--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [On William Lyon Phelps's Happiness:] It…" description: "\"[On William Lyon Phelps's Happiness:] It is second only to a rubber duck as the ideal bathtub companion. It may be held in the hand without causing mus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/dorothy-parker-700_bathtubs_on-william-lyon-phelps-s-happiness-it-is_1940558.jpg" --- # \[On William Lyon Phelps's Happiness:\] It is second only to… ![“[On William Lyon Phelps's Happiness:] It is second only to a rubber duck as the ideal bathtub companion. It may be held in the hand without causing muscular fatigue ... and it may be read through before the water has cooled. And if it slips down the drain pipe, all right, it slips down the drain…” quote by Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/dorothy-parker-700_bathtubs_on-william-lyon-phelps-s-happiness-it-is_1940558.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/dorothy-parker-700_bathtubs_on-william-lyon-phelps-s-happiness-it-is_1940558.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/dorothy-parker-700_bathtubs_on-william-lyon-phelps-s-happiness-it-is_1940558.jpg) > “\[On William Lyon Phelps's Happiness:\] It is second only to a rubber duck as the ideal bathtub companion. It may be held in the hand without causing muscular fatigue ... and it may be read through before the water has cooled. And if it slips down the drain pipe, all right, it slips down the drain pipe.” [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A humorous take on the simple pleasure of reading in the bathtub, comparing it to a rubber duck. **In simple terms:** Reading in the tub is a light, amusing joy. Key Takeaway Enjoy simple pleasures without overthinking. Themes humor pleasure leisure Mood playful lighthearted witty Type anecdotal humorous When to use this quote - solo reading - relaxing baths - light reading before sleep - creative downtime Key Concepts literary satire comfort reading relaxation bathroom rituals Questions to Reflect On - Do you have a favorite bathtub activity? - How does humor change a routine? A Different Perspective May not suit those who dislike water or reading while bathing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bathtub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bathtub/) [Bathtub Companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bathtub-companion-3090834/) [Bathtubs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bathtubs/) [Companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) [Drain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drain/) [Drains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drains/) [Ducks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ducks/) [Fatigue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fatigue/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Pipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pipe/) [Rubber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rubber/) [Rubber Duck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rubber-duck-379878/) [Rubber ducks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rubber-ducks-161237/) [Slips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slips/) [Slips Drain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slips-drain-3090835/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [People ask me about all sorts of sounds. There's a sound of a screeching toy or a rubber duck and everybody asks me about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kieran-hebden/people-ask-me-about-all-sorts-of-sounds-there-s-a-sound-of-a/) [Kieran Hebden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kieran-hebden/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [I just remember Stella Tenant and me dancing in Donatella Versaces bathtub until like four in the morning. It was one of those pinch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-murphy/i-just-remember-stella-tenant-and-me-dancing-in-donatella-versaces/) [Carolyn Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-murphy/) > [Remember to tuck the shower curtain inside the bathtub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-hilton/remember-to-tuck-the-shower-curtain-inside-the-bathtub/) [Conrad Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-hilton/) > [She was so fat that her bathtub has stretch marks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/she-was-so-fat-that-her-bathtub-has-stretch-marks/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [The very first big photo shoot I ever did was with Bruce Weber. I couldn't believe this guy was taking my picture, so when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-damon/the-very-first-big-photo-shoot-i-ever-did-was-with-bruce-weber-i/) [Matt Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-damon/) > [We were so poor we had no hot water. But it didn't matter because we had no bathtub to put it in anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-dreesen/we-were-so-poor-we-had-no-hot-water-but-it-didn-t-matter-because-we/) [Tom Dreesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-dreesen/) > [If you want to catch fish, don’t throw your net into the bathtub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhard-bonnke/if-you-want-to-catch-fish-don-t-throw-your-net-into-the-bathtub/) [Reinhard Bonnke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhard-bonnke/) > [I like to read either in motion or in water... I am happiest reading in the bathtub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-like-to-read-either-in-motion-or-in-water-i-am-happiest-reading-in/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [Gee, this isn't like I imagined it would be in the bathtub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-wiest/gee-this-isn-t-like-i-imagined-it-would-be-in-the-bathtub/) [Dianne Wiest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-wiest/) > [Possessing the ability to turn the bathtub faucet on and off with your toes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-hall/possessing-the-ability-to-turn-the-bathtub-faucet-on-and-off-with/) [Rich Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-hall/) > [You might be a redneck if you can tell your age by the number of rings in the bathtub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-foxworthy/you-might-be-a-redneck-if-you-can-tell-your-age-by-the-number-of/) [Jeff Foxworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-foxworthy/) > [Being in a bathtub with Jackie Chan, I don't know, it has a way of bonding you I'll tell you that. I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wilson/being-in-a-bathtub-with-jackie-chan-i-don-t-know-it-has-a-way-of/) [Owen Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wilson/) > [I thought of the nameless inventor of the bathtub. I was somehow sure it was a woman. And was the inventor of the bathtub…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-thought-of-the-nameless-inventor-of-the-bathtub-i-was-somehow-sure/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [One is never alone with a rubber duck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/one-is-never-alone-with-a-rubber-duck/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## More by Dorothy Parker > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/writing-is-the-art-of-applying-the-ass-to-the-seat/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Hollywood is the one place on earth where you could die of