--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why, did you know that if a beaver two…" description: "\"Why, did you know that if a beaver two feet long with a tail a foot and a half long can build a dam twelve feet high and six feet wide in two days, all..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/norton-juster-2113_beaver_why-did-you-know-that-if-a-beaver-two-fe_918022.png" --- # Why, did you know that if a beaver two feet long with a… ![“Why, did you know that if a beaver two feet long with a tail a foot and a half long can build a dam twelve feet high and six feet wide in two days, all you would need to build Boulder Dam is a beaver sixty-eight feet long with a fifty-one-foot tail?" "Where would you find a beaver that big?"…” quote by Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/norton-juster-2113_beaver_why-did-you-know-that-if-a-beaver-two-fe_918022.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/norton-juster-2113_beaver_why-did-you-know-that-if-a-beaver-two-fe_918022.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/norton-juster-2113_beaver_why-did-you-know-that-if-a-beaver-two-fe_918022.png) > “Why, did you know that if a beaver two feet long with a tail a foot and a half long can build a dam twelve feet high and six feet wide in two days, all you would need to build Boulder Dam is a beaver sixty-eight feet long with a fifty-one-foot tail?" "Where would you find a beaver that big?" grumbled the Humbug as his pencil point snapped. "I'm sure I don't know," he replied, "but if you did, you'd certainly know what to do with him.” [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The absurd question highlights how scaling up a small solution doesn't solve complex problems without considering feasibility. **In simple terms:** Big ideas need realistic planning. Key Takeaway Don’t assume size alone solves issues. Themes creativity logic absurdity Mood playful thoughtful Type humorous philosophical When to use this quote - project planning - resource allocation - environmental design Key Concepts scale problem solving engineering Questions to Reflect On - What practical limits affect scaling? - How to balance imagination with realism? A Different Perspective Assumes linear scaling works, ignoring practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beavers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beavers/) [Boulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boulders/) ## Related quotes > [“What a shame," signed the Dodecahedron. "They're so very useful. Why, did you know that if a beaver two feet long with a tail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/what-a-shame-signed-the-dodecahedron-they-re-so-very-useful-why-did/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [A beaver is about like the ninjas the suckers only work at night and they're hard to find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/si-robertson/a-beaver-is-about-like-the-ninjas-the-suckers-only-work-at-night-and/) [Si Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/si-robertson/) > [I did a great show Off-Broadway called Leave It To Beaver Is Dead that was at the Public Theater in New York. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-spiner/i-did-a-great-show-off-broadway-called-leave-it-to-beaver-is-dead/) [Brent Spiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-spiner/) > [Beaver do better work than the Corps of Engineers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-todd/beaver-do-better-work-than-the-corps-of-engineers/) [Mike Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-todd/) > [In college, a group of guys labelled me a "righteous little beaver." Again, I was slightly pissed because it seemed offensive and misdirected, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-richards/in-college-a-group-of-guys-labelled-me-a-righteous-little-beaver/) [Amy Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-richards/) > [Dad at breakfast today being very quiet. I notice he is clean shaven. I said to him, "Vati, what has happened to the little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-rennison/dad-at-breakfast-today-being-very-quiet-i-notice-he-is-clean-shaven-i/) [Louise Rennison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-rennison/) > [A beaver does not, as legend would have it, know which direction the tree will fall when he cuts it, but counts on alacrity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-zwinger/a-beaver-does-not-as-legend-would-have-it-know-which-direction-the/) [Ann Zwinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-zwinger/) > [Save a tree, eat a beaver¦](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-hanson/save-a-tree-eat-a-beaver/) [Zac Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-hanson/) > [I used to swim with these beavers in a beaver pond when I was 10. I went back when I was 11 and found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/i-used-to-swim-with-these-beavers-in-a-beaver-pond-when-i-was-10-i/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [Natural selection deals ruthlessly with any population, bird or beaver, which fails to solve the problems of its environment with all those resources, learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ardrey/natural-selection-deals-ruthlessly-with-any-population-bird-or-beaver/) [Robert Ardrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ardrey/) > [The beaver told the rabbit as they stared at the Hoover Dam: No, I didn't build it myself, but it's based on an idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-beaver-told-the-rabbit-as-they-stared-at-the-hoover-dam-no-i-didn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[Footnote:\] To give the Beaver his due, he does things because he has