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THE renowned UNCF SLOGAN:

“A mental is a terrible thing come waste.” declaring tagline used by the United black College Fund due to the fact that 1972 The slogan to be coined in 1971 by forest Long, one executive through the Young & Rubicam ad agency. The project using the slogan was introduced in earnest in 1972. It has helped raise much more than $2.2 billion and also helped an ext than 350,000 minority students graduate native college. end the decades, that has additionally sparked numerous serious and humorous variations. Some of my faves are displayed below.

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ROMER’S OFT-RECYCLED situation QUIP:

“A situation is a terrible thing come waste.” Paul Romer American economist Romer is attributed with coining this speak in a 2004 venture capital meeting in California. It to be picked by and recycled in various means by other economic and also political observers. The best-known political usage was through Rahm Emanuel, when he was Chief of employee for chairman Barack Obama. In a quickly widely-quoted interview at a Wall Street Journal CEO board of directors forum ~ above November 19, 2008, Emanuel said: “You never ever want a serious situation to go to waste. What I median by that is an chance to carry out things that you think you might not do before.” Rahm to be speaking around the 2008 financial institution crisis in particular, yet said the rule should also be used to other locations facing major problems, together as wellness care, energy, and also education.

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THE standard MEL BROOKS MOVIE QUIP:

The Sheriff the Rottingham (actor roger Rees) “Kill him!” Prince john (actor Richard Lewis): “You know, a mime is a disastrous thing to waste.”The Sheriff: “ Let him go.” In the movie Robin Hood: men in Tights (1993), command by Mel Brooks and co-written by him, Evan Chandler and also J. David Shapiro.

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THE classic SHIRLEY MACLAINE MOVIE QUIP:

Ouiser Boudreaux (actress Shirley MacLaine): “A dirty mind is a damaging thing come waste.” In the movie Steel Magnolias (1989)

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THE AVID COMPOSTER’S RULE:

“Compost...Because a Rind is a disastrous Thing to Waste!” location of a composting manual by Jean Bonhotal and Karen Rollo, published by the Cornell Waste monitoring Institute (1996)

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THE HAIRY top LIP RULE:

“A mustache Is A disastrous Thing to Shave” A humorous slogan provided by the American moustache Institute

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STERN’S DICKISH VARIATION:

“A cock is a disastrous thing to waste.” Howard Stern American radio and TV display host Stern offered this line because that a controversial fundraising initiative on instead of of John Bobbit (whose dick had been reduced off through his mam Lorena) as part of Stern’s New Year’s Rotten night Pageant in 1994. Stern was without doubt supportive of john at the time, though numerous observers currently view him together an abusive husband who pushed Lorena to she breaking point. (Portrait of Stern by the great Drew Friedman.)

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THE infamous QUAYLE BLOOPER:

“When you take it the UNCF design that, what a waste it is to shed one’s mind, or not to have a mental is being an extremely wasteful, exactly how true the is.” Dan Quayle Republican politician who served as Vice chairman of the United states under George shrub (1989-1993) Quayle became notorious for his malapropisms.

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He uttered this mangled version of the UNCF slogan in ~ a unified Negro university Fund event on might 9, 1989. The quickly ended up being one of the most-cited “Quaylisms” and, among other things, motivated the location of the innocuous “autobiography” that Quayle, What a Waste that Is to lose One’s Mind.

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