--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most exciting phrase to hear in…" description: "\"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny ...'\" — Daniel Tosh" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/daniel-tosh-1624_new-discoveries_the-most-exciting-phrase-to-hear-in-scie_764710.png" --- # The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that… ![“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny ...'” quote by Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/daniel-tosh-1624_new-discoveries_the-most-exciting-phrase-to-hear-in-scie_764710.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/daniel-tosh-1624_new-discoveries_the-most-exciting-phrase-to-hear-in-scie_764710.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/daniel-tosh-1624_new-discoveries_the-most-exciting-phrase-to-hear-in-scie_764710.png) > “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny ...'” [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific breakthroughs are often preceded by unexpected, humorous observations rather than triumphant exclamations. **In simple terms:** Funny moments spark discovery. Key Takeaway Look for humor in data. Themes science creativity humor innovation Mood playful curious light‑hearted Type inspirational humorous When to use this quote - lab research - brainstorming sessions - product development Key Concepts serendipity observation problem‑solving Questions to Reflect On - What odd observation has led you to a new idea? - How can humor be used responsibly in research? A Different Perspective Humor may downplay the seriousness of scientific rigor. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discoveries Eureka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discoveries-eureka-3268013/) [Exciting Phrase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exciting-phrase-1394583/) [Hear Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hear-science-3268017/) [New discoveries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-discoveries/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science Heralds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-heralds-1394585/) ## Related quotes > [The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-most-exciting-phrase-to-hear-in-science-the-one-that-heralds-new-2/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not Eureka! (I found it!) but 'That's funny...�](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-most-exciting-phrase-to-hear-in-science-the-one-that-heralds-the/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“The science fiction novelist Isaac Asimov reportedly once said, “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/the-science-fiction-novelist-isaac-asimov-reportedly-once-said-the/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [“He was stronger and had more depth than he knew and he liked these new discoveries about himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-patrick/he-was-stronger-and-had-more-depth-than-he-knew-and-he-liked-these/) [Phaedra Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-patrick/) > [We are ever on the threshold of new journeys and new discoveries. Can you imagine the excitement of the Wright brothers on the morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/we-are-ever-on-the-threshold-of-new-journeys-and-new-discoveries-can/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [Most new discoveries are suddenly-seen things that were always there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-new-discoveries-are-suddenly-seen-things-that-were-always-there-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nineteen hundred and three will bring great advances in surgery, in the study of bacteria, in the knowledge of the cause and prevention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/nineteen-hundred-and-three-will-bring-great-advances-in-surgery-in/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Like buried treasures, the outposts of the universe have beckoned to the adventurous from immemorial times. Princes and potentates, political or industrial, equally with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ellery-hale/like-buried-treasures-the-outposts-of-the-universe-have-beckoned-to/) [George Ellery Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ellery-hale/) > [We need to give the private sector many more powerful incentives to do research and development, to bring ideas and new discoveries to market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-alexander/we-need-to-give-the-private-sector-many-more-powerful-incentives-to/) [Chris Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-alexander/) > [Astronomy may be revolutionized more than any other field of science by observations from above the atmosphere. Study of the planets, the Sun, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-spitzer/astronomy-may-be-revolutionized-more-than-any-other-field-of-science/) [Lyman Spitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-spitzer/) > [Most new discoveries are suddenly-seen things that were always there. A new idea is a light that illuminates presences which simply had no form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-katherina-langer/most-new-discoveries-are-suddenly-seen-things-that-were-always-there/) [Susanne Katherina Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-katherina-langer/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“The nimble of mind long for the challenge of new discoveries. Weary minds cling to what is already known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-lee-lerner/the-nimble-of-mind-long-for-the-challenge-of-new-discoveries-weary/) [K. Lee Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-lee-lerner/) > [I think labels for the most part want to sign new discoveries so that that label alone is seen to be responsible for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-morrissey/i-think-labels-for-the-most-part-want-to-sign-new-discoveries-so-that/) [Steven Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-morrissey/) > [I was much more into romance as a teenager and it's been a kind of new discovery for me to learn about sci-fi adventure.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/i-was-much-more-into-romance-as-a-teenager-and-it-s-been-a-kind-of/) [Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/) ## More by Daniel Tosh > [Throwing a McDouble in the air at a fat camp and shouting, LET THE HUNGER GAMES BEGIN!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/throwing-a-mcdouble-in-the-air-at-a-fat-camp-and-shouting-let-the/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [Until I was thirteen I thought my name was Shutup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/until-i-was-thirteen-i-thought-my-name-was-shutup/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [ I'm like our fearless leader \[Jesus\]. Where do I get my inspiration? I don't know. I just make fun of everything. