Quotable Quotes: The False and the True Quiz

Answer: False

This one has gone down in the history/mythology of the Beatles.
There is even at least on question here on FunTrvia that maintains it is true! I'm afraid not.
It has been tracked down to a joke cracked by the comedian Japer Carrott in a concert many years after the Beatles folded.

Answer: True

The context was a press conference in Orlando, Florida, in 1973.
Here is what he said: "And I want to say this to the television audience. I made my mistakes. But in all of my years of public life, I have never profited - never profited - from public service. I've earned every cent. And in all of my years of public life, I have never obstructed justice....I welcome this kind of examination because people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got".
The scandal was the bugging of the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. Nixon denied any knowledge or involvement, but in the end had to resign. He was the first US President ever to do so.

Answer: False

The attribution was made in the book "The Donkeys" (1961) by Alan Clark. He later admitted that he had invented the conversation. There is, though, some evidence to indicate that words to that effect were uttered during the Crimean War.

Answer: False

Reportedly Marley said it in the mid 2000s; which is a good trick as he died in 1981.
It is thought to have first been said by country singer Roger Miller.

Answer: True

More famous for his "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee". quote, Ali also said "I hated every minute of training, but I said, "Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion" and "I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent I was given. I believed in myself, and I believe in the goodness of others".

Answer: False

Strange to think this myth was perpetuated for decades afterwards. It was invented by a biographer, Rev. Mason Locke Weems, after Washington's death in 1799. It was meant to highlight Washington's honesty.

Answer: False

What Churchill actually said was: "Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war". Source: official biographer, Sir Martin Gilbert.
Some other things Churchill did not say but were attributed to him include: "You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give" and "With integrity, nothing else counts. Without integrity, nothing else counts".

Answer: True

Trump was the billionaire businessman who took on the political establishment of the Republican Party and defeated the best minds it had to offer to become the party's contender.
He then took on the Democratic Party contender Hillary Clinton and secured the necessary Electoral College votes to become President.
Many people were aghast at some of the things Trump said but challenged in an interview after the election if he had perhaps been a little over the top, Trump replied: "No. I won."

Answer: True

In August 1984, Reagan was preparing to make his weekly radio broadcast to the nation and was asked to do a sound check.
What he said next was a joke, but the microphone was live to the White House press room and it was soon broadcast around the world.

Answer: False

Oops, no. The quote seems to come from a 1918 speech by an American labor organizer called Nicholas Klein: "First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you."
Indeed, a lot of the quotes that we hear attributed to Gandhi are a little suspect.
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if you were to live forever" is attributed to Gandhi, but dates back to 1867.
"An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind", is another 'Gandhi quote', but no evidence of him saying it has been uncovered. It was, though, used by a biographer writing about Gandhi.