--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What sphinx of cement and aluminium…" description: "\"“What sphinx of cement and aluminium bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination? - Howl ”\" — Allen Ginsberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/allen-ginsberg-1110_aluminium_what-sphinx-of-cement-and-aluminium-bash_266942.jpg" --- # What sphinx of cement and aluminium bashed open their… ![“What sphinx of cement and aluminium bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination? - Howl” quote by Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/allen-ginsberg-1110_aluminium_what-sphinx-of-cement-and-aluminium-bash_266942.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/allen-ginsberg-1110_aluminium_what-sphinx-of-cement-and-aluminium-bash_266942.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/allen-ginsberg-1110_aluminium_what-sphinx-of-cement-and-aluminium-bash_266942.jpg) > ““What sphinx of cement and aluminium bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination? - Howl ”” [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A critique of industrial society that crushes creativity and imagination. **In simple terms:** Modern life stifles imagination. Key Takeaway Resist conformity and nurture creative thought. Themes society creativity conformity Mood critical reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - urban life - education - artistic expression Key Concepts industrialization mental health Questions to Reflect On - What structures in your life foster imagination? - How can you protect creative space? A Different Perspective The metaphor may overgeneralize, ignoring positive aspects of technology. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aluminium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aluminium/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Sphinx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sphinx/) ## Related quotes > [Why do we send valuable items like aluminium and food waste to landfill when we can turn them into new cans and renewable energy?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-benn/why-do-we-send-valuable-items-like-aluminium-and-food-waste-to/) [Hilary Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-benn/) > [I have had sculptures cast in bronze, silver and aluminium. My drawings are all graphite or pigment ink and gouache on paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-piccinini/i-have-had-sculptures-cast-in-bronze-silver-and-aluminium-my-drawings/) [Patricia Piccinini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-piccinini/) > [If I want to walk out in the desert and heat up a can of beans on a fire, I still can. In those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/if-i-want-to-walk-out-in-the-desert-and-heat-up-a-can-of-beans-on-a/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [In many critical things, such as the very high purity of the aluminium we need in aerospace, we only have one producer. That's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-ross/in-many-critical-things-such-as-the-very-high-purity-of-the-aluminium/) [Wilbur Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-ross/) > [“People who achieve marvelously in critical challenges are commended than people who achieve same things on the silver platter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/people-who-achieve-marvelously-in-critical-challenges-are-commended/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Aluminium’s sixty-year reign as the world’s most precious substance was glorious, but soon an American chemist ruined everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/aluminium-s-sixty-year-reign-as-the-world-s-most-precious-substance/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [My mother won't admit it, but I've always been a disappointment to her. Deep down inside, she'll never forgive herself for giving birth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/my-mother-won-t-admit-it-but-i-ve-always-been-a-disappointment-to-her/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [There are three versions of the hook. There's one that's solid metal and it's really heavy. It's sharp. It's not super sharp but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-o-donoghue/there-are-three-versions-of-the-hook-there-s-one-that-s-solid-metal/) [Colin O'Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-o-donoghue/) > [Some months ago we discovered that certain light elements emit positrons under the action of alpha particles. Our latest experiments have shown a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fr-d-ric-joliot-curie/some-months-ago-we-discovered-that-certain-light-elements-emit/) Frederic Joliot-Curie > [What do you call that nice, shiny white metal they use to make sidings and airplanes out of? Aluminum, right? Aluminum, pronounced 'uh-LOO-mih-num', right?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/what-do-you-call-that-nice-shiny-white-metal-they-use-to-make-sidings/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [You are afraid of me, because I talk like a sphinx.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/you-are-afraid-of-me-because-i-talk-like-a-sphinx/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Sometimes I think I am going mad. I live for days in the mystery and tears of things so that the commonest object, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-n-p-barbellion/sometimes-i-think-i-am-going-mad-i-live-for-days-in-the-mystery-and/) [W.N.P. Barbellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-n-p-barbellion/) > [For I am I: ergo, the truth of myself; my own sphinx, conflict, chaos, vortex—asymmetric to all rhythms, oblique to all paths. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/for-i-am-i-ergo-the-truth-of-myself-my-own-sphinx-conflict-chaos/) [Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/) > [I never saw a pyramid, but I've seen photographs; I know what a pyramid or a sphinx looks like. There are pictures that do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-never-saw-a-pyramid-but-i-ve-seen-photographs-i-know-what-a-pyramid/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [It's like the riddle of the Sphinx... why are there so many great unmarried women, and no great unmarried men?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jessica-parker/it-s-like-the-riddle-of-the-sphinx-why-are-there-so-many-great/) [Sarah Jessica Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jessica-parker/) ## More by Allen Ginsberg > [“I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical, naked... who passed through universities with radiant cool eyes hallucinating Arkansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/i-saw-the-best-minds-of-my-generation-destroyed-by-madness-starving/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [“I'm with you in Rockland in my dreams you walk dripping from a sea-journey on the highway across America in tears to the door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/i-m-with-you-in-rockland-in-my-dreams-you-walk-dripping-from-a-sea/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [“Slaves of Plastic! Leather-shoe chino-pants prisoners! Haircut junkies! Dacron-shiffers!