1) Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943 "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." |
2) Irving Fisher, Professor, Yale University, 1929 "Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." |
3) H. M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927 "Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" |
"Remote shopping, while entirely feasible, will flop – because women like to get out of the house, like to handle merchandise, like to be able to change their minds." |
5) Lee DeForest, inventor. "While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially it is an impossibility." |
6) Business Week, August 2, 1968. "With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big slice of the U.S. market." |
7) Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962. "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." |
8) Boeing engineer, speaking on 247, a plane that seats 10"There will never be a bigger plane built." |
9) Engineer at IBM in 1968, commenting on the microchip. "But what...is it good for?" |
10) Unemployed labourers in 1859 looking for work."Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy." |