--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History, you see, is like the…" description: "\"“History, you see, is like the interlocking wheels turning in a ticking-thing. Something unexpected happens, some sort of hiccup ... the wheels are jog..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/cressida-cowell-7158_history_history-you-see-is-like-the-interlocking_1204694.jpg" --- # History, you see, is like the interlocking wheels turning… ![“History, you see, is like the interlocking wheels turning in a ticking-thing. Something unexpected happens, some sort of hiccup ... the wheels are jogged... and then they set off again, beating out the time in a new pattern.” quote by Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/cressida-cowell-7158_history_history-you-see-is-like-the-interlocking_1204694.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/cressida-cowell-7158_history_history-you-see-is-like-the-interlocking_1204694.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/cressida-cowell-7158_history_history-you-see-is-like-the-interlocking_1204694.jpg) > ““History, you see, is like the interlocking wheels turning in a ticking-thing. Something unexpected happens, some sort of hiccup ... the wheels are jogged... and then they set off again, beating out the time in a new pattern.”” [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History is like interlocking gears; unexpected events cause hiccups, then the pattern shifts, creating new timelines. **In simple terms:** History changes when unexpected events disrupt the flow. Key Takeaway Adapt to unexpected changes in life. Themes change history adaptation Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - project planning - learning from setbacks Key Concepts systems theory causality Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond to sudden changes? - What patterns emerge after disruption? A Different Perspective Unexpected events can cause chaos before new order emerges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Wheels turning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheels-turning/) ## Related quotes > [Appreciation is the oil that lubricates life and keeps your wheels turning easily and freely. Without appreciation, your wheels will still spin, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-thoele/appreciation-is-the-oil-that-lubricates-life-and-keeps-your-wheels/) [Sue Thoele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-thoele/) > [“Our axles don't match but our wheels are turning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-turner/our-axles-don-t-match-but-our-wheels-are-turning/) Nancy Turner > [It's a strange phenomenon how this piece of wood, wheels and a turning system has made so many people so happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cole/it-s-a-strange-phenomenon-how-this-piece-of-wood-wheels-and-a-turning/) [Chris Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cole/) > [In the best, the friendliest and simplest relations flattery or praise is necessary, just as grease is necessary to keep wheels turning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/in-the-best-the-friendliest-and-simplest-relations-flattery-or-praise/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Inspiration is some mysterious blessing which happens when the wheels are turning smoothly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-blake/inspiration-is-some-mysterious-blessing-which-happens-when-the-wheels/) [Quentin Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-blake/) > [“Wheels turning, the motorcycle’s roar grows steady, which, too, is a form of silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/wheels-turning-the-motorcycle-s-roar-grows-steady-which-too-is-a-form/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [Time is like a wheel. Turning and turning - never stopping. And the woods are the center; the hub of the wheel. It began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/time-is-like-a-wheel-turning-and-turning-never-stopping-and-the-woods/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [Wheels are turning in my mind;; dont wanna leave but I might this time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wheels-are-turning-in-my-mind-dont-wanna-leave-but-i-might-this-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I learned not to fear infinity, The far field, the windy cliffs of forever, The dying of time in the white light of tomorrow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-learned-not-to-fear-infinity-the-far-field-the-windy-cliffs-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There was another thing I heartily disbelieved in - work. Work, it seemed to me even at the threshold of life, is an activity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/there-was-another-thing-i-heartily-disbelieved-in-work-work-it-seemed/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Latino history is like a river dividing the United States and Mexico. It is shared by several different cultures and called by many different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilan-stavans/latino-history-is-like-a-river-dividing-the-united-states-and-mexico/) Ilan Stavans > [A man who has no sense of history is like a man who has no ears or no eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/a-man-who-has-no-sense-of-history-is-like-a-man-who-has-no-ears-or-no/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [My favorite thing is talking to people about history - that's what I like doing. The sort of history I do isn't just for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-worsley/my-favorite-thing-is-talking-to-people-about-history-that-s-what-i/) [Lucy Worsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-worsley/) > [As the great philosopher George Santayana would have said, 'those who cannot remember the past . . . should simply read Jan Van Meter's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-rocca/as-the-great-philosopher-george-santayana-would-have-said-those-who/) [Mo Rocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-rocca/) > [I did not know that history is like a blood stain that keeps on showing on the wall no matter how many new owners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/i-did-not-know-that-history-is-like-a-blood-stain-that-keeps-on/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) ## More by Cressida Cowell > [Most of us are lucky not to be Kings and Heroes, because we do not have to make the choices that Kings and Heroes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/most-of-us-are-lucky-not-to-be-kings-and-heroes-because-we-do-not/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“WARNING Any Relationship to any historical fact WHATSOEVER is entirely coincidental. You have been WARNED”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/warning-any-relationship-to-any-historical-fact-whatsoever-is/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“Come on, Fishlegs,” whispered Camicazi, whistling happily. “You know we have to do this. Besides, I feel like a bit of exercise. We’ve been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/come-on-fishlegs-whispered-camicazi-whistling-happily-you-know-we/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [For a Hero cannot triumph all the time. Sometimes he will be defeated, and how he faces that defeat is a test of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/for-a-hero-cannot-triumph-all-the-time-sometimes-he-will-be-defeated/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [The thing about grown ups is that they're always wanting you to be this Great Hero and Leader. What's wrong with being NORMAL, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/the-thing-about-grown-ups-is-that-they-re-always-wanting-you-to-be/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“The thing is, we are all, in a sense, supper. Walking, talking, breathing suppers, that's what we are. Take you, for instance. YOU are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/the-thing-is-we-are-all-in-a-sense-supper-walking-talking-breathing/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“And this was the surprising thing about life on Berk. It was a bit like the sea itself. 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All may be lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/the-hero-cares-not-for-a-wild-winter-s-storm-for-it-carries-him-swift/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“However bad things seem to be, they can always get worse!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/however-bad-things-seem-to-be-they-can-always-get-worse/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [I was not a natural. . . . This is the story of becoming . . . the Hard Way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/i-was-not-a-natural-this-is-the-story-of-becoming-the-hard-way/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [GO FOR HIS EYES! OR BITE HIM ON THE NOSE! DRAGON NOSES ARE VERY SENSITIVE!" Oh, very helpful, Camicazi, very helpful...thought Hiccup. What if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/go-for-his-eyes-or-bite-him-on-the-nose-dragon-noses-are-very/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [Sometimes a King has to do terrible things in order to protect those he has sworn to look after. When the stakes are so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/sometimes-a-king-has-to-do-terrible-things-in-order-to-protect-those/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“Norbert the Nutjob may have been a maniac, but lunacy and genius are very close together, and it had to be admitted, he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/norbert-the-nutjob-may-have-been-a-maniac-but-lunacy-and-genius-are/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“the witch softly, ‘for the dragons’ days are numbered”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/the-witch-softly-for-the-dragons-days-are-numbered/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) [Explore all 89 Cressida Cowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. 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It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“History, you see, is like the interlocking wheels turning in a ticking-thing. 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