--Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

--Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

--The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

--Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.

--Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

The device is inherently of no value to us."

--Western Union internal memo, 1876.

Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"

--David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible."

--A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service.

(Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

--H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.

--Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind."

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.

--Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

--Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.

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.

Or we' ll give it to you.

We just want to do it.

Pay our salary, we'll come work for you.'

And they said, 'No.'

So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, 'Hey, we don't need you.

You haven't got through college yet.'"

--Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and H-P interested in his and Steve Wozniak's personal computer.

He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools."

--1921 New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard's revolutionary rocket work.

It can't be done.

It's just a fact of life.

You just have to accept inconsistent muscle development as an unalterable condition of weight training."

--Response to Arthur Jones, who solved the "unsolvable" problem by inventing Nautilus.

You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil?

You're crazy."

--Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859.

--Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.

--Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.

--Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.

--Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

--Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon- Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873.

-- Bill Gates, 1981

....a small device worn on the opposite wrist of your watch

......to control *everything* you now have the on/off switch to activate....."

--Harry The Cat, 1996