Fact Check: tell me what you're not supposed to

Fact Check: "Tell me what you're not supposed to"

What We Know

The quote "Tell me what you're not supposed to" is often referenced in various contexts, but its origins remain obscure. It has been widely circulated on the internet, leading many to speculate about its source. According to an article from The Verge, the quote has been misattributed to numerous films and television shows, including The Big Lebowski and The Simpsons, but none of these claims have been substantiated.

The article highlights that a similar phrase has appeared in different forms since at least 2003, with various forums and message boards discussing its origins. The most credible sources for this quote appear to be a 1960s television series called Burke’s Law and a 1987 play titled Apocalyptic Butterflies. In Burke’s Law, a character states, “What does it do? Well, nothing — nothing. I mean, that’s the beauty of it,” which closely resembles the essence of the quote in question. Meanwhile, Apocalyptic Butterflies features a more direct version: “What does it DO? Doesn’t do anything, that’s the beauty of it” (The Verge).

However, neither of these sources has achieved widespread recognition, raising questions about how the quote became popularized. The author of Apocalyptic Butterflies, Wendy MacLeod, speculated that the phrase might have entered popular culture through her peers in the film and television industry, but there is no concrete evidence to support this theory.

Analysis

The investigation into the origins of the quote reveals a complex web of misattributions and cultural memory. The reliability of the sources discussing the quote varies. The Verge article is well-researched and provides a thorough examination of the potential origins, citing credible references to both Burke’s Law and Apocalyptic Butterflies (source-1). However, the lack of mainstream popularity for these works suggests that they are unlikely to be the definitive source of the quote.

The claims made by forum users and other sources are often anecdotal and lack verifiable evidence. For instance, while some users assert that the quote was popularized by the 2005 film adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a thorough review of the film shows no direct correlation (The Verge). This aligns with the phenomenon known as the Mandela Effect, where collective misremembering leads to widespread but inaccurate beliefs about cultural references.

In contrast, the quote attributed to Diana Vreeland, “You're not supposed to give people what they want, you're supposed to give them what they don't know that they want yet,” is well-documented and widely recognized (source-2). However, it does not directly relate to the quote in question, indicating that while there are similar sentiments expressed in various quotes, they are not the same.

Conclusion

The claim regarding the quote "Tell me what you're not supposed to" remains Unverified. While there are plausible sources that echo the sentiment of the quote, such as Burke’s Law and Apocalyptic Butterflies, there is no definitive evidence to confirm its exact origin or widespread recognition prior to its appearance on the internet. The ambiguity surrounding its source, combined with the lack of reliable attribution, leads to the conclusion that this quote is part of a larger cultural mystery rather than a verifiable statement.

Sources

1. Everybody knows this quote, but nobody knows where it’s from
2. Diana Vreeland quote: You're not supposed to give people ...
3. The Origins of a Warning from Voltaire
4. X-Men Origins: Wolverine Quotes
5. Misquotations
6. Wesley Didn't Say It: Do all the good you can, by ...
7. QuoDB | The movie quotes database
8. 10 Quotes Wrongly Attributed to Sigmund Freud