Mistakes

"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible."
(Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895)

"Everything that can be invented has been invented."
(Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899)

"The horse is here to stay, but the auto is only a novelty -- a fad."
(A president of the Michigan Savings Bank advising Horace Rackham (Henry Ford's lawyer) not in invest in the Ford Motor Company, 1903. Rackham ignored the advice, bought $5000 worth of stock and sold it several years later for $12.5 million.)

"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"
(Harry M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927)

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
(Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943)

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out."
(Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962)

"I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper."
Gary Cooper, on his decision to not take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind."

"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.

"A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make."
Response to Debbi Fields' idea of starting Mrs. Fields' Cookies.