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/i-m-like-our-fearless-leader-jesus-where-do-i-get-my-inspiration-i/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [I saw a guy wearing a "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelet and a Lance Armstrong bracelet, and he went up to this blind kid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/i-saw-a-guy-wearing-a-what-would-jesus-do-bracelet-and-a-lance/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [Here's what I tell people now when they come to my shows: 'First of all, thank you for stimulating the economy, or at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/here-s-what-i-tell-people-now-when-they-come-to-my-shows-first-of-all/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [Doing a book signing tomorrow at Barnes & Noble. Bring your own book...I haven't written one yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/doing-a-book-signing-tomorrow-at-barnes-noble-bring-your-own-book-i/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [Models: I'm not voting for you for any stupid magazine list! If you were really that Hot you wouldn't have to beg the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/models-i-m-not-voting-for-you-for-any-stupid-magazine-list-if-you/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [Thank you people that are laughing with your hand away from your mouth. That joke is clearly not for everyone, but I enjoy watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/thank-you-people-that-are-laughing-with-your-hand-away-from-your/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [If you have ever typed 'sorry not sorry' I hope you die...not sorry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/if-you-have-ever-typed-sorry-not-sorry-i-hope-you-die-not-sorry/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [You should never eat when you're on the toilet. "But I'm lactose-intolerant, and I always wanted to enjoy a bowl of Puffins with whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/you-should-never-eat-when-you-re-on-the-toilet-but-i-m-lactose/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [I never want to cannibalize my act, and I'm really excited that I am going to be able to perform new material. I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/i-never-want-to-cannibalize-my-act-and-i-m-really-excited-that-i-am/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [I'll do anything usually if there's money involved and little work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/i-ll-do-anything-usually-if-there-s-money-involved-and-little-work/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [Anyone who has been to an English public school will always feel comparatively at home in prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/anyone-who-has-been-to-an-english-public-school-will-always-feel/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [I go to the dentist every six months, I get a cleaning, so... I'm fortunate enough that those fluoride treatments as a child worked.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/i-go-to-the-dentist-every-six-months-i-get-a-cleaning-so-i-m/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [The day I notice a cyclist obey a stop sign is the day I'll stop enjoying watching them bounce off my hood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/the-day-i-notice-a-cyclist-obey-a-stop-sign-is-the-day-i-ll-stop/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) [Explore all 221 Daniel Tosh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) ## More New discoveries quotes > [I was much more into romance as a teenager and it's been a kind of new discovery for me to learn about sci-fi adventure.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/i-was-much-more-into-romance-as-a-teenager-and-it-s-been-a-kind-of/) [Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/) > [I think labels for the most part want to sign new discoveries so that that label alone is seen to be responsible for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-morrissey/i-think-labels-for-the-most-part-want-to-sign-new-discoveries-so-that/) [Steven Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-morrissey/) > [“The nimble of mind long for the challenge of new discoveries. Weary minds cling to what is already known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-lee-lerner/the-nimble-of-mind-long-for-the-challenge-of-new-discoveries-weary/) [K. Lee Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-lee-lerner/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Most new discoveries are suddenly-seen things that were always there. A new idea is a light that illuminates presences which simply had no form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-katherina-langer/most-new-discoveries-are-suddenly-seen-things-that-were-always-there/) [Susanne Katherina Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-katherina-langer/) > [Astronomy may be revolutionized more than any other field of science by observations from above the atmosphere. Study of the planets, the Sun, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-spitzer/astronomy-may-be-revolutionized-more-than-any-other-field-of-science/) [Lyman Spitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-spitzer/) > [We need to give the private sector many more powerful incentives to do research and development, to bring ideas and new discoveries to market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-alexander/we-need-to-give-the-private-sector-many-more-powerful-incentives-to/) [Chris Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-alexander/) > [Like buried treasures, the outposts of the universe have beckoned to the adventurous from immemorial times. Princes and potentates, political or industrial, equally with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ellery-hale/like-buried-treasures-the-outposts-of-the-universe-have-beckoned-to/) [George Ellery Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ellery-hale/) > [Nineteen hundred and three will bring great advances in surgery, in the study of bacteria, in the knowledge of the cause and prevention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/nineteen-hundred-and-three-will-bring-great-advances-in-surgery-in/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Most new discoveries are suddenly-seen things that were always there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-new-discoveries-are-suddenly-seen-things-that-were-always-there-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are ever on the threshold of new journeys and new discoveries. Can you imagine the excitement of the Wright brothers on the morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/we-are-ever-on-the-threshold-of-new-journeys-and-new-discoveries-can/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [“He was stronger and had more depth than he knew and he liked these new discoveries about himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-patrick/he-was-stronger-and-had-more-depth-than-he-knew-and-he-liked-these/) [Phaedra Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-patrick/) > [As new discoveries are causing all-penetrating physical lights so to abound as that, as has been said, we shall soon not know where in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/as-new-discoveries-are-causing-all-penetrating-physical-lights-so-to/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [Strong communities ... embrace change. New discoveries require us to think differently and approach things differently, to think anew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/strong-communities-embrace-change-new-discoveries-require-us-to-think/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [“The more important fundamental laws and facts of physical science have all been discovered, and these are now so firmly established that the possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-abraham-michelson/the-more-important-fundamental-laws-and-facts-of-physical-science/) [Albert Abraham Michelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-abraham-michelson/) [Browse all 78 New discoveries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-discoveries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' 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