--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oh, we solved that long ago!” Rubedo…" description: "\"“Oh, we solved that long ago!” Rubedo chuckled. “I believe that was Greengallows, Henrik Greengallows? Is that right, my love? Ancient history has neve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/037/catherynne-m-valente-375_ancient-history_oh-we-solved-that-long-ago-rubedo-chuckl_1058503.jpg" --- # Oh, we solved that long ago!” Rubedo chuckled. “I believe… ![“Oh, we solved that long ago!” Rubedo chuckled. “I believe that was Greengallows, Henrik Greengallows? Is that right, my love? Ancient history has never been my subject. A famous case study even reported a method for turning straw into gold! The young lady who discovered it wrote a really rather…” quote by Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/037/catherynne-m-valente-375_ancient-history_oh-we-solved-that-long-ago-rubedo-chuckl_1058503.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/037/catherynne-m-valente-375_ancient-history_oh-we-solved-that-long-ago-rubedo-chuckl_1058503.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/037/catherynne-m-valente-375_ancient-history_oh-we-solved-that-long-ago-rubedo-chuckl_1058503.jpg) > ““Oh, we solved that long ago!” Rubedo chuckled. “I believe that was Greengallows, Henrik Greengallows? Is that right, my love? Ancient history has never been my subject. A famous case study even reported a method for turning straw into gold! The young lady who discovered it wrote a really rather thin paper—but she toured the lecture circuit for years! Her firstborn refined it, so that she could make straw from gold and solve the terrible problem of housing for destitute brownies.” “Hedwig Greengallows, my dear,” mused Citrinitas. “Henrik was just her mercurer. Men are so awfully fond of attributing women’s work to their brothers!”” [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A satirical tale about gender bias in scientific credit, using a fantastical story of straw‑to‑gold alchemy. **In simple terms:** Women’s contributions are often hidden behind male names. Key Takeaway Recognize and credit the true creators. Themes gender bias science recognition myth allegory Mood ironic critical playful Type satirical commentary When to use this quote - academic conferences - STEM workplaces - media interviews - historical research Key Concepts patriarchy authorship historical erasure Questions to Reflect On - Who’s been overlooked in your field? - How can we change credit‑giving norms? A Different Perspective Attribution errors can be hard to correct after fame. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-history/) [Believe Greengallows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-greengallows-2571672/) [Case Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/case-study/) [Gold Solve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold-solve-2571675/) [Greengallows Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greengallows-right-2571673/) [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [Make Straw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-straw-2571674/) [Straw Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straw-gold-2571671/) [Young lady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-lady/) ## Related quotes > [There is no brilliant single stroke that is going to transform the water into wine or straw into gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-young/there-is-no-brilliant-single-stroke-that-is-going-to-transform-the/) [Coleman Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-young/) > [“Troubles of Straw Spun Into Gold Just as in the fairy tale RUMPELSTILTSKIN, God will spin your straw into gold. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shoojit-sircar/vicky-donor-is-now-seen-as-a-case-study-and-the-intelligentsias-are/) [Shoojit Sircar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shoojit-sircar/) > [“if not anyone else—that what we’d created at Pixar could work outside of Pixar. Both the run-up to the acquisition and its execution provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-catmull/if-not-anyone-else-that-what-we-d-created-at-pixar-could-work-outside/) [Ed Catmull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-catmull/) > [I endorse a lot of people - sometimes people say I endorse too many books. And my response has always been the same: If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/i-endorse-a-lot-of-people-sometimes-people-say-i-endorse-too-many/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [My own career is a case study for what I believe in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/my-own-career-is-a-case-study-for-what-i-believe-in/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [“He’s been looking at my file. So the question has to be right there on the tip of his tongue right about now, waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyma-rizwaan-khan/he-s-been-looking-at-my-file-so-the-question-has-to-be-right-there-on/) [Cyma Rizwaan Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyma-rizwaan-khan/) > [I was a journalist's dream case study; a gobby girl with an accent who was good at engineering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steph-mcgovern/i-was-a-journalist-s-dream-case-study-a-gobby-girl-with-an-accent-who/) [Steph McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steph-mcgovern/) > [I'm for the DREAM Act. It makes so much sense. Following the implementation of the DREAM Act, we'll have a case study we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beto-o-rourke/i-m-for-the-dream-act-it-makes-so-much-sense-following-the/) [Beto O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beto-o-rourke/) > [“I know of no case study in history that describes an organization that has been managed out of a crisis. Every single one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/i-know-of-no-case-study-in-history-that-describes-an-organization/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [When I first began examining the global-warming scare, I found nothing more puzzling than the way officially approved scientists kept on being shown to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-booker/when-i-first-began-examining-the-global-warming-scare-i-found-nothing/) [Christopher Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-booker/) > [By the time there is a case study about your industry, you are already too late...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/by-the-time-there-is-a-case-study-about-your-industry-you-are-already/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Usually, when inspiration strikes late, the light of day reveals that I haven't gotten an idea for a book so much as a psychiatric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/usually-when-inspiration-strikes-late-the-light-of-day-reveals-that-i/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) ## More by Catherynne M. Valente > [When I saw him I thought I could curl up inside him and go to sleep and never wake up." "Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all just keep moving, September. We keep moving until we stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-just-keep-moving-september-we-keep-moving-until-we-stop/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You couldn't ever really fix a sad story. You could only make another. And another. And another, until you found the right one at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-couldn-t-ever-really-fix-a-sad-story-you-could-only-make-another/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“He considers it for a moment and spits out the seeds, which sprout, quickly, into tiny junkblossoms sizzling with recursive algorithms. The algorithms wriggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/he-considers-it-for-a-moment-and-spits-out-the-seeds-which-sprout/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“Truly, Mallow yearned to know everything. Curiosity was part of her, like her short blond hair and bitten fingernails.