--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic…" description: "\"We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic and bring the Old World some weeks nearer to the New; but perchance the first news that will leak through int..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/394/henry-david-thoreau-20_adelaide_we-are-eager-to-tunnel-under-the-atlanti_1886144.jpg" --- # We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic and bring the… ![“We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic and bring the Old World some weeks nearer to the New; but perchance the first news that will leak through into the broad, flapping American ear will be that the Princess Adelaide has the whooping cough.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/394/henry-david-thoreau-20_adelaide_we-are-eager-to-tunnel-under-the-atlanti_1886144.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/394/henry-david-thoreau-20_adelaide_we-are-eager-to-tunnel-under-the-atlanti_1886144.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/394/henry-david-thoreau-20_adelaide_we-are-eager-to-tunnel-under-the-atlanti_1886144.jpg) > “We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic and bring the Old World some weeks nearer to the New; but perchance the first news that will leak through into the broad, flapping American ear will be that the Princess Adelaide has the whooping cough.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Satirically notes that trivial news may dominate public attention over significant achievements. **In simple terms:** Minor news can eclipse major progress. Key Takeaway Focus on substantive issues over gossip. Themes media distraction priorities Mood reflective ironic Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - Journalism - political discourse - historical commentary Key Concepts Information overload public attention Questions to Reflect On - What topics deserve more public focus? - How can we filter noise? A Different Perspective Media may amplify trivialities despite intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adelaide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adelaide/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [News](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/news/) [Old world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-world/) [Princess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/princess/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) [Whooping cough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whooping-cough/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Doesn’t big news always leak before it’s meant to? Aren’t secrets usually spilled?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/doesn-t-big-news-always-leak-before-it-s-meant-to-aren-t-secrets/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-are-in-great-haste-to-construct-a-magnetic-telegraph-from-maine-to/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [But it is rather derogatory that your dwelling-place should be only a neighborhood to a great city,--to live on an inclined plane.I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/but-it-is-rather-derogatory-that-your-dwelling-place-should-be-only-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I was awakened at midnight by some heavy, low-flying bird, probably a loon, flapping by close over my head, along the shore. So, turning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-was-awakened-at-midnight-by-some-heavy-low-flying-bird-probably-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Her mother was a Christian Scientist who didn't believe in calling doctors. So when my mother caught whooping cough as a baby, stopped breathing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-hepburn-ferrer/her-mother-was-a-christian-scientist-who-didn-t-believe-in-calling/) [Sean Hepburn Ferrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-hepburn-ferrer/) > [Only after realising that routine immunisations were dangerous did I achieve a substantial drop in infant death rates. The worst vaccine of all is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archie-kalokerinos/only-after-realising-that-routine-immunisations-were-dangerous-did-i/) [Archie Kalokerinos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archie-kalokerinos/) > [“My step-mother looked at me at least once on each of these miserable days, and said: 'Rose-Marie, you look very odd. I hope you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/my-step-mother-looked-at-me-at-least-once-on-each-of-these-miserable/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [My childhood was full of deep sorrows - colic, whooping-cough, dread of ghosts, hell, Satan, and a Deity in the sky who was angry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/my-childhood-was-full-of-deep-sorrows-colic-whooping-cough-dread-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [When I was a child, there were not that many vaccines. I was vaccinated for polio. I actually got measles as a child. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-was-a-child-there-were-not-that-many-vaccines-i-was-vaccinated/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our young people are diseased with the theological problems of original sin, origin of evil, predestination, and the like. These never presented a practical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/our-young-people-are-diseased-with-the-theological-problems-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“in 1955 the CIA released the whooping cough virus over Tampa, Florida without telling anyone, so they could see how quickly it would spread;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/in-1955-the-cia-released-the-whooping-cough-virus-over-tampa-florida/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [In the USA in 1978, they mandated vaccination and it resulted in a three fold increase in the reported incidence of whooping cough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viera-scheibner/in-the-usa-in-1978-they-mandated-vaccination-and-it-resulted-in-a/) [Viera Scheibner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viera-scheibner/) > [Up to 90% of the total decline in the death rate of children between 1860-1965 because of whooping cough, scarlet fever, diphtheria, and measles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archie-kalokerinos/up-to-90-of-the-total-decline-in-the-death-rate-of-children-between/) [Archie Kalokerinos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archie-kalokerinos/) > [Throughout Asia and Europe, pearls were traditionally believed to ease a range of conditions, including eye diseases, fever, insomnia, 'female complaints', dysentery, whooping cough,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-finlay/throughout-asia-and-europe-pearls-were-traditionally-believed-to-ease/) [Victoria Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-finlay/) > [“When one of us (children) caught measles or whooping cough and we were isolated in bad upstairs, we wrote notes to each other perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/when-one-of-us-children-caught-measles-or-whooping-cough-and-we-were/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Adelaide quotes > [I love Adelaide. It's a great place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-o-reilly/i-love-adelaide-it-s-a-great-place/) [Genevieve O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-o-reilly/) > [“Once Smith had you, he would most likely have tried to negotiate for the lamp." Everything inside her warmed gently. "You'd give up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-quick/once-smith-had-you-he-would-most-likely-have-tried-to-negotiate-for/) [Amanda Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-quick/) > [ I learned from Ethel Waters, Duke Ellington, Adelaide Hall, the Nicholas Brothers, the whole thing, the whole schmear. \[The Cotton Club\] was a great… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-horne/i-learned-from-ethel-waters-duke-ellington-adelaide-hall-the-nicholas/) [Lena Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-horne/) > [No star is lost once we have seen, We always may be what we might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelaide-anne-procter/no-star-is-lost-once-we-have-seen-we-always-may-be-what-we-might-have/) [Adelaide Anne Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelaide-anne-procter/) > [Even though I live in America more, I feel like when I go to Adelaide, that's when I get to go home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-folds/even-though-i-live-in-america-more-i-feel-like-when-i-go-to-adelaide/) [Ben Folds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-folds/) > [When I was a kid in Adelaide, I dreamed of becoming No. 1 in the world, winning a grand slam and the Davis Cup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lleyton-hewitt/when-i-was-a-kid-in-adelaide-i-dreamed-of-becoming-no-1-in-the-world/) [Lleyton Hewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lleyton-hewitt/) > [“Adelaide believes that all children should have enough grown-ups around who love them so that one can tell them to fight, one can tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/adelaide-believes-that-all-children-should-have-enough-grown-ups/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [There's something lifts off me when I'm in Adelaide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-sebastian/there-s-something-lifts-off-me-when-i-m-in-adelaide/) [Guy Sebastian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-sebastian/) > [I think it's very, very important that people outside the capital cities, not just Sydney and Melbourne but also Brisbane Perth Adelaide and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-brandis/i-think-it-s-very-very-important-that-people-outside-the-capital/) [George Brandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-brandis/) > [“Adelaide loved the idea of celebrating the day a person entered the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-wheeler/adelaide-loved-the-idea-of-celebrating-the-day-a-person-entered-the/) Genevieve Wheeler > [I don't really remember the day we lost our home in the floods, but looking back I can understand how devastating it was for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-stosur/i-don-t-really-remember-the-day-we-lost-our-home-in-the-floods-but/) [Samantha Stosur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-stosur/) > [The last thing I stole was a box of Coca Cola from a parked truck in Adelaide. 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