---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And of course I don't go anywhere without…"
description: "\"And of course I don't go anywhere without my pet goldfish, Anthrax. I always tell security I'm carrying Anthrax. Yeah, sure I get a lot of guff about i..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/stephen-colbert-503_anthrax_and-of-course-i-don-t-go-anywhere-withou_2333921.png"
---

#  And of course I don't go anywhere without my pet goldfish…

![“And of course I don't go anywhere without my pet goldfish, Anthrax. I always tell security I'm carrying Anthrax. Yeah, sure I get a lot of guff about it, but it's a family name; I'm not changing it.” quote by Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/stephen-colbert-503_anthrax_and-of-course-i-don-t-go-anywhere-withou_2333921.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/stephen-colbert-503_anthrax_and-of-course-i-don-t-go-anywhere-withou_2333921.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/stephen-colbert-503_anthrax_and-of-course-i-don-t-go-anywhere-withou_2333921.png)

> “And of course I don't go anywhere without my pet goldfish, Anthrax. I always tell security I'm carrying Anthrax. Yeah, sure I get a lot of guff about it, but it's a family name; I'm not changing it.”

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A humorous exaggeration of personal identity, using a shocking name to defy norms.

**In simple terms:** Using absurdity to challenge expectations.

Key Takeaway

Embrace humor in self‑presentation.

Themes

identity humor rebellion

Mood

satirical playful

Type

comedic cultural

When to use this quote

- stand‑up comedy
- personal branding
- media interviews

Key Concepts

performance art social critique

Questions to Reflect On

- When does humor become counterproductive?
- How do you balance authenticity and provocation?

A Different Perspective

Shock can alienate as well as amuse.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Anthrax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthrax/) [Anthrax Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthrax-tell-5625255/) [Anthrax Yeah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthrax-yeah-5625254/) [Carrying Anthrax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carrying-anthrax-5625253/) [Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Family name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-name/) [Goldfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goldfish/) [Goldfish Anthrax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goldfish-anthrax-5625252/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Pet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pet/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Yeah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yeah/)

## Related quotes

> [To mess around with Ebola is an easy way to die. Better to work with something safer, such as anthrax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way-to-die-better-to-work-with/)

[Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/)

> [Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom. The Iraqi regime has plotted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/iran-aggressively-pursues-these-weapons-and-exports-terror-while-an/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [You never get quite down to the bottom of the barrel, but we are much higher than that at the present time. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/you-never-get-quite-down-to-the-bottom-of-the-barrel-but-we-are-much/)

[Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/)

> [“What's the point of truth or beauty or knowledge when the anthrax bombs are popping all around you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/what-s-the-point-of-truth-or-beauty-or-knowledge-when-the-anthrax/)

[Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/)

> [“I thought we stopped using grunts as guinea pigs decades ago. Even the Nazis didn't run medical experiments on their own troops in combat.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-matsumoto/i-thought-we-stopped-using-grunts-as-guinea-pigs-decades-ago-even-the/)

[Gary Matsumoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-matsumoto/)

> [Later, I went down to the Washington field office and an onsite polygraph was administered. After reviewing the polygraph charts in private, the polygraph…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-hatfill/later-i-went-down-to-the-washington-field-office-and-an-onsite-2/)

[Steven Hatfill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-hatfill/)

> [Metal is easily my favorite thing - Exodus and Anthrax and Megadeth - so it just kind of organically came through in the standup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-posehn/metal-is-easily-my-favorite-thing-exodus-and-anthrax-and-megadeth-so/)

[Brian Posehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-posehn/)

> [I acknowledge the right of the authorities and the press to satisfy themselves as to whether I am the anthrax mailer. This does not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-hatfill/i-acknowledge-the-right-of-the-authorities-and-the-press-to-satisfy/)

[Steven Hatfill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-hatfill/)

> [It's not anthrax or terrorism or AIDS that is the worst ill in our world: The most horrible disease in the world is hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/it-s-not-anthrax-or-terrorism-or-aids-that-is-the-worst-ill-in-our/)

[Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/)

> [Well germ warfare of course exists. There have been on a small scale... There have been, of course, a few people who got killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/well-germ-warfare-of-course-exists-there-have-been-on-a-small-scale/)

[Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/)

> [The biological agents we believe Iraq can produce include anthrax, botulinum, toxin, aflatoxin and ricin. All eventually result in excruciatingly painful death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-biological-agents-we-believe-iraq-can-produce-include-anthrax/)

[Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/)

> [When World War II came along, which was when I was a teenager, we all expected we would have anthrax bombs and this kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/when-world-war-ii-came-along-which-was-when-i-was-a-teenager-we-all/)

[Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/)

> [If you take the biological weapons in the United States we still will have perhaps a single individual who was able to make anthrax,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/if-you-take-the-biological-weapons-in-the-united-states-we-still-will/)

[Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/)

> [Liberals compare Jerry Falwell to the Taliban, but then are furious with George Bush for not being Jesus Christ. Evidently, what a president is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/liberals-compare-jerry-falwell-to-the-taliban-but-then-are-furious/)

[Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/)

> [After eight months of one of the most intensive public and private investigations in American history, no one - no one - has come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-hatfill/after-eight-months-of-one-of-the-most-intensive-public-and-private/)

[Steven Hatfill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-hatfill/)

## More by Stephen Colbert

> [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [We all deserve credit for this new surveillance state that we live in because we the people voted for the Patriot Act. Democrats and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/we-all-deserve-credit-for-this-new-surveillance-state-that-we-live-in/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [I've long been against illegal aliens, partly because they distract us from an even bigger threat: real aliens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-ve-long-been-against-illegal-aliens-partly-because-they-distract-us/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Believe in me, cause I don't believe in anything, and I wanna be someone to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/believe-in-me-cause-i-don-t-believe-in-anything-and-i-wanna-be/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [It's August, which means Congress is on recess and Mitch McConnell has shimmied back into the ocean to seek a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-august-which-means-congress-is-on-recess-and-mitch-mcconnell-has/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Try to love others and serve others and hopefully find those who love and serve you in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/try-to-love-others-and-serve-others-and-hopefully-find-those-who-love/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Thirty seconds is the exact amount of time Americans can tolerate something they don't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/thirty-seconds-is-the-exact-amount-of-time-americans-can-tolerate/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [I used to make up stuff in my bio all the time, that I used to be a professional ice-skater and stuff like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-used-to-make-up-stuff-in-my-bio-all-the-time-that-i-used-to-be-a/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [I live by syllogisms: God is love. Love is blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God. I don't know what I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-live-by-syllogisms-god-is-love-love-is-blind-stevie-wonder-is-blind/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [“Unlike Paul Newman, who seems to think that salad dressing is the cure-all for America's ills, I'm a man of action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/unlike-paul-newman-who-seems-to-think-that-salad-dressing-is-the-cure/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. It’s sort of a blog for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/now-for-my-younger-viewers-out-there-a-book-is-something-we-used-to/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/jesus-forgives-sinners-not-criminals/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Used books are the sluts of the literary world. Passed around from person to person, spreading their pages for anyone, getting cheaper and cheaper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/used-books-are-the-sluts-of-the-literary-world-passed-around-from/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [“Divorce is a marital welfare. It's just couples asking society to bail them out because they didn't do enough research before they got married.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/divorce-is-a-marital-welfare-it-s-just-couples-asking-society-to-bail/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

[Explore all 514 Stephen Colbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

## More Anthrax quotes

> [To mess around with Ebola is an easy way to die. Better to work with something safer, such as anthrax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way-to-die-better-to-work-with/)

[Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/)

> [Liberals compare Jerry Falwell to the Taliban, but then are furious with George Bush for not being Jesus Christ. Evidently, what a president is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/liberals-compare-jerry-falwell-to-the-taliban-but-then-are-furious/)

[Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/)