to do them, not because he believes that hard work per… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cuppy/footnote-to-give-the-beaver-his-due-he-does-things-because-he-has-to/) [Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cuppy/) > [Body hair. You know when you're swimming as a kid and you want to crawl on your dad? None of us went anywhere near…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/body-hair-you-know-when-you-re-swimming-as-a-kid-and-you-want-to/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [Contrary to popular opinion, 'Leave it to Beaver' was not a documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/contrary-to-popular-opinion-leave-it-to-beaver-was-not-a-documentary/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [The beaver, which has come to represent Canada as the eagle does the United States and the lion Britain, is a flat-tailed, slow-witted, toothy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-callwood/the-beaver-which-has-come-to-represent-canada-as-the-eagle-does-the/) June Callwood ## More by Norton Juster > [You see, years ago I was just an ordinary bee minding my own business, smelling flowers all day, and occasionally picking up part-time work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/you-see-years-ago-i-was-just-an-ordinary-bee-minding-my-own-business/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [“How are you going to make it move? It doesn't have a – " "Be very quiet," advised the duke, "for it goes without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/how-are-you-going-to-make-it-move-it-doesn-t-have-a-be-very-quiet/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [It was really written as most, I think, books are by writers - for themselves. There was something that just had to be written,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/it-was-really-written-as-most-i-think-books-are-by-writers-for/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [“What kind of a place is Expectations?" inquired Milo, unable to see the humor and feeling very doubtful of the little man's sanity. "Good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/what-kind-of-a-place-is-expectations-inquired-milo-unable-to-see-the/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [There is much worth noticing that often escapes the eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/there-is-much-worth-noticing-that-often-escapes-the-eye/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [“The most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what's in between.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/the-most-important-reason-for-going-from-one-place-to-another-is-to/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [“As the cheering continued, Rhyme leaned forward and touched Milo gently on the shoulder. "They're cheering for you," she said with a smile. "But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/as-the-cheering-continued-rhyme-leaned-forward-and-touched-milo/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [He paused again as a tear of longing rolled from cheek to lip with the sweet-salty taste of an old memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/he-paused-again-as-a-tear-of-longing-rolled-from-cheek-to-lip-with/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [“Kad god se nasmiješiš, radost se oko tebe širi poput kolobara u bari, i kad god si tužan, nitko nigdje ne može biti stvarno…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/kad-god-se-nasmije-i-radost-se-oko-tebe-iri-poput-kolobara-u-bari-i/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [“Why not take a few pounds of ‘happys’?” advised the salesman. “They’re much more practical—and very useful for Happy Birthday, Happy New Year, happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/why-not-take-a-few-pounds-of-happys-advised-the-salesman-they-re-much/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [...it's not just learning that's important. It's learning what to do with what you learn and learning why you learn things that matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/it-s-not-just-learning-that-s-important-it-s-learning-what-to-do-with/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [Sometimes I find the best way of getting from one place to another is simply to erase everything and begin again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/sometimes-i-find-the-best-way-of-getting-from-one-place-to-another-is/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/have-you-ever-heard-the-wonderful-silence-just-before-the-dawn-or-the/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [How can you see something that isn't there?" yawned the Humbug, who wasn't fully awake yet. "Sometimes, it's much simpler than seeing things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/how-can-you-see-something-that-isn-t-there-yawned-the-humbug-who-wasn/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [“I wonder where I am," said Milo in a very worried tone. "You're . . . in . . . the . