--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To propel a dirigible balloon through the…" description: "\"To propel a dirigible balloon through the air is like pushing a candle through a brick wall.\" — Alberto Santos-Dumont" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b4/alberto-santos-dumont-60353_air_to-propel-a-dirigible-balloon-through-th_346348.jpg" --- # To propel a dirigible balloon through the air is like… ![“To propel a dirigible balloon through the air is like pushing a candle through a brick wall.” quote by Alberto Santos-Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b4/alberto-santos-dumont-60353_air_to-propel-a-dirigible-balloon-through-th_346348.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b4/alberto-santos-dumont-60353_air_to-propel-a-dirigible-balloon-through-th_346348.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b4/alberto-santos-dumont-60353_air_to-propel-a-dirigible-balloon-through-th_346348.jpg) > “To propel a dirigible balloon through the air is like pushing a candle through a brick wall.” [Alberto Santos-Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-santos-dumont/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting an impossible task yields futile results; some challenges cannot be overcome by force alone. **In simple terms:** Some things can’t be forced. Key Takeaway Recognize limits. Themes innovation effort limitations technology Mood cautious realistic Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - product development - policy advocacy - personal goals - team management Key Concepts engineering physics problem solving Questions to Reflect On - What methods could replace brute force in this scenario? - When is persistence counterproductive? A Different Perspective Not all obstacles are surmountable; sometimes alternative approaches are needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aviation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aviation/) [Balloon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balloon/) [Balloons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balloons/) [Brick wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brick-wall/) [Candle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candle/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [There is no basis for the ardent hopes and positive statements made as to the safe and successful use of the dirigible balloon or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-melville/there-is-no-basis-for-the-ardent-hopes-and-positive-statements-made/) George W. Melville > [The balloon seems to stand still in the air while the earth flies past underneath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-santos-dumont/the-balloon-seems-to-stand-still-in-the-air-while-the-earth-flies/) [Alberto Santos-Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-santos-dumont/) > [Five runs with two outs is tough to take. It sure took the air out of our balloon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-hargrove/five-runs-with-two-outs-is-tough-to-take-it-sure-took-the-air-out-of/) Mike Hargrove > [who knows if the moon's a balloon,coming out of a keen city in the sky--filled with pretty people? ( and if you and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-knows-if-the-moon-s-a-balloon-coming-out-of-a-keen-city-in-the-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nobody-can-be-uncheered-with-a-balloon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I cant begin to count how many times I have warned politicians and candidates to worry as much about the good coverage as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-estrich/i-cant-begin-to-count-how-many-times-i-have-warned-politicians-and/) [Susan Estrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-estrich/) > [The man who goes up in a balloon does not feel as if he were ascending; he only sees the earth sinking deeper below…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-man-who-goes-up-in-a-balloon-does-not-feel-as-if-he-were/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [When the air balloon was first discovered, some one flippantly asked Dr. Franklin what was the use of it. The doctor answered this question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/when-the-air-balloon-was-first-discovered-some-one-flippantly-asked/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [We're out of control on this loony balloon, barely missing the other planets and stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-davies/we-re-out-of-control-on-this-loony-balloon-barely-missing-the-other/) [Ray Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-davies/) > [Why is electricity so expensive these days? Why does it cost so much for something I can make with a balloon and my hair?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/why-is-electricity-so-expensive-these-days-why-does-it-cost-so-much/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [I once threw a water balloon on a girl because I caught her cheating on me. She was kissing my friend and I thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breckin-meyer/i-once-threw-a-water-balloon-on-a-girl-because-i-caught-her-cheating/) [Breckin Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/breckin-meyer/) > [Me being in my grandmother's yard in Brooklyn. I must have been about 3. I had this red balloon. I let go of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-kravitz/me-being-in-my-grandmother-s-yard-in-brooklyn-i-must-have-been-about/) [Lenny Kravitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-kravitz/) > [I want to ride in a cold air balloon. "This isn't going anywhere!"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-want-to-ride-in-a-cold-air-balloon-this-isn-t-going-anywhere/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Imagination is to love what gas is to the balloon-that which raises it from earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-elizabeth-landon/imagination-is-to-love-what-gas-is-to-the-balloon-that-which-raises/) [Letitia Elizabeth Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-elizabeth-landon/) > [There's something in a flying horse, There's something in a huge balloon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/there-s-something-in-a-flying-horse-there-s-something-in-a-huge/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) ## More by Alberto Santos-Dumont > [The balloon seems to stand still in the air while the earth flies past underneath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-santos-dumont/the-balloon-seems-to-stand-still-in-the-air-while-the-earth-flies/) [Alberto Santos-Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-santos-dumont/) > [Now my playmates never failed to wink and smile mockingly at me when one of them called 'Man flies!' for at the word I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-santos-dumont/now-my-playmates-never-failed-to-wink-and-smile-mockingly-at-me-when/) [Alberto Santos-Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-santos-dumont/) > [I never thought that my creation, would allow brothers to kill brothers. (after seeing his invention being used in war, The Airplane) Alberto Santos-Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-santos-dumont/i-never-thought-that-my-creation-would-allow-brothers-to-kill/) [Alberto Santos-Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-santos-dumont/) > [Villages and woods, meadows and chateaux, pass across the moving scene, out of which the whistling of locomotives throws sharp notes. These faint, piercing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-santos-dumont/villages-and-woods-meadows-and-chateaux-pass-across-the-moving-scene/) [Alberto Santos-Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-santos-dumont/) [Explore all 5 Alberto Santos-Dumont quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-santos-dumont/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [There was a little nook on Air Force Two that contained the vice presidential seal, and I would sort of wedge myself in there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/there-was-a-little-nook-on-air-force-two-that-contained-the-vice/) [Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“It is unnatural to fear something natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unnatural-to-fear-something-natural/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) Browse all 6,278 Air quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To propel a dirigible balloon through the air is like pushing a candle through a brick wall.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alberto Santos-Dumont" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-santos-dumont/to-propel-a-dirigible-balloon-through-the-air-is-like-pushing-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Air" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-santos-dumont/to-propel-a-dirigible-balloon-through-the-air-is-like-pushing-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b4/alberto-santos-dumont-60353_air_to-propel-a-dirigible-balloon-through-th_346348.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b4/alberto-santos-dumont-60353_air_to-propel-a-dirigible-balloon-through-th_346348.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b4/alberto-santos-dumont-60353_air_to-propel-a-dirigible-balloon-through-th_346348.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To propel a dirigible balloon through the air is like pushing a candle through a brick wall.” — Alberto Santos-Dumont", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alberto Santos-Dumont", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-santos-dumont/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To propel a dirigible balloon through...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-santos-dumont/to-propel-a-dirigible-balloon-through-the-air-is-like-pushing-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-santos-dumont/to-propel-a-dirigible-balloon-through-the-air-is-like-pushing-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```