--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Eureka!\" (I found it!) but \"That's funny..." description: "\"Eureka!\" (I found it!) but \"That's funny...\" — Isaac Asimov" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/isaac-asimov-309_eureka_eureka-i-found-it-but-that-s-funny-27800_2780007.jpg" --- # Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny... ![“Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny...” quote by Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/isaac-asimov-309_eureka_eureka-i-found-it-but-that-s-funny-27800_2780007.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/isaac-asimov-309_eureka_eureka-i-found-it-but-that-s-funny-27800_2780007.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/isaac-asimov-309_eureka_eureka-i-found-it-but-that-s-funny-27800_2780007.jpg) > “Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny...” [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An exclamation of sudden discovery, juxtaposed with a humorous afterthought, highlighting the mix of excitement and absurdity in research. **In simple terms:** Finding something and then finding it funny. Key Takeaway Embrace discovery, but keep perspective. Themes curiosity humor science Mood amight playful Type exclamatory humorous When to use this quote - laboratory breakthrough - creative brainstorming - teaching moments Key Concepts serendipity unexpected insight Questions to Reflect On - What makes a breakthrough feel funny? - How does humor affect scientific communication? A Different Perspective Humor can undermine the seriousness of a discovery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eureka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eureka/) [Eureka Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eureka-funny-3302964/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Funny science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-science/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [In science, the most exciting expression isn’t ‘Eureka!’ It’s ‘Huh?’](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hawley/in-science-the-most-exciting-expression-isn-t-eureka-it-s-huh/) [Michael Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hawley/) > [I have had my results for a long time: but I do not yet know how I am to arrive at them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/i-have-had-my-results-for-a-long-time-but-i-do-not-yet-know-how-i-am/) [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) > [I am compelled to fear that science will be used to promote the power of dominant groups rather than to make men happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-am-compelled-to-fear-that-science-will-be-used-to-promote-the-power/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [If your result needs a statistician then you should design a better experiment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-rutherford/if-your-result-needs-a-statistician-then-you-should-design-a-better/) [Ernest Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-rutherford/) > [If you think research is expensive, try disease!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lasker/if-you-think-research-is-expensive-try-disease/) [Mary Lasker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lasker/) > [Molecular biology is essentially the practice of biochemistry without a license.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-chargaff/molecular-biology-is-essentially-the-practice-of-biochemistry-without/) [Erwin Chargaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-chargaff/) > [First law of science: Don't spit into the wind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danialla-and-her-bff/first-law-of-science-don-t-spit-into-the-wind/) [DaniAlla And Her BFF](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danialla-and-her-bff/) > [“Basic research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I am doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/basic-research-is-what-i-m-doing-when-i-don-t-know-what-i-am-doing/) [Wernher Von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/) > [Moore's Law of Mad Science: Every eighteen months, the minimum IQ necessary to destroy the world drops by one point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/moore-s-law-of-mad-science-every-eighteen-months-the-minimum-iq/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [The farther the experiment is from theory, the closer it is to the Nobel Prize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irene-joliot-curie/the-farther-the-experiment-is-from-theory-the-closer-it-is-to-the/) [Irene Joliot-Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irene-joliot-curie/) > [Science can never solve one problem without raising ten more problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/science-can-never-solve-one-problem-without-raising-ten-more-problems/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Scientists, therefore, are responsible for their research, not only intellectually but also morally. This responsibility has become an important issue in many of today's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/scientists-therefore-are-responsible-for-their-research-not-only/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/when-you-are-courting-a-nice-girl-an-hour-seems-like-a-second/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Darwin has interested us in the history of nature's technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/darwin-has-interested-us-in-the-history-of-nature-s-technology/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [It's funny, I can see the science in how music is made with other artists, but it's hard for me to dissect my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/questlove/it-s-funny-i-can-see-the-science-in-how-music-is-made-with-other/) [Questlove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/questlove/) ## More by Isaac Asimov > [The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-strain-of-anti-intellectualism-has-been-a-constant-thread-winding/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Uncertainty that comes from knowledge (knowing what you don't know) is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/uncertainty-that-comes-from-knowledge-knowing-what-you-don-t-know-is/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Don't you see? It's Galaxy-wide. It's a worship of the past. It's a deterioration - a stagnation!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/don-t-you-see-it-s-galaxy-wide-it-s-a-worship-of-the-past-it-s-a/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You'd better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can't rearrange the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/so-the-universe-is-not-quite-as-you-thought-it-was-you-d-better/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [It is in meeting the great tests that mankind can most successfully rise to great heights. Out of danger and restless insecurity comes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-in-meeting-the-great-tests-that-mankind-can-most-successfully/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“It might seem to you, Peter, that a truck driver, one step above an ape in your view, can't remember. But truck drivers can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-might-seem-to-you-peter-that-a-truck-driver-one-step-above-an-ape/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [When life is so harsh that a man loses all hope in himself, then he raises his eyes to a shining rock, worshipping