George Carlin

1937–2008 · American comedian, social critic and author

George Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, satirist and author whose routines took apart politics, religion and above all the English language. He really did print this sentence — it sits on page 74 of his 1997 bestseller Brain Droppings, a grab-bag of jokes, lists and stray observations — but he was not claiming it: when the same line turned up in Napalm & Silly Putty (2001) it carried the credit “Anon.” Carlin is one of the internet’s most-forged names, and he said so himself in his 2001 essay “Don’t Blame Me,” posted on his own site georgecarlin.com: “Nothing you see on the Internet is mine unless it came from one of my albums, books, HBO shows, or appeared on my website.” The essay came down when that site was revamped in 2012, but the wording is preserved on the unofficial GeorgeCarlin.net ↗.

Traced to source

6 quotes we’ve traced to George Carlin

Not actually George Carlin

Often misattributed to George Carlin

Famous lines widely pinned on George Carlin that we’ve traced to someone else.

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