--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It did, but I remembered a hoary old…" description: "\"“It did, but I remembered a hoary old time-travel paradox and pulled it out. “Yeah, but what if you went back and killed your own grandfather?” He star..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/stephen-king-13_time-travel_it-did-but-i-remembered-a-hoary-old-time_2587541.jpg" --- # It did, but I remembered a hoary old time-travel paradox… ![“It did, but I remembered a hoary old time-travel paradox and pulled it out. “Yeah, but what if you went back and killed your own grandfather?” He stared at me, baffled. “Why the fuck would you do that?” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/stephen-king-13_time-travel_it-did-but-i-remembered-a-hoary-old-time_2587541.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/stephen-king-13_time-travel_it-did-but-i-remembered-a-hoary-old-time_2587541.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/stephen-king-13_time-travel_it-did-but-i-remembered-a-hoary-old-time_2587541.jpg) > ““It did, but I remembered a hoary old time-travel paradox and pulled it out. “Yeah, but what if you went back and killed your own grandfather?” He stared at me, baffled. “Why the fuck would you do that?”” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time‑travel paradoxes raise moral dilemmas about altering history. **In simple terms:** Changing the past creates paradoxes. Key Takeaway Consider ethical implications of altering events. Themes time travel paradox ethics Mood thought‑provoking intriguing Type philosophical speculative When to use this quote - storytelling - policy - technology - history - law Key Concepts philosophy science fiction Questions to Reflect On - What moral rules would guide time travel? - How would you handle unintended consequences? A Different Perspective Paradoxes can be unsolvable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Time travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-travel/) ## Related quotes > [“Yeah, but what if you went back and killed your own grandfather?" He stared at me, baffled. "Why the fuck would you do that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/yeah-but-what-if-you-went-back-and-killed-your-own-grandfather-he/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Just… be careful.’ I stared at her, baffled. 'Of what?’ 'Of powerful men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/just-be-careful-i-stared-at-her-baffled-of-what-of-powerful-men/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [They killed my Grandfather... That's why I hate sharks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharknado/they-killed-my-grandfather-that-s-why-i-hate-sharks/) Sharknado > [“The war that killed my grandfather and great-uncles and thousands of other blacks is only a footnote in our history books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/the-war-that-killed-my-grandfather-and-great-uncles-and-thousands-of/) [Cristina García](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [“Dr. Henry Templeton got the drop on me after I killed his grandfather before he was born. Apparently, that wasn’t enough to stop the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/dr-henry-templeton-got-the-drop-on-me-after-i-killed-his-grandfather/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [“In February, 1943, eight months before she was murdered in Auschwitz, the German painter Charlotte Salomon killed her grandfather. 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On reverse time travel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/one-must-stand-stiller-than-still-on-reverse-time-travel/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [“Seriously, this old woman had no idea how close she came to being squashed like a roach. -Sage Hannigan, Contingency”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-s-martinez/seriously-this-old-woman-had-no-idea-how-close-she-came-to-being/) P. S. Martinez > [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Time travel quotes > [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [“Seriously, this old woman had no idea how close she came to being squashed like a roach. -Sage Hannigan, Contingency”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-s-martinez/seriously-this-old-woman-had-no-idea-how-close-she-came-to-being/) P. S. Martinez > [One must stand stiller than still. On reverse time travel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeans/one-must-stand-stiller-than-still-on-reverse-time-travel/) [James Jeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeans/) > [“This was a true pants-pooping moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-katt/this-was-a-true-pants-pooping-moment/) [Dinah Katt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-katt/) > [Know that love is truly timeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-m-ricksen/know-that-love-is-truly-timeless/) Mary M. Ricksen > [“Atlantis sinks. Serves it right. Red hates the place. For one thing, there are so many Atlantises, always sinking, in so many strands: an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amal-el-mohtar/atlantis-sinks-serves-it-right-red-hates-the-place-for-one-thing/) [Amal El-Mohtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amal-el-mohtar/) > [the only time travelers are really gay is when they are traveling for no good reason at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-boothe-luce/the-only-time-travelers-are-really-gay-is-when-they-are-traveling-for/) [Clare Boothe Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-boothe-luce/) > [“Okay, try this on for size, Tall, Dark and Handsome. I won't be born for almost seven hundred hundred years. How's that strike you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-tawn-bergren/okay-try-this-on-for-size-tall-dark-and-handsome-i-won-t-be-born-for/) [Lisa Tawn Bergren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-tawn-bergren/) > [We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/we-travel-to-open-our-hearts-and-eyes-and-learn-more-about-the-world/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [I allude to Back to the Future in the 1985 story to let folks know it was an inspiration and because it literally was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-allude-to-back-to-the-future-in-the-1985-story-to-let-folks-know-it/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [And if travel is like love, it is, in the end, mostly because it's a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/and-if-travel-is-like-love-it-is-in-the-end-mostly-because-it-s-a/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Unlike some of the time-travel movies I love, like 'Primer' or '12 Monkeys,' 'Looper' is not about time travel. It's about this situation that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rian-johnson/unlike-some-of-the-time-travel-movies-i-love-like-primer-or-12/) [Rian Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rian-johnson/) > [It doesn't happen all the time, but in the moments where you really lose yourself and you fall into this character, it's like time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brit-marling/it-doesn-t-happen-all-the-time-but-in-the-moments-where-you-really/) [Brit Marling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brit-marling/) > [“Such a funny thing, time. You spend your whole life wishing there was more or less of it, never realizing that the time already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moryah-demott/such-a-funny-thing-time-you-spend-your-whole-life-wishing-there-was/) [Moryah DeMott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moryah-demott/) > [Too often travel, instead of broadening the mind, merely lengthens the conversations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/too-often-travel-instead-of-broadening-the-mind-merely-lengthens-the/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) [Browse all 560 Time travel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-travel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It did, but I remembered a hoary old time-travel paradox and pulled it out. “Yeah, but what if you went back and killed your own grandfather?” He stared at me, baffled. “Why the fuck would you do that?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen King" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-did-but-i-remembered-a-hoary-old-time-travel-paradox-and-pulled-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Time travel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-did-but-i-remembered-a-hoary-old-time-travel-paradox-and-pulled-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/stephen-king-13_time-travel_it-did-but-i-remembered-a-hoary-old-time_2587541.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/stephen-king-13_time-travel_it-did-but-i-remembered-a-hoary-old-time_2587541.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/stephen-king-13_time-travel_it-did-but-i-remembered-a-hoary-old-time_2587541.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It did, but I remembered a hoary old time-travel paradox and pulled it out. “Yeah, but what if you went back…” — Stephen King", "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 King", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It did, but I remembered a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-did-but-i-remembered-a-hoary-old-time-travel-paradox-and-pulled-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-did-but-i-remembered-a-hoary-old-time-travel-paradox-and-pulled-it/#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 } } ] } ```