it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/when-life-is-so-harsh-that-a-man-loses-all-hope-in-himself-then-he/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“You are a military man and should know better. If there is one science into which man has probed continuously and successfully, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/you-are-a-military-man-and-should-know-better-if-there-is-one-science/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“temperatura constante de mais ou menos 21 graus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/temperatura-constante-de-mais-ou-menos-21-graus/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Human beings can tolerate an immortal robot, for it doesn't matter how long a machine lasts, but they cannot tolerate an immortal human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/human-beings-can-tolerate-an-immortal-robot-for-it-doesn-t-matter-how/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“if people believe this, they would act on that belief. Many a prophecy, by the mere force of its being believed, is transmuted”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/if-people-believe-this-they-would-act-on-that-belief-many-a-prophecy/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [There are many aspects of the universe that still cannot be explained satisfactorily by science; but ignorance implies only ignorance that may someday be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-are-many-aspects-of-the-universe-that-still-cannot-be-explained/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. \[The Second Law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/a-robot-must-obey-the-orders-given-it-by-human-beings-except-where/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) [Explore all 671 Isaac Asimov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## More Eureka quotes > [In science, the most exciting expression isn’t ‘Eureka!’ It’s ‘Huh?’](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hawley/in-science-the-most-exciting-expression-isn-t-eureka-it-s-huh/) [Michael Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hawley/) > [“Eureka didn’t voice her perverse enjoyment at dressing as an object with a second life when it was dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kate/eureka-didn-t-voice-her-perverse-enjoyment-at-dressing-as-an-object/) [Lauren Kate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-kate/) > [“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/) > [What's lovely about 'Eureka' is that it's a sci-fi show, but it's not monsters from outer space; it's not craziness from outer space. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-morton/what-s-lovely-about-eureka-is-that-it-s-a-sci-fi-show-but-it-s-not/) [Joe Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-morton/) > [So once I thought of the villain with a sense of humor, I began to think of a name and the name "the Joker"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-robinson/so-once-i-thought-of-the-villain-with-a-sense-of-humor-i-began-to/) [Jerry Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-robinson/) > [Eureka! Eureka! Supposed to have been his cry, jumping naked from his bath and running in the streets, excited by a discovery about water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archimedes/eureka-eureka-supposed-to-have-been-his-cry-jumping-naked-from-his/) [Archimedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archimedes/) > [“Most of us have one BIG IDEA at some point in our lives. That Eureka! moment. It comes to us all in different ways,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-james/most-of-us-have-one-big-idea-at-some-point-in-our-lives-that-eureka/) [Peter James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-james/) > [“If God wants something from me, he would tell me. He wouldn't leave someone else to do this, as if an infinite being were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carrier/if-god-wants-something-from-me-he-would-tell-me-he-wouldn-t-leave/) [Richard Carrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carrier/) > [After 'Eureka' and 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,' I was like 'the scifi guy.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-mccreary/after-eureka-and-terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-i-was-like/) [Bear McCreary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-mccreary/) > [“Don't cut the Crap. Crap gives you Breakthroughs!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vineet-raj-kapoor/don-t-cut-the-crap-crap-gives-you-breakthroughs/) [Vineet Raj Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vineet-raj-kapoor/) > [Your best ideas, those eureka moments that turn the world upside down, seldom come when you're juggling emails, rushing to meet the 5 P.M.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-honor/your-best-ideas-those-eureka-moments-that-turn-the-world-upside-down/) [Carl Honore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-honor/) > ['Eureka' was very bad timing. The early 1980s: Reagan and Thatcher were in, greed was good, and here was a film about the richest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-roeg/eureka-was-very-bad-timing-the-early-1980s-reagan-and-thatcher-were/) [Nicolas Roeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-roeg/) > [“Eureka!"s like the one Archimedes had when he stepped in a bathtub and suddenly realized the answer to the problem of testing metals' density…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-willis/eureka-s-like-the-one-archimedes-had-when-he-stepped-in-a-bathtub-and/) [Connie Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-willis/) > [“We tend to think of imagination and foresight like we are prone to think of life (sometimes) -- as an inscrutable flash of something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/we-tend-to-think-of-imagination-and-foresight-like-we-are-prone-to/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [“Eureka" can be an answer to a question we have never asked. It can be the articulation of a sudden and unforeseen idea or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/eureka-can-be-an-answer-to-a-question-we-have-never-asked-it-can-be/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) [Browse all 24 Eureka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eureka/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Eureka!\" (I found it!) but \"That's funny...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isaac Asimov" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/eureka-i-found-it-but-that-s-funny/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eureka" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/eureka-i-found-it-but-that-s-funny/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/isaac-asimov-309_eureka_eureka-i-found-it-but-that-s-funny-27800_2780007.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/isaac-asimov-309_eureka_eureka-i-found-it-but-that-s-funny-27800_2780007.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/isaac-asimov-309_eureka_eureka-i-found-it-but-that-s-funny-27800_2780007.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Eureka!\" (I found it!) but \"That's funny...” — Isaac Asimov", "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": "Isaac Asimov", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Eureka!\" (I found it!) but \"That's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/eureka-i-found-it-but-that-s-funny/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/eureka-i-found-it-but-that-s-funny/#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 } } ] } ```