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/i-wonder-where-i-am-said-milo-in-a-very-worried-tone-you-re-in-the/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) [Explore all 185 Norton Juster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) ## More Beaver quotes > [Canada has two emblems - the beaver and the maple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-dawson/canada-has-two-emblems-the-beaver-and-the-maple/) John W. Dawson > [You are here because you some Justin Beaver, Miley Cirus lookin' muthas. -Captain Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/21-jump-street/you-are-here-because-you-some-justin-beaver-miley-cirus-lookin-muthas/) 21 Jump Street > [Save a tree, eat a beaver¦](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-hanson/save-a-tree-eat-a-beaver/) [Zac Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-hanson/) > [I trapped for 10 years, selling the hides and everything. Muskrats, raccoons, coyote, mink, beaver, otter, fox. When I figured out you couldn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/i-trapped-for-10-years-selling-the-hides-and-everything-muskrats/) [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) > [I'm at a little loss in terms of my Leave It To Beaver expertise, since I never watched an episode of the show -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-shearer/i-m-at-a-little-loss-in-terms-of-my-leave-it-to-beaver-expertise/) [Harry Shearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-shearer/) > [Contrary to popular opinion, 'Leave it to Beaver' was not a documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/contrary-to-popular-opinion-leave-it-to-beaver-was-not-a-documentary/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [Of course, Mississippi participates in federal matching programs for everything from preserving the post-Civil War home of Jefferson Davis to beaver control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-musgrove/of-course-mississippi-participates-in-federal-matching-programs-for/) [Ronnie Musgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-musgrove/) > [Body hair. You know when you're swimming as a kid and you want to crawl on your dad? None of us went anywhere near…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/body-hair-you-know-when-you-re-swimming-as-a-kid-and-you-want-to/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [A lot of things I have turned down ended up being a big embarrassment. Like that script, 'The Beaver.' I thought that was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-zwigoff/a-lot-of-things-i-have-turned-down-ended-up-being-a-big-embarrassment/) [Terry Zwigoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-zwigoff/) > ['Leave It to Beaver,' which ran from 1957 until 1963, was one of the strangest, sweetest, most distinctive domestic sitcoms of television's celebrated Golden Age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-shales/leave-it-to-beaver-which-ran-from-1957-until-1963-was-one-of-the/) [Tom Shales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-shales/) > [“The rat will adapt to most any landscape. The beaver will gnaw and slap and drag the landscape to fit her needs. I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-k-anderson/the-rat-will-adapt-to-most-any-landscape-the-beaver-will-gnaw-and/) Jarod K. Anderson > [I had one guy pretend to be me, go to a hotel room, and tell the people at the front desk that it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-claypool/i-had-one-guy-pretend-to-be-me-go-to-a-hotel-room-and-tell-the-people/) [Les Claypool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-claypool/) > [ \[Footnote:\] To give the Beaver his due, he does things because he has to do them, not because he believes that hard work per… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cuppy/footnote-to-give-the-beaver-his-due-he-does-things-because-he-has-to/) [Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cuppy/) > [Everything has changed in recent decades - the economy, technology, cultural attitudes, the demographics of the workforce, the role of women in society and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everything-has-changed-in-recent-decades-the-economy-technology/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The beaver told the rabbit as they stared at the Hoover Dam: No, I didn't build it myself, but it's based on an idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-beaver-told-the-rabbit-as-they-stared-at-the-hoover-dam-no-i-didn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 41 Beaver quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Why, did you know that if a beaver two feet long with a tail a foot and a half long can build a dam twelve feet high and six feet wide in two days, all you would need to build Boulder Dam is a beaver sixty-eight feet long with a fifty-one-foot tail?\" \"Where would you find a beaver that big?\" grumbled the Humbug as his pencil point snapped. \"I'm sure I don't know,\" he replied, \"but if you did, you'd certainly know what to do with him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norton Juster" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/why-did-you-know-that-if-a-beaver-two-feet-long-with-a-tail-a-foot/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beaver" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/why-did-you-know-that-if-a-beaver-two-feet-long-with-a-tail-a-foot/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/norton-juster-2113_beaver_why-did-you-know-that-if-a-beaver-two-fe_918022.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/norton-juster-2113_beaver_why-did-you-know-that-if-a-beaver-two-fe_918022.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/norton-juster-2113_beaver_why-did-you-know-that-if-a-beaver-two-fe_918022.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Why, did you know that if a beaver two feet long with a tail a foot and a half long can build a dam twelve…” — Norton Juster", "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": "Norton Juster", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Why, did you know that if...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/why-did-you-know-that-if-a-beaver-two-feet-long-with-a-tail-a-foot/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/why-did-you-know-that-if-a-beaver-two-feet-long-with-a-tail-a-foot/#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 } } ] } ```