> [If you take the biological weapons in the United States we still will have perhaps a single individual who was able to make anthrax,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/if-you-take-the-biological-weapons-in-the-united-states-we-still-will/)

[Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/)

> [When World War II came along, which was when I was a teenager, we all expected we would have anthrax bombs and this kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/when-world-war-ii-came-along-which-was-when-i-was-a-teenager-we-all/)

[Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/)

> [The biological agents we believe Iraq can produce include anthrax, botulinum, toxin, aflatoxin and ricin. All eventually result in excruciatingly painful death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-biological-agents-we-believe-iraq-can-produce-include-anthrax/)

[Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/)

> [Well germ warfare of course exists. There have been on a small scale... There have been, of course, a few people who got killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/well-germ-warfare-of-course-exists-there-have-been-on-a-small-scale/)

[Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/)

> [It's not anthrax or terrorism or AIDS that is the worst ill in our world: The most horrible disease in the world is hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/it-s-not-anthrax-or-terrorism-or-aids-that-is-the-worst-ill-in-our/)

[Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/)

> [I acknowledge the right of the authorities and the press to satisfy themselves as to whether I am the anthrax mailer. This does not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-hatfill/i-acknowledge-the-right-of-the-authorities-and-the-press-to-satisfy/)

[Steven Hatfill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-hatfill/)

> [Metal is easily my favorite thing - Exodus and Anthrax and Megadeth - so it just kind of organically came through in the standup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-posehn/metal-is-easily-my-favorite-thing-exodus-and-anthrax-and-megadeth-so/)

[Brian Posehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-posehn/)

> [Later, I went down to the Washington field office and an onsite polygraph was administered. After reviewing the polygraph charts in private, the polygraph…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-hatfill/later-i-went-down-to-the-washington-field-office-and-an-onsite-2/)

[Steven Hatfill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-hatfill/)

> [“I thought we stopped using grunts as guinea pigs decades ago. Even the Nazis didn't run medical experiments on their own troops in combat.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-matsumoto/i-thought-we-stopped-using-grunts-as-guinea-pigs-decades-ago-even-the/)

[Gary Matsumoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-matsumoto/)

> [“What's the point of truth or beauty or knowledge when the anthrax bombs are popping all around you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/what-s-the-point-of-truth-or-beauty-or-knowledge-when-the-anthrax/)

[Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/)

> [You never get quite down to the bottom of the barrel, but we are much higher than that at the present time. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/you-never-get-quite-down-to-the-bottom-of-the-barrel-but-we-are-much/)

[Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/)

> [Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom. The Iraqi regime has plotted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/iran-aggressively-pursues-these-weapons-and-exports-terror-while-an/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [After eight months of one of the most intensive public and private investigations in American history, no one - no one - has come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-hatfill/after-eight-months-of-one-of-the-most-intensive-public-and-private/)

[Steven Hatfill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-hatfill/)

[Browse all 47 Anthrax quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthrax/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "And of course I don't go anywhere without my pet goldfish, Anthrax. I always tell security I'm carrying Anthrax. Yeah, sure I get a lot of guff about it, but it's a family name; I'm not changing it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Stephen Colbert"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/and-of-course-i-don-t-go-anywhere-without-my-pet-goldfish-anthrax-i/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Anthrax"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/and-of-course-i-don-t-go-anywhere-without-my-pet-goldfish-anthrax-i/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/stephen-colbert-503_anthrax_and-of-course-i-don-t-go-anywhere-withou_2333921.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/stephen-colbert-503_anthrax_and-of-course-i-don-t-go-anywhere-withou_2333921.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/stephen-colbert-503_anthrax_and-of-course-i-don-t-go-anywhere-withou_2333921.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“And of course I don't go anywhere without my pet goldfish, Anthrax. I always tell security I'm carrying…” — Stephen Colbert",
                "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": "Stephen Colbert",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "And of course I don't go...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/and-of-course-i-don-t-go-anywhere-without-my-pet-goldfish-anthrax-i/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/and-of-course-i-don-t-go-anywhere-without-my-pet-goldfish-anthrax-i/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
