--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only things that are immortal in this…" description: "\"The only things that are immortal in this world are government programs and cancer cells in petri dishes.\" — Jim Babka" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/jim-babka-59714_cancer_the-only-things-that-are-immortal-in-thi_2333310.jpg" --- # The only things that are immortal in this world are… ![“The only things that are immortal in this world are government programs and cancer cells in petri dishes.” quote by Jim Babka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/jim-babka-59714_cancer_the-only-things-that-are-immortal-in-thi_2333310.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/jim-babka-59714_cancer_the-only-things-that-are-immortal-in-thi_2333310.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/jim-babka-59714_cancer_the-only-things-that-are-immortal-in-thi_2333310.jpg) > “The only things that are immortal in this world are government programs and cancer cells in petri dishes.” [Jim Babka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-babka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Government programs and cancer cells outlive humans, highlighting bureaucratic permanence. **In simple terms:** Some things outlast people: programs and cells. Key Takeaway Question the longevity of institutions. Themes politics science skepticism Mood skeptical humorous Type political scientific When to use this quote - budget reviews - scientific research funding - public health initiatives Key Concepts bureaucracy biological persistence public policy Questions to Reflect On - Which programs truly serve the public? - How can we balance necessary bureaucracy with efficiency? A Different Perspective Not all programs are harmful; some are essential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government programs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-programs/) [Immortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortality/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“So here we are, with the fate of our immortal world in the hands of an illiterate human.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/so-here-we-are-with-the-fate-of-our-immortal-world-in-the-hands-of-an/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [All things by immortal power. Near of far, to each other linked are, that thou canst not stir a flower without troubling of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/all-things-by-immortal-power-near-of-far-to-each-other-linked-are/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [And why should any man who writes, even if he writes things immortal, nurse anger at the world's neglect? Who asked him to publish?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/and-why-should-any-man-who-writes-even-if-he-writes-things-immortal/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [When in organism there are cancer cells, they have to be removed, not helped because they're "so young" and "so creative".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janusz-korwin-mikke/when-in-organism-there-are-cancer-cells-they-have-to-be-removed-not/) [Janusz Korwin-Mikke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janusz-korwin-mikke/) > [Sex slows down the growth of cancer cells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sex-slows-down-the-growth-of-cancer-cells/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I believe that we are going to have a much deeper appreciation of what kinds of abnormalities in cancer cells and in the surrounding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/i-believe-that-we-are-going-to-have-a-much-deeper-appreciation-of/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [Probably all of us have random rogue cancer cells floating around in our bodies but by and large, in the majority of cases, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-glimcher/probably-all-of-us-have-random-rogue-cancer-cells-floating-around-in/) [Laurie Glimcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-glimcher/) > [“Cell division allows us as organisms to grow, to adapt, to recover, to repair—to live. 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For me, they also become associated with cancer cells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/the-crows-that-are-predatory-are-something-you-have-to-deal-with-for/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [The first observation of cancer cells in the smear of the uterine cervix gave me one of the greatest thrills I ever experienced during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgios-papanikolaou/the-first-observation-of-cancer-cells-in-the-smear-of-the-uterine/) Georgios Papanikolaou > [Cancer cells are fixed at an age where they are still too young to have learned the rules of the society in which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/cancer-cells-are-fixed-at-an-age-where-they-are-still-too-young-to/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [“Saw a film on cancer yesterday, shown by the English delegation. No doubt about it. I'm right. "Migratory cancer cells" are amoebic formations. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/saw-a-film-on-cancer-yesterday-shown-by-the-english-delegation-no/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) ## More by Jim Babka > [Since Congress makes the laws they are under the delusion that anything they do is legal, no matter if it is unwise, unethical, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-babka/since-congress-makes-the-laws-they-are-under-the-delusion-that/) [Jim Babka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-babka/) > [Turning to politicians is the worst way to solve a problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-babka/turning-to-politicians-is-the-worst-way-to-solve-a-problem/) [Jim Babka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-babka/) > [Government failure is always used as an excuse for government expansion. 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Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-koch/) [Browse all 3,177 Cancer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only things that are immortal in this world are government programs and cancer cells in petri dishes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jim Babka" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-babka/the-only-things-that-are-immortal-in-this-world-are-government/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cancer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-babka/the-only-things-that-are-immortal-in-this-world-are-government/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/jim-babka-59714_cancer_the-only-things-that-are-immortal-in-thi_2333310.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/jim-babka-59714_cancer_the-only-things-that-are-immortal-in-thi_2333310.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/jim-babka-59714_cancer_the-only-things-that-are-immortal-in-thi_2333310.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only things that are immortal in this world are government programs and cancer cells in petri dishes.” — Jim Babka", "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": "Jim Babka", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-babka/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The only things that are immortal...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-babka/the-only-things-that-are-immortal-in-this-world-are-government/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-babka/the-only-things-that-are-immortal-in-this-world-are-government/#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 } } ] } ```