``This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered
as a means of communication The device is inherently of no value to us''
Western Union internal memo, 1876
Vocabulary Help
shortcomings: deficiências
means of communication: meio de comunicação
device: dispositivo
``The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would
pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?''
David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for
investment in the radio in the 1920s
==Vocabulary Help==
wireless music box: rádio
``The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better
than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible''
A Yale University management professor in response to Fred
Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service (Smith
went on to found Federal Express Corp)
==Vocabulary Help==
well-formed: bem formulado
earn: ganhar, receber como nota
management professor: professor de gerenciamento
propose: propor
reliable: confiável
overnight: de um dia para o outro
delivery: entrega
``Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction
and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react.
He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools''
1921 New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard's revolutionary
rocket work
==Vocabulary Help==
vacuum: vácuo
lack: falta
knowledge: conhecimento
daily: diariamente
``I don't suoppose it's going to rain ...''
Joan of Ark
Vocabulary Help
Joan of Ark: Joana D'Arc
``If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done the experiment.
The literature was full of examples that said you can't do this''
Spencer Silver on the work that led to the unique adhesives for
3-M ``Post-It'' Notepads
Vocabulary Help
think (think, thought, thought): pensar
lead (lead, led, led): conduzir
``The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the
intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon''
Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed
Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873
Vocabulary Help
chest: peito
brain: cérebro
be shut from: fechado a
wise: sábio
surgeon: cirurgião
``Everything that can be invented has been invented.''
Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.
Vocabulary Help
Office of Patents: escritório de patentes
``Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction''.
Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872
Vocabulary Help
theory of germs: teoria dos germes
``Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?''
H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.
Vocabulary Help
hell: inferno
hear (hear, heard, heard): ouvir
talk: falar
``We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.''
Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
Vocabulary Help
sound: som
on the way out: saindo de moda
``Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.''
Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.
Vocabulary Help
heavier-than-air: mais pesado do que o ar
flying machines: máquinas voadoras
``Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.''
Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre
Vocabulary Help
airplanes: aviões
toys: brinquedos
``I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not
Gary Cooper, on his decision to not take the leading role in
``Gone With The Wind''
