It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

The jury is out on who actually said this. It is often attributed to either Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain but it is unlikely either of them coined the phrase. However, whoever said it was no fool. I am going to coin my own related phrase (write this down) It is better to say “I don’t know” and be thought ignorant than to bullshit your way through an answer and remove all doubt. And yet, this seems to be a very hard thing for many people to do.

Jimmy Kimmel’s occasionally has a feature on his late night talk show called Lie Witness News. In it a reporter goes out on Hollywood Boulevard and asked passing people about things that haven’t happened. I really should have picked just one, but I couldn’t.

In the first clip, people are asked their opinion about Obama’s decision to appoint Judge Judy to the Supreme Court:

The second clip is a little older. It was made before Pope Francis was elected and people were asked what they thought of the new pope:

In this one, people are asked what they thought of the Academy Awards Ceremony before it had occurred.

Props to the last woman in the last video who calls the interviewer on the fact that they hadn’t occurred yet.