Statistics

Once when President Franklin D. Roosevelt was preparing a speech, he needed some economic statistics to back up a point he was trying to make. His advisers said it would take six months to get accurate figures.

“In that case, I’ll just use these rough estimates,” FDR said, and he wrote down some numbers in his text. “They’re reasonable figures and they support my point. “Besides,” he added as an afterthought, “it will keep my critics busy for at least six months just to prove me wrong.”

Bits & Pieces, June 25, 1992