# Post you favorite Kurt Vonnegut quotes here. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 12, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-you-favorite-kurt-vonnegut-quotes-here/399873 "2007-04-12T22:45:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-you-favorite-kurt-vonnegut-quotes-here/399873/21 "2007-04-13T03:12:50Z")
In _Breakfast of Champions_ after having described a rattlesnake as having been endowed by the Creator Of The Universe with two hypodermic needles for injecting poison into its victims, “Sometimes I wonder about The Creator Of The Universe.” ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-you-favorite-kurt-vonnegut-quotes-here/399873/22 "2007-04-13T07:22:52Z")
I’m not near my books but I can’t wait to quote exactly… One is from “Breakfast…” and I can’t remember it exactly but it goes: “… and their assholes looked like this:” and then Vonnegut draws a crude asterisk star to represent their assholes. I almost died laughing… And from “Player Piano” when the bosses are sitting around drinking and laughing amongst one another but secretly they are embarrassed and ashamed by the fallacy of it all and thus cannot look each other in the eye… Gold. I guess that’s not a quote, that last one. Oh well… Goodnight, my friend. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-you-favorite-kurt-vonnegut-quotes-here/399873/23 "2007-04-13T11:40:59Z")
> [@](#): > > _I myself find that I trust my own writing most, and others seem to trust it most, too, when I sound most like a person from Indianapolis, which is what I am. What alternatives do I have?_ From “[How to write with style](http://public.lanl.gov/kmh/pc-24-66-vonnegut.pdf).” I keep a copy of this in my wallet and on the wall of my cube at work as a constant reminder that I am what I am, and so what? I also say “Welcome to the monkey house” quite a lot, but I have yet to meet anyone in person who actually knows what I’m referring to when I say that. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-you-favorite-kurt-vonnegut-quotes-here/399873/24 "2007-04-13T13:25:11Z")
From _Cat’s Cradle_, and summing up Mankind’s built-in Sisyphean curse: > [@](#): > > “Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, man gotta sit and wonder why? why? why?” ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-you-favorite-kurt-vonnegut-quotes-here/399873/25 "2007-04-13T14:44:38Z")
[QUOTE=Shamozzle] One is from “Breakfast…” and I can’t remember it exactly but it goes: “… and their assholes looked like this:” and then Vonnegut draws a crude asterisk star to represent their assholes. I almost died laughing… [/QUOTE] Isn’t that the same book where he draws what a beaver shot looks like and explains what it is? Like he was educating children or something. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-you-favorite-kurt-vonnegut-quotes-here/399873/26 "2007-04-13T14:58:57Z")
[QUOTE=K364] From _Cat’s Cradle_, and summing up Mankind’s built-in Sisyphean curse: “Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, man gotta sit and wonder why? why? why?” [/QUOTE] Don’t forget the next line! “Fish got to rest, Bird got to land, Man got to tell himself he understand!” ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-you-favorite-kurt-vonnegut-quotes-here/399873/27 "2007-04-13T17:54:57Z")
Another \*Slaughterhouse Five \* quote: > [@](#): > > Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-you-favorite-kurt-vonnegut-quotes-here/399873/28 "2007-04-13T18:19:45Z")
[QUOTE=rockle] From “[How to write with style](http://public.lanl.gov/kmh/pc-24-66-vonnegut.pdf).” I keep a copy of this in my wallet and on the wall of my cube at work as a constant reminder that I am what I am, and so what? I also say “Welcome to the monkey house” quite a lot, but I have yet to meet anyone in person who actually knows what I’m referring to when I say that. [/QUOTE] **rockle** thanks a bunch for that link. I got to thinking about that ad campaign after I had heard that Vonnegut died and wished I could remember who’s ad campaign it was so I could try to find a link. You just saved me a lot of searching! ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-you-favorite-kurt-vonnegut-quotes-here/399873/29 "2007-04-13T18:34:13Z")
[QUOTE=PoorYorick] Isn’t that the same book where he draws what a beaver shot looks like and explains what it is? Like he was educating children or something. [/QUOTE] There was never much doubt in my mind that he was educating children. But yeah, there are several mariginal sketches in that book. It’s so great! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-you-favorite-kurt-vonnegut-quotes-here/399873.md?page=1)