--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If flying-saucer creatures or angels or…" description: "\"“If flying-saucer creatures or angels or whatever were to come here in a hundred years, say, and find us gone like the dinosaurs, what might be a good ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/665/kurt-vonnegut-41_grand-canyon_if-flying-saucer-creatures-or-angels-or_884895.jpg" --- # If flying-saucer creatures or angels or whatever were to… ![“If flying-saucer creatures or angels or whatever were to come here in a hundred years, say, and find us gone like the dinosaurs, what might be a good message for humanity to leave for them, maybe carved in great big letters on a Grand Canyon wall? Here is this old poop's suggestion: WE PROBABLY…” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/665/kurt-vonnegut-41_grand-canyon_if-flying-saucer-creatures-or-angels-or_884895.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/665/kurt-vonnegut-41_grand-canyon_if-flying-saucer-creatures-or-angels-or_884895.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/665/kurt-vonnegut-41_grand-canyon_if-flying-saucer-creatures-or-angels-or_884895.jpg) > ““If flying-saucer creatures or angels or whatever were to come here in a hundred years, say, and find us gone like the dinosaurs, what might be a good message for humanity to leave for them, maybe carved in great big letters on a Grand Canyon wall? Here is this old poop's suggestion: WE PROBABLY COULD HAVE SAVED OURSELVES, BUT WERE TOO DAMNED LAZY TO TRY VERY HARD...”” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If humanity vanished, a warning might read that laziness prevented self‑preservation, urging future beings to act decisively. **In simple terms:** Human laziness doomed us. Key Takeaway Avoid complacency; act decisively. Themes environment humanity legacy Mood cautionary humorous Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - climate policy - public health - education reform Key Concepts existential risk collective action Questions to Reflect On - What concrete steps can prevent such laziness? - How can societies motivate collective effort? A Different Perspective Message may be too simplistic for complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grand canyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grand-canyon/) [Message](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/message/) ## Related quotes > [If you don't have a good case, and you don't have a good message, then shining a light on it is not going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amal-clooney/if-you-don-t-have-a-good-case-and-you-don-t-have-a-good-message-then/) [Amal Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amal-clooney/) > [The top part is a good message, but the bottom part made me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-top-part-is-a-good-message-but-the-bottom-part-made-me-laugh/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If there really is a God who created the entire universe with all of its glories, and He decides to deliver a message to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/if-there-really-is-a-god-who-created-the-entire-universe-with-all-of/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“If one day there is only one person left living in the world, that person will no longer have a message to humanity, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-one-day-there-is-only-one-person-left-living-in-the-world-that/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [They just teach by their presence. They don't really have a message for humanity. It's irrelevant at that point. They're just a fluid, perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/they-just-teach-by-their-presence-they-don-t-really-have-a-message/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“As the modern critic David Quint has summed it up, Montaigne would probably interpret the message for humanity in Christ’s crucifixion as being “Don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bakewell/as-the-modern-critic-david-quint-has-summed-it-up-montaigne-would/) [Sarah Bakewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bakewell/) > [From my earliest years I had always wanted to be a writer. It was not that I had any particular message for humanity. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/from-my-earliest-years-i-had-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer-it-was-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Only life suffered can transform a symphony from a collection of notes into a message of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimitris-mitropoulos/only-life-suffered-can-transform-a-symphony-from-a-collection-of/) Dimitris Mitropoulos > [“The doctors agreed: He was going crazy...they didn't think it had anything to do with the war. They were sure Billy was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-doctors-agreed-he-was-going-crazy-they-didn-t-think-it-had/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [When the last living thing Has died on account of us, How poetical it would be If Earth could say, In a voice floating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/when-the-last-living-thing-has-died-on-account-of-us-how-poetical-it/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They didn't think it had anything to do with the war. They were sure Billy was going to pieces because his father had thrown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-didn-t-think-it-had-anything-to-do-with-the-war-they-were-sure/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [bergeron's epitaph for the planet, i remember, which he said should be carved in big letters in a wall of the grand canyon for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/bergeron-s-epitaph-for-the-planet-i-remember-which-he-said-should-be/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Zombies are eternal. They're like dinosaurs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-aguirre-sacasa/zombies-are-eternal-they-re-like-dinosaurs/) [Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-aguirre-sacasa/) > [“Maybe the kid gravitated to Zeb for the same reason children like dinosaurs: when feeling abandoned in a world of forces beyond your control,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/maybe-the-kid-gravitated-to-zeb-for-the-same-reason-children-like/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Birds were what became of dinosaurs. Those mountains of flesh whose petrified bones were on display at the Museum of Natural History had done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/birds-were-what-became-of-dinosaurs-those-mountains-of-flesh-whose/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Grand canyon quotes > [But to carve the Grand Canyon, Earth required millions of years. To excavate Meteor Crater, the universe, using a sixty-thousand-ton asteroid traveling upward of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/but-to-carve-the-grand-canyon-earth-required-millions-of-years-to/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness. Standing on the edge of the Grand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-really-wonderful-moments-of-joy-in-this-world-are-not-the-moments/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [On the lip of the Grand Canyon. I've always wanted to do that. My very first TV special out of the Olympics was on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boitano/on-the-lip-of-the-grand-canyon-i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-that-my-very/) [Brian Boitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boitano/) > [The Grand Canyon is living evidence of the power of water over a period of time. The power may not manifest immediately. Water can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-grand-canyon-is-living-evidence-of-the-power-of-water-over-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I had so much fun touring the Grand Canyon area with the Sierra Club. I love to get outdoors and enjoy nature. We went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-gould/i-had-so-much-fun-touring-the-grand-canyon-area-with-the-sierra-club/) [Nolan Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-gould/) > [A rill in a barnyard and the Grand Canyon represent, in the main, stages of valley erosion that began some millions of years apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/a-rill-in-a-barnyard-and-the-grand-canyon-represent-in-the-main/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a 100-million-year-old fossil or a 500,000-year-old stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peering-through-a-100-inch/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [If you understood a business perfectly and the future of the business, you would need very little in the way of a margin of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/if-you-understood-a-business-perfectly-and-the-future-of-the-business/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [You can't say you're going to jump the Grand Canyon and then jump some other canyon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evel-knievel/you-can-t-say-you-re-going-to-jump-the-grand-canyon-and-then-jump/) [Evel Knievel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evel-knievel/) > [The most refined skills of color printing, the intricate techniques of wide-angle photography, provide us pictures of trivia bigger and more real than life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-most-refined-skills-of-color-printing-the-intricate-techniques-of/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [“If I owned the Grand Canyon, it would be my largest antique.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-i-owned-the-grand-canyon-it-would-be-my-largest-antique/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“People have been driving off of the canyon for decades. I don't know of any that were accidental. One Ranger who worked here before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-eileen-muleady-mecham/people-have-been-driving-off-of-the-canyon-for-decades-i-don-t-know/) Nancy Eileen Muleady-Mecham > [The church as we know it today seems a million miles from the New Testament church. 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Like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-woon/who-is-he-eleanor-lowered-her-voice-the-name-rolling-off-her-tongue/) [Yvonne Woon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvonne-woon/) [Browse all 156 Grand canyon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grand-canyon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If flying-saucer creatures or angels or whatever were to come here in a hundred years, say, and find us gone like the dinosaurs, what might be a good message for humanity to leave for them, maybe carved in great big letters on a Grand Canyon wall? 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