1001 Dumbest Things Ever Said »

Steven D. Price, a consulting editor of The Lyons Press, is the author of more than twenty books, including 1001 Smartest Things Ever Said, The Quotable Horse Lover, The Ultimate Fishing Guide, and Old As the Hills: The Story of Bluegrass Music. A resident of New York City, he is a keen observer of human achievement and folly.

In celebration of mental lapses and pure idiocy, here is a collection of stupid utterances, unintentional and otherwise, from the worlds of politics, radio, television, newspapers, show business, sports, and literature - and everywhere else people can, and have, put their feet in their mouths.

"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life."
-Brooke Shields, during an interview to become a spokesperson for a federal anti-smoking campaign

"Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country."
-Mayor Marion Barry, Washington, D.C.

"Hawaii has always been a very pivotal role in the Pacific. It is in the Pacific. It is a part of the United States that is an island that is right here."
-former Vice President Dan Quayle

"Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein."
-Joe Theismann, former NFL football quarterback and sports analyst