--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yeah. Penicillin. You know that? It's…" description: "\"“Yeah. Penicillin. You know that? It's made of mold. Pretty cool huh, how one kind of rottenness can cure another kind of rottenness.”\" — David Krae" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/david-krae-57313_quote_yeah-penicillin-you-know-that-it-s-made_1259110.jpg" --- # Yeah. Penicillin. You know that? It's made of mold. Pretty… ![“Yeah. Penicillin. You know that? It's made of mold. Pretty cool huh, how one kind of rottenness can cure another kind of rottenness.” quote by David Krae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/david-krae-57313_quote_yeah-penicillin-you-know-that-it-s-made_1259110.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/david-krae-57313_quote_yeah-penicillin-you-know-that-it-s-made_1259110.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/david-krae-57313_quote_yeah-penicillin-you-know-that-it-s-made_1259110.jpg) > ““Yeah. Penicillin. You know that? It's made of mold. Pretty cool huh, how one kind of rottenness can cure another kind of rottenness.”” [David Krae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krae/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mold, a harmful fungus, can be transformed into a life‑saving antibiotic, illustrating how something negative can become beneficial. **In simple terms:** Bad can become good when repurposed. Key Takeaway Seek hidden value in problems. Themes science innovation paradox health transformations Mood curious optimistic inquisitive Type observational inspirational When to use this quote - Medical research - pharmaceutical development - environmental remediation - personal problem solving Key Concepts Microbiology antibiotic discovery serendipity Questions to Reflect On - How can we reframe failures as opportunities? - What other “rottenness” might hold cures? A Different Perspective Not all harmful things are useless; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [It's like The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat, about the discovery of penicillin. Out of these strange accidents come huge discoveries. A certain purple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-simon/it-s-like-the-mold-in-dr-florey-s-coat-about-the-discovery-of/) [Carly Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-simon/) > [In my first publication I might have claimed that I had come to the conclusion, as a result of serious study of the literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/in-my-first-publication-i-might-have-claimed-that-i-had-come-to-the/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [I had pneumonia when I was 18 months old and I was given penicillin, which I was allergic to, and since then my teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-phillips/i-had-pneumonia-when-i-was-18-months-old-and-i-was-given-penicillin/) [Jess Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-phillips/) > [I had fallen in love with a young man..., and we were planning to get married. And then he died of subacute bacterial endocarditis...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/i-had-fallen-in-love-with-a-young-man-and-we-were-planning-to-get/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [The genius of Man in our time has gone into jet-propulsion, atom-splitting, penicillin-curing, etc. There is left none over for works of imagination; of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/the-genius-of-man-in-our-time-has-gone-into-jet-propulsion-atom/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [No king or minister could have instructed Newton to discover the law of gravity, for they did not know and could not know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-northcote-parkinson/no-king-or-minister-could-have-instructed-newton-to-discover-the-law/) [C. Northcote Parkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-northcote-parkinson/) > [Prior to penicillin and medical research, death was an everyday occurrence. It was intimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/prior-to-penicillin-and-medical-research-death-was-an-everyday/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [The only reason we don't notice how absolutely interwoven our thinking processes have become with older technologies - pencils, paper, electric light, penicillin, fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/the-only-reason-we-don-t-notice-how-absolutely-interwoven-our/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [Stay in college, get the knowledge. And stay there until you're through. If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/stay-in-college-get-the-knowledge-and-stay-there-until-you-re-through/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [If penicillin can cure those that are ill, Spanish sherry can bring the dead back to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/if-penicillin-can-cure-those-that-are-ill-spanish-sherry-can-bring/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [I grew up thinking that it was immoral to idealize the past because, in the past, there was slavery and no penicillin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-grew-up-thinking-that-it-was-immoral-to-idealize-the-past-because/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [If penicillin had been judged by its toxicity to guinea pigs, it might never have been used by man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/if-penicillin-had-been-judged-by-its-toxicity-to-guinea-pigs-it-might/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [I have been trying to point out that in our lives chance may have an astonishing influence and, if I may offer advice to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/i-have-been-trying-to-point-out-that-in-our-lives-chance-may-have-an/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [(The discovery of penicillin) was a triumph of accident, a fortunate occurrence which happened while I was working on a purely academic bacteriological problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/the-discovery-of-penicillin-was-a-triumph-of-accident-a-fortunate/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [“The city is a plague… and I am the penicillin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-j-c-veit/the-city-is-a-plague-and-i-am-the-penicillin/) Jerry J.C. Veit ## More by David Krae > [“Sometimes a soft touch can accomplish more than a thousand swords.