--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only useful thing I ever learned in…" description: "\"The only useful thing I ever learned in school was that if you spit on your eraser it erased ink.\" — Dorothy Parker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/dorothy-parker-700_education_the-only-useful-thing-i-ever-learned-in_1706218.jpg" --- # The only useful thing I ever learned in school was that if… ![“The only useful thing I ever learned in school was that if you spit on your eraser it erased ink.” quote by Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/dorothy-parker-700_education_the-only-useful-thing-i-ever-learned-in_1706218.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/dorothy-parker-700_education_the-only-useful-thing-i-ever-learned-in_1706218.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/dorothy-parker-700_education_the-only-useful-thing-i-ever-learned-in_1706218.jpg) > “The only useful thing I ever learned in school was that if you spit on your eraser it erased ink.” [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. Practical school lessons are often trivial, yet they can be surprisingly useful in everyday life. **In simple terms:** Simple school tricks can be handy. Key Takeaway Value unexpected practical knowledge. Themes education practicality humor Mood lighthearted reflective Type humorous anecdotal When to use this quote - classroom anecdotes - office hacks - DIY fixes Key Concepts learning theory everyday problem solving Questions to Reflect On - What trivial lesson helped you most? - Do you seek practical wisdom over theory? A Different Perspective Not all knowledge is profound; usefulness varies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Useful things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useful-things/) ## Related quotes > [...as for helping me in the outside world, the Convent taught me only that if you spit on a pencil eraser, it will erase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/as-for-helping-me-in-the-outside-world-the-convent-taught-me-only/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [In Nirvana, it is you, my friend, who goes away. You take an eraser and erase yourself. It's like the Road Runner cartoons where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-nirvana-it-is-you-my-friend-who-goes-away-you-take-an-eraser-and/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“If I choose to take the pen from God and write the story of my life without Him, I better have plenty of erasers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/if-i-choose-to-take-the-pen-from-god-and-write-the-story-of-my-life/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [The best eraser in the world is a good night's sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-aloysius-battista/the-best-eraser-in-the-world-is-a-good-night-s-sleep/) [Orlando Aloysius Battista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-aloysius-battista/) > [All that Hubert needs over there is a gal to answer the phone and a pencil with an eraser on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/all-that-hubert-needs-over-there-is-a-gal-to-answer-the-phone-and-a/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [No one is perfect, thats why pencils have erasers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/no-one-is-perfect-thats-why-pencils-have-erasers/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [On my desk, I always have a lemon or a lime drying. I love the fragrance. Also, a Staedtler eraser, a brush for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/on-my-desk-i-always-have-a-lemon-or-a-lime-drying-i-love-the/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [Nothing in a graduate degree in art history prepares you for the eloquence of the eraser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/nothing-in-a-graduate-degree-in-art-history-prepares-you-for-the/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledge hammer on the construction site.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/you-can-use-an-eraser-on-the-drafting-table-or-a-sledge-hammer-on-the/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [Once we erase ourselves, then there's no eraser. There never was anyone to erase. We've awakened from the dream and the dream has faded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/once-we-erase-ourselves-then-there-s-no-eraser-there-never-was-anyone/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [My heart is a colored pencil but my brain is an eraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-watsky/my-heart-is-a-colored-pencil-but-my-brain-is-an-eraser/) [George Watsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-watsky/) > [You can't live life without an eraser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/you-can-t-live-life-without-an-eraser/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [He who knows how to shave the razor, will know how to erase the eraser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-michaux/he-who-knows-how-to-shave-the-razor-will-know-how-to-erase-the-eraser/) [Henri Michaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-michaux/) > [The best design tool is a long eraser with a pencil at one end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-neumeier/the-best-design-tool-is-a-long-eraser-with-a-pencil-at-one-end/) [Marty Neumeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-neumeier/) > [An old man said Eraser are made For those who make MISTAKES. A youth replied Erasers are made for those who are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/echoyan/an-old-man-said-eraser-are-made-for-those-who-make-mistakes-a-youth/) EchoYan ## 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 Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only useful thing I ever learned in school was that if you spit on your eraser it erased ink.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dorothy Parker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-only-useful-thing-i-ever-learned-in-school-was-that-if-you-spit/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-only-useful-thing-i-ever-learned-in-school-was-that-if-you-spit/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/dorothy-parker-700_education_the-only-useful-thing-i-ever-learned-in_1706218.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/dorothy-parker-700_education_the-only-useful-thing-i-ever-learned-in_1706218.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/dorothy-parker-700_education_the-only-useful-thing-i-ever-learned-in_1706218.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only useful thing I ever learned in school was that if you spit on your eraser it erased ink.” — Dorothy Parker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dorothy Parker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The only useful thing I ever...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-only-useful-thing-i-ever-learned-in-school-was-that-if-you-spit/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-only-useful-thing-i-ever-learned-in-school-was-that-if-you-spit/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```