A line shared everywhere as Napoleon’s, usually over a painting of him on St Helena.
A library of life hacks · sourced
Filtering out the noise. What works, what doesn’t.
We research history, philosophy, money, mindset and tools, and share what we found, with the source for every claim. What holds up, what doesn't, and how to use it.
Where do you want to start?
All articles → Explore the library
196 articles in 8 sections. Each one starts with the short answer and ends with something you can try.
Claim. Source. Verdict. Use.
We read the sources, share what we found, and turn the useful part into something you can try today.
How we check →
Case file 01 · how a line gets checked 01 · Claim 02 · Source 03 · Verdict 04 · Use
“There is nothing we can do.”
15 Aug 2023. Posted as a TikTok photo slideshow with two cartoon figures.
1.2 million plays. Roughly that many for the first slideshow, in a month.
✕Doesn't hold up as Napoleon’s words
We found no letter, speech or memoir of his with the line.
Before you share a line, look for where it was first printed. If nobody can find it, share the idea in your own words.
Read the full case → Guess first, then find out
Who really said it?
Famous lines and where they first turn up. One clue each. The answers, and the sources behind them, are on the page.
- Credited to Einstein. Was it?
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
- Credited to Einstein. Was it?
Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree…
ClueThe earliest close match found is in a 2004 self-help book. The idea goes back to a school story about animals, printed in 1899.
Find out who → - Credited to Eleanor Roosevelt. Was it?
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Heard this before?
Make your call, then see what we found.
One popular claim at a time, from the library. There's no score. It's just more fun to guess first.
7 / 14
World life expectancy is about 70 years
✓Holds up
Still roughly right, and a little higher now.
From: Factfulness Summary: The Key Ideas, What Holds Up, and How to Use Them
196articles, each with its sources listed
828popular claims and famous lines looked into
8sections, from history to tools
28lines in the daily Stoic quote set, checked word for word
Georges de La Tour, The Penitent Magdalen, c. 1640 · The Met, CC0 Quote of the day
“The mind converts and changes every hindrance to its activity into an aid; and so that which is a hindrance is made a furtherance to an act …”
Marcus Aurelius · 5.20 · checked word for word
28 checked linesAll lines →
That's what we found. The rest is your call.
New findings and research, dropped in a weekly update.
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