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Friday, Jul. 23, 2021

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

Sarah Thompson, Lead Stories

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.

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