encouragement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/hollywood-is-the-one-place-on-earth-where-you-could-die-of/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [“The two most beautiful words in the English language are 'check enclosed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-two-most-beautiful-words-in-the-english-language-are-check/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Sometimes I think Ill give up trying, and just go completely Russian and sit on a stove and moan all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/sometimes-i-think-ill-give-up-trying-and-just-go-completely-russian/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [I was always sweet, at first. Oh, it's so easy to be sweet to people before you love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-was-always-sweet-at-first-oh-it-s-so-easy-to-be-sweet-to-people/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Now to me, Edith looks like something that would eat her young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/now-to-me-edith-looks-like-something-that-would-eat-her-young/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Misfortune, and recited misfortune especially, can be prolonged to the point where it ceases to excite pity and arouses only irritation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/misfortune-and-recited-misfortune-especially-can-be-prolonged-to-the/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [The sun's gone dim, and the moon's gone black. For I loved him, and he didn't love back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-sun-s-gone-dim-and-the-moon-s-gone-black-for-i-loved-him-and-he/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [There's a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-a-hell-of-a-distance-between-wisecracking-and-wit-wit-has/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, A medley of extemporanea; And love is a thing that can never go wrong; And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/oh-life-is-a-glorious-cycle-of-song-a-medley-of-extemporanea-and-love/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Enjoyed it! One more drink and I'd have been under the host.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/enjoyed-it-one-more-drink-and-i-d-have-been-under-the-host/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [This living, this living, this living Was never a project of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/this-living-this-living-this-living-was-never-a-project-of-mine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Flowers are heaven's masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/flowers-are-heaven-s-masterpiece/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [It costs me never a stab nor squirm / To tread by chance upon a worm. / Aha, my little dear, / I say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/it-costs-me-never-a-stab-nor-squirm-to-tread-by-chance-upon-a-worm/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) [Explore all 398 Dorothy Parker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## More Bathtub quotes > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [There's no way I would have got to see so much of the world, with my humble background, without modelling. We were penniless and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-dell-orefice/there-s-no-way-i-would-have-got-to-see-so-much-of-the-world-with-my/) [Carmen Dell'Orefice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-dell-orefice/) > [You can swim, too." he says. "Where did you learn that in District Twelve?" "We have a very big bathtub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/you-can-swim-too-he-says-where-did-you-learn-that-in-district-twelve/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [I have a really great bathtub, and I unwind by taking baths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erika-jayne/i-have-a-really-great-bathtub-and-i-unwind-by-taking-baths/) [Erika Jayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erika-jayne/) > [“I make love like I sing—in a choir, alone in the bathtub.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-make-love-like-i-sing-in-a-choir-alone-in-the-bathtub/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I remember being a bathtub singer. You know, the type that sings and everybody's like, 'Shut up.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-paul/i-remember-being-a-bathtub-singer-you-know-the-type-that-sings-and/) [Sean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-paul/) > [“Scientists may have sophisticated laboratories, But never forget 'eureka' was inspired in a bathtub.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/scientists-may-have-sophisticated-laboratories-but-never-forget/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Whenever I play Las Vegas, they always give you a suite, and it's really nice, and it always comes with a large bathtub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iliza-shlesinger/whenever-i-play-las-vegas-they-always-give-you-a-suite-and-it-s/) [Iliza Shlesinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iliza-shlesinger/) > [Being in a bathtub with Jackie Chan, I don't know, it has a way of bonding you I'll tell you that. I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wilson/being-in-a-bathtub-with-jackie-chan-i-don-t-know-it-has-a-way-of/) [Owen Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wilson/) > [When someone says, 'I'm not political,' I feel like what they're saying is, 'I only care about myself. In my bathtub. Me and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/when-someone-says-i-m-not-political-i-feel-like-what-they-re-saying/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Being in a floodplain is like sitting down in a bathtub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hunter/being-in-a-floodplain-is-like-sitting-down-in-a-bathtub/) [Robert Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hunter/) > [“There must be quite a few things a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them. Whenever I’m sad I’m going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/there-must-be-quite-a-few-things-a-hot-bath-won-t-cure-but-i-don-t/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [For some it is harder to write a novel than to row a bathtub across the North Atlantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-n-frey/for-some-it-is-harder-to-write-a-novel-than-to-row-a-bathtub-across/) [James N. Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-n-frey/) > [I would prefer my kids not to be in the redneck bathtub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honey-boo-boo-child/i-would-prefer-my-kids-not-to-be-in-the-redneck-bathtub/) [Honey Boo Boo Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honey-boo-boo-child/) > [You might be a redneck if you can tell your age by the number of rings in the bathtub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-foxworthy/you-might-be-a-redneck-if-you-can-tell-your-age-by-the-number-of/) [Jeff Foxworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-foxworthy/) [Browse all 69 Bathtub quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bathtub/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[On William Lyon Phelps's Happiness:] It is second only to a rubber duck as the ideal bathtub companion. It may be held in the hand without causing muscular fatigue ... and it may be read through before the water has cooled. 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