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FACT BRIEF

Did Mark Twain originate the quote that politicians and diapers 'must be changed often and for the same reason'?

By Sarah Thompson
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NO

Memes bearing the image of Mark Twain paired with this quote began appearing on social media in 2011.

But there is no record that Twain wrote or said the now-famous quote. Many versions have been recorded in print by various authors in the past century. More recently, the quote was described as "an old phrase, basically anonymous" in a line in a 2006 movie, "Man of the Year," starring Robin Williams.

The Center for Mark Twain Studies said in 2018: "While he might have appreciated the sentiment, it is pretty easy to determine that this is not something Twain actually said" because the quote fails to appear in his published works or other writings.

Another article from 2018 looks at versions from the 1930s and 1940s. First customs and then women were the subject instead of politicians, and then socks or motor oil.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Center for Mark Twain Studies The Apocryphal Twain: “Politicians are like diapers.”
Quote Investigator Politicians Are Like Diapers. They Should Be Changed Regularly
Khaled Anter ‘Man of the Year’ movie clip: politicians are like diapers
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.