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krae/sometimes-a-soft-touch-can-accomplish-more-than-a-thousand-swords/) [David Krae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krae/) > [“I prefer a good honest whore over a dishonest wife”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krae/i-prefer-a-good-honest-whore-over-a-dishonest-wife/) [David Krae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krae/) > [“Reality is perception. Perception is description. Description is creation. Creation is life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krae/reality-is-perception-perception-is-description-description-is/) [David Krae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krae/) > [“Devils and whores. It is bad luck to talk of such things without a drink in your hand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krae/devils-and-whores-it-is-bad-luck-to-talk-of-such-things-without-a/) [David Krae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krae/) > [“Life is art, Joe. Living is artistry. What we do, you and me, is artifice, but if it is artfully done, then it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krae/life-is-art-joe-living-is-artistry-what-we-do-you-and-me-is-artifice/) [David Krae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krae/) [Explore all 6 David Krae quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krae/) ## More Mold quotes > [Whether you are buying a car or casting a ballot, choosing a job or planning a family, follow your moral compass. Don't let others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-hayes/whether-you-are-buying-a-car-or-casting-a-ballot-choosing-a-job-or/) [Denis Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-hayes/) > [Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drenched our teeples, drowned the cocks! You sulphurour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/blow-winds-and-crack-your-cheeks-rage-blow-you-cataracts-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [But there is a beauty every girl has—a gift from God, as pure as the sunlight, and as sacred as life. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/but-there-is-a-beauty-every-girl-has-a-gift-from-god-as-pure-as-the/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [There was a time when idealistic folksingers such as myself believed that Reality TV was a programming vogue that would peak and recede, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/there-was-a-time-when-idealistic-folksingers-such-as-myself-believed/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [Sometimes I get it right and I sometimes I get it wrong. But fashion is all about having fun. I think fashion has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helena-bonham-carter/sometimes-i-get-it-right-and-i-sometimes-i-get-it-wrong-but-fashion/) [Helena Bonham Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helena-bonham-carter/) > [“It suddenly occurred to me that, after all that frolicking in the meadows, he hadn't kissed me. Was it because of the mold that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-harvard-lampoon/it-suddenly-occurred-to-me-that-after-all-that-frolicking-in-the/) [The Harvard Lampoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-harvard-lampoon/) > [I worked really hard, and I surpassed myself... I didn't have, visually, what it took. I was not pretty, I had teeth problems, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/i-worked-really-hard-and-i-surpassed-myself-i-didn-t-have-visually/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [I have so many single girlfriends who fit themselves into the mold of what they think a guy's looking for. But being comfortable around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cobie-smulders/i-have-so-many-single-girlfriends-who-fit-themselves-into-the-mold-of/) [Cobie Smulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cobie-smulders/) > [Poetry uses the hub of a torque converter for a jello mold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-glancy/poetry-uses-the-hub-of-a-torque-converter-for-a-jello-mold/) [Diane Glancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-glancy/) > [TV tends to try and fit everyone into a TV mold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-holloway/tv-tends-to-try-and-fit-everyone-into-a-tv-mold/) [Josh Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-holloway/) > [“You wanna know why the world is f\*\*ked? This is why, this is exactly why…right here. Get a pen, write this down, this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-lyndsy/you-wanna-know-why-the-world-is-f-ked-this-is-why-this-is-exactly-why/) Shannon Lyndsy > [I am saying that I was able to mold those hours around the needs of my family, and that matters. And I really encourage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/i-am-saying-that-i-was-able-to-mold-those-hours-around-the-needs-of/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [My father actually went to college, and my mother went to nursing school, so, you know. I wouldn't... They were actually too square and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/my-father-actually-went-to-college-and-my-mother-went-to-nursing/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [One main condition of aristocratic life was present in the South and not in the North--personal responsibility to other human beings for education and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/one-main-condition-of-aristocratic-life-was-present-in-the-south-and/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The anger of the weak never goes away, Professor, it just gets a little moldy. It molds like a beautiful blue cheese in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-anger-of-the-weak-never-goes-away-professor-it-just-gets-a-little/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) Browse all 437 Mold quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Yeah. 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