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/truly-mallow-yearned-to-know-everything-curiosity-was-part-of-her/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“The cicada lies in the earth for seventeen years. It is warm and dark there, it is soft and wet. Its little legs curl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/the-cicada-lies-in-the-earth-for-seventeen-years-it-is-warm-and-dark/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Her heart was bruised by the kiss, smashed and surprised and unsettled by it. September thought kisses were all nice, sweet things asked for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/her-heart-was-bruised-by-the-kiss-smashed-and-surprised-and-unsettled/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“September put her hand on the grip of the Rivet Gun. She’d only just gotten it, and she’d promised to take copious notes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/september-put-her-hand-on-the-grip-of-the-rivet-gun-she-d-only-just/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Just tell yourself a story that'll satisfy you and pretend he told it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/just-tell-yourself-a-story-that-ll-satisfy-you-and-pretend-he-told-it/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You see, the future is a kind of stew, a soup, a vichyssoise of the present and the past. That's how you get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-see-the-future-is-a-kind-of-stew-a-soup-a-vichyssoise-of-the/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Fairy tales have always been about getting through the worst of everything, the darkest and the deepest and the bloodiest of events. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/fairy-tales-have-always-been-about-getting-through-the-worst-of/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“There is a place, September, oh, very far from Pandemonium. A place where it is always autumn, where there is always cider and pumpkin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/there-is-a-place-september-oh-very-far-from-pandemonium-a-place-where/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“I was happy, the sun was high. I had enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/i-was-happy-the-sun-was-high-i-had-enough/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Who are you?" "I am Death," said the creature. "I thought that was obvious." "But you're so small!" "Only because you are small. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/who-are-you-i-am-death-said-the-creature-i-thought-that-was-obvious/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) [Explore all 621 Catherynne M. Valente quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## More Ancient history quotes > [Everyone's a singer now, thanks to karaoke, for better and for much worse. But the live band is now becoming ancient history in Thailand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bishop/everyone-s-a-singer-now-thanks-to-karaoke-for-better-and-for-much/) [Alan Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bishop/) > [Based on the considerations of history, ancient history, and international axioms, the logic of following up a citizen with his shadow for the purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saddam-hussein/based-on-the-considerations-of-history-ancient-history-and/) [Saddam Hussein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saddam-hussein/) > [Our family arrived in England in 1960. At that time I thought the war was ancient history. But if I think of 15 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/our-family-arrived-in-england-in-1960-at-that-time-i-thought-the-war/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“I was so young, I tell myself now. I was twenty-one, only recently farewelled by childhood, although at the time childhood seemed like ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-rose-maccoll/i-was-so-young-i-tell-myself-now-i-was-twenty-one-only-recently/) [Mary-Rose MacColl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-rose-maccoll/) > [“The trouble with ancient history is that, as far as I can tell, the vast majority of it took place a hell of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/the-trouble-with-ancient-history-is-that-as-far-as-i-can-tell-the/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [I couldn’t miss Percy’s fifteenth birthday,” Poseidon said. “Why, if this were Sparta, Percy would be a man today!” "That’s true,” Paul said. “I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/i-couldn-t-miss-percy-s-fifteenth-birthday-poseidon-said-why-if-this/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Fascist is not just an epithet. Fascist is a proper noun that means a specific thing. It's a real thing. It's not always referring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/fascist-is-not-just-an-epithet-fascist-is-a-proper-noun-that-means-a/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [My platitudes don't hold their interest and I can hardly blame them for that. My real stories are all out of date. So what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/my-platitudes-don-t-hold-their-interest-and-i-can-hardly-blame-them/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [“Bob,” she said, “offerings burned in the mortal world appear on this altar, right?” Bob frowned uncomfortably, like he wasn’t ready for a pop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/bob-she-said-offerings-burned-in-the-mortal-world-appear-on-this/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [We've got to map all of our ancient history before it's gone because, let's face it, if we don't have a common heritage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-parcak/we-ve-got-to-map-all-of-our-ancient-history-before-it-s-gone-because/) [Sarah Parcak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-parcak/) > [“Now let us analyze the other two occupants of the inner Sanctuary or Oracle. They are the two cherubim who guard the Ark ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eisen/now-let-us-analyze-the-other-two-occupants-of-the-inner-sanctuary-or/) [William Eisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eisen/) > [If you start thinking about the kids being born now, for them the computer is ancient history. So one imagines that when children think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/if-you-start-thinking-about-the-kids-being-born-now-for-them-the/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [“cancer is as old as the human race and has been documented since ancient history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-agus/cancer-is-as-old-as-the-human-race-and-has-been-documented-since/) [David B. Agus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-agus/) > [People whose concept of ancient history is the first series of Star Trek may be treated with patience, because it's usually not their fault…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/people-whose-concept-of-ancient-history-is-the-first-series-of-star/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Don’t you have a class this morning, Georgie?” Day mumbled something that sounded like “Ancient History of the Near East and Greece.” “Poof!” scoffed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/don-t-you-have-a-class-this-morning-georgie-day-mumbled-something/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) [Browse all 93 Ancient history quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Oh, we solved that long ago!” Rubedo chuckled. “I believe that was Greengallows, Henrik Greengallows? 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