Straight from today’s Quotle — here’s who really said it, and the story behind it. Play again

Who really said it

If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas

Not George Bernard Shaw — a 20th-century saying misattributed to him Charles F. Brannan (apple version); origin traces to an anonymous 1917 magazine advertisement Brannan: 1903–1992 · U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Disputed Rights unconfirmed

This line is one of the internet’s many feel-good quotations pinned on Shaw with no basis. According to Quote Investigator, there is no evidence Shaw ever wrote or said it. The idea first appears in a 1917 magazine advertisement (using dollars, not apples), and the apple wording was popularized by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Charles F. Brannan in the 1940s; the saying was only ascribed to Shaw by 1974.

Last verified 10 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Disputed credit — copy with the correction

“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas” Misattributed to George Bernard Shaw. No evidence he said or wrote it; the idea traces to a 1917 SYSTEM magazine advertisement and the apple wording was popularized by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Charles F. Brannan in the 1940s. —Quotle.info

The slide-ready mistake: crediting this to George Bernard Shaw. Use the credit shown above instead.

Can you use it?

We couldn’t verify where this wording comes from, so there’s no rights status to give. Safe to present as an unverified or anonymous line — just don’t assert a specific author or source.

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In context

Evoking the world of Charles F. Brannan — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Theme: "If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Minimalist

Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

Where this quote actually comes from

Popularly credited to
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) — unsupported
Earliest known form
“The Difference Between Dollars and Ideas,” SYSTEM magazine advertisement, 1917
Apple version
Popularized by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Charles F. Brannan, 1940s
First tied to Shaw
By 1974, in a library administrators’ conference speech

If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.

The oldest known ancestor, a 1917 SYSTEM magazine ad, used money rather than fruit: “You have a dollar. I have a dollar. We swap. Now you have my dollar … You have an idea. I have an idea. We swap. Now you have two ideas. And I have two ideas.”

Quote Investigator: origin of the ‘swap ideas’ saying

The paper trail

  • Quote Investigator found no evidence George Bernard Shaw made this remark, and traces the idea to a 1917 SYSTEM magazine advertisement titled “The Difference Between Dollars and Ideas.”
  • The apple variant was spoken and popularized by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Charles F. Brannan in the 1940s, per QI.
  • Check Your Fact confirms the quote appears nowhere in Shaw’s published works and rates the Shaw attribution false.

The exact apple/idea wording has no identifiable single-author published source: its idea derives from an anonymous 1917 magazine advertisement (using dollars) and the apple form was popularized by Charles F. Brannan in the 1940s. Because the specific wording cannot be tied to one datable, authored work, no copyright status can be responsibly asserted.

Fact-check

How it landed on Shaw

George Bernard Shaw is one of the internet’s biggest magnets for clever, feel-good lines he never wrote. This is one of them.

George Bernard Shaw No evidence

Quote Investigator located no compelling evidence Shaw said or wrote this, and Check Your Fact confirms it appears in none of his works. The attribution surfaced only by 1974, decades after Shaw’s death.

The concept comes from a 1917 SYSTEM magazine advertisement; the apple wording was popularized by Charles F. Brannan in the 1940s, per Quote Investigator — not Shaw.

Context

Why it stuck

The saying is a tidy parable about the non-rivalrous nature of ideas: physical goods are zero-sum, but knowledge multiplies when shared. That crisp economic insight, plus Shaw’s reputation for epigram, made the pairing irresistible — even though the wording traces to commercial and governmental speech, not a Shaw play or essay.

Trade an apple, you still have one; trade an idea, you now have two.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Knowledge Creativity

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Quote Investigator: ‘swap ideas’ originquoteinvestigator.com

The definitive tracing: 1917 SYSTEM ad, Brannan’s apple version, and the unsupported Shaw attribution.
Fact check: did Shaw say it?checkyourfact.com

Rates the Shaw attribution false; confirms the line is absent from Shaw’s works.
George Bernard Shawen.wikiquote.org

Wikiquote’s sourced and misattributed lists for Shaw.
Charles F. Brannanen.wikipedia.org

Biography of the U.S. Agriculture Secretary who popularized the apple version.
George Bernard Shawen.wikipedia.org

Background on the playwright the quote is wrongly pinned to.

The likely popularizer

So who said it?

Charles F. Brannan

1903–1992 · U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

Charles Franklin Brannan was a Colorado lawyer and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1948–1953) under President Truman. Quote Investigator credits him with popularizing — and possibly originating — the “apple” version of the swap-ideas saying in the 1940s. The underlying idea is older, appearing in a 1917 magazine advertisement using dollars rather than apples; the ad’s author is unknown.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Quote Investigator

Garson O’Toole (Quote Investigator), “You Have an Idea. I Have an Idea. We Swap. Now We Each Have Two Ideas,” quoteinvestigator.com, Dec. 13, 2011. Earliest documented form: “The Difference Between Dollars and Ideas,” SYSTEM magazine advertisement, Chicago Tribune, 1917.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas’?” Last verified 10 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/if-you-have-an-apple-and-i-have-an-apple-and-we-exchange

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