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/slaves-of-plastic-leather-shoe-chino-pants-prisoners-haircut-junkies/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [I was putting on a stiff upper lip and trying to fulfill the obligations I thought were demanded of me, taking over my father's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/i-was-putting-on-a-stiff-upper-lip-and-trying-to-fulfill-the/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [“No more to say, and nothing to weep for”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/no-more-to-say-and-nothing-to-weep-for/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/poetry-is-not-an-expression-of-the-party-line-it-s-that-time-of-night/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [“with my fucking suave manners and knowitall, eyes, and mind full of fantasy - the Me! that horror that keeps me conscious, in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/with-my-fucking-suave-manners-and-knowitall-eyes-and-mind-full-of/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [The apparition of an evil, sick unconscious wild city rose before me in visible semblance, and about the dead buildings in the barren air,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/the-apparition-of-an-evil-sick-unconscious-wild-city-rose-before-me/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [America I'm putting my queer shoulder to the wheel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/america-i-m-putting-my-queer-shoulder-to-the-wheel/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [The desire to have power dissolves. The desire to dominate people for love dissolves. On the other hand, it's a relief to realize you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/the-desire-to-have-power-dissolves-the-desire-to-dominate-people-for/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [“Poor dead flower? when did you forget you were a flower?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/poor-dead-flower-when-did-you-forget-you-were-a-flower/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [“Central Intelligence cutting Meo opium fields! China Lobby copping poppies in Burma! How long this Addict government support our oil-burner matter-habit”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/central-intelligence-cutting-meo-opium-fields-china-lobby-copping/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [“Forty feet long sixty feet high hotel Covered with old gray for buzzing flies Eye like mango flowing orange pus Ears Durga people vomiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/forty-feet-long-sixty-feet-high-hotel-covered-with-old-gray-for/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [“Hairy Mammal whaddya want”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/hairy-mammal-whaddya-want/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [“Burroughs ... his very junkhood an accomplishment beyond a million dollars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/burroughs-his-very-junkhood-an-accomplishment-beyond-a-million-dollars/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) [Explore all 289 Allen Ginsberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) ## More Aluminium quotes > [What do you call that nice, shiny white metal they use to make sidings and airplanes out of? Aluminum, right? Aluminum, pronounced 'uh-LOO-mih-num', right?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/what-do-you-call-that-nice-shiny-white-metal-they-use-to-make-sidings/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Some months ago we discovered that certain light elements emit positrons under the action of alpha particles. Our latest experiments have shown a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fr-d-ric-joliot-curie/some-months-ago-we-discovered-that-certain-light-elements-emit/) Frederic Joliot-Curie > [There are three versions of the hook. There's one that's solid metal and it's really heavy. It's sharp. It's not super sharp but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-o-donoghue/there-are-three-versions-of-the-hook-there-s-one-that-s-solid-metal/) [Colin O'Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-o-donoghue/) > [My mother won't admit it, but I've always been a disappointment to her. Deep down inside, she'll never forgive herself for giving birth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/my-mother-won-t-admit-it-but-i-ve-always-been-a-disappointment-to-her/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [“Aluminium’s sixty-year reign as the world’s most precious substance was glorious, but soon an American chemist ruined everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/aluminium-s-sixty-year-reign-as-the-world-s-most-precious-substance/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“People who achieve marvelously in critical challenges are commended than people who achieve same things on the silver platter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/people-who-achieve-marvelously-in-critical-challenges-are-commended/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [In many critical things, such as the very high purity of the aluminium we need in aerospace, we only have one producer. That's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-ross/in-many-critical-things-such-as-the-very-high-purity-of-the-aluminium/) [Wilbur Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-ross/) > [If I want to walk out in the desert and heat up a can of beans on a fire, I still can. In those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/if-i-want-to-walk-out-in-the-desert-and-heat-up-a-can-of-beans-on-a/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I have had sculptures cast in bronze, silver and aluminium. My drawings are all graphite or pigment ink and gouache on paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-piccinini/i-have-had-sculptures-cast-in-bronze-silver-and-aluminium-my-drawings/) [Patricia Piccinini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-piccinini/) > [Why do we send valuable items like aluminium and food waste to landfill when we can turn them into new cans and renewable energy?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-benn/why-do-we-send-valuable-items-like-aluminium-and-food-waste-to/) [Hilary Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-benn/) [Browse all 11 Aluminium quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aluminium/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What sphinx of cement and aluminium bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination? - Howl ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Allen Ginsberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/what-sphinx-of-cement-and-aluminium-bashed-open-their-skulls-and-ate/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aluminium" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/what-sphinx-of-cement-and-aluminium-bashed-open-their-skulls-and-ate/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/allen-ginsberg-1110_aluminium_what-sphinx-of-cement-and-aluminium-bash_266942.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/allen-ginsberg-1110_aluminium_what-sphinx-of-cement-and-aluminium-bash_266942.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/allen-ginsberg-1110_aluminium_what-sphinx-of-cement-and-aluminium-bash_266942.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What sphinx of cement and aluminium bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination? - Howl” — Allen Ginsberg", "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": "Allen Ginsberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What sphinx of cement and aluminium...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/what-sphinx-of-cement-and-aluminium-bashed-open-their-skulls-and-ate/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/what-sphinx-of-cement-and-aluminium-bashed-open-their-skulls-and-ate/#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 } } ] } ```