lighter referred to a bumper sticker instance. Pete pointed to citations in 1948 and 1955. Pete also noted the instance written by Douglas Adams.
- 1934 May 21, Arizona Republic, (Filler item), Section 2, Quote Page 6, Column 1. Phoenix, Arizona. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1934 July 12, Arizona Republic, The Inventors and the Fools, Section 2, Quote Page 8, Column 1, Phoenix, Arizona. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1942 November 4, The Lexington Advertiser-News, Comic Series: Out Our Way, Comic Title: The Brilliant Fool, Comic Creator: J. R. Williams, Quote Page 5, Column 7, Lexington, Missouri. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1946 April 1, The Calgary Herald, Prairie Wool, Quote Page 4, Column 4, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1949 January 11, Stanly News and Press, McFadyen’s: Streamlines, Quote Page 4, Column 4, Albemarle, North Carolina. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1957 July 7, The News and Observer, Good Morning, Section 3, Quote Page 4, Column 1, Raleigh, North Carolina. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1961 August 5, The Brandon Sun, Sun Gleams, Quote Page 4, Column 2, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1966 May 27, The Star-Ledger, Senator Soaper Says by Bill Vaughan, Quote Page 14, Column 4, Newark, New Jersey. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1973 March 2, The Clarion-Ledger, HEW-ITT To the Line: Let the Chips Fall Where They May by Purser Hewitt, Quote Page 20, Column 1, Jackson, Mississippi. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1979 April 21, Evening Post, Letter from Bernard Goodsall of Clevedon, Avon, Quote Page 7, Column 8, Bristol, Avon, England. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1992, Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams, Chapter 12, Quote Page 135, Harmony Books: A Division of Crown Publishers, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1993 Copyright, The Harper Book of Quotations, Edited by Robert I. Fitzhenry, Third edition, Section: Preface, Quote Page xiv, HarperPerennial: A Division of HarperCollins Publishers, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1997 June 29, The Daily News, Leaning Back: Wisdom for your car bumper Matt Matheson, Quote Page 4B, Column 2 and 3, Jacksonville, North Carolina. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 2002 August 25, Plainview Daily Herald, Section: Adventure Outdoors, Lubbockite enjoys taking to the air with his trike by Richard Porter (Herald Staff Writer), Quote Page 6, Column 5, Plainview, Texas. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