“I took an IQ test and the results were negative”

“I took an IQ test and the results were negative” is a jocular line that has been printed on many gift items, such as posters, T-shirts and bumper stickers. Tests for diseases that come back “negative” are good (that is, a person does not have the disease); however, IQ tests do not have “negative” scores. IQ scores are often used as predictors of scholastic achievement.
 
“I just took an IQ test.  The results were negative” was cited in print in 1994.
 
   
Wikipedia: Intelligence quotient
An intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a score derived from one of several standardized tests designed to assess human intelligence. The abbreviation “IQ” was coined by the psychologist William Stern for the German term Intelligenz-quotient, his term for a scoring method for intelligence tests he advocated in a 1912 book.
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IQ scores are used as predictors of educational achievement, special needs, job performance and income.
     
Google Groups: alt.flame
Routing test
ray green
6/8/94
This message entered to test the routing to the GTPN network.
—-
þ SLMR 2.1a þ I just took an IQ test.  The results were negative.
 
Google Groups: rec.arts.poems
Poem: BLOODCOLOR—- C &
Olaf Pipgras
7/28/94
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ş OLX 2.1 TD ş I just took an IQ test.  The results were negative.
   
18 May 1997, European Stars and Stripes, “The Lighter Side: Bumper mania redux,” pg. 18, col. 3:
I took an IQ test and the results were negative.
 
Google Books
Crackers for Your Soup!:
An indexed package of inspirational and humorous quips, stories and anecdotes for preachers, teachers, public speakers and anyone who relishes clean reading enjoyment
By Roger Polt
Marshalltown, IA: Person to Person Pub.
1999
Pg. 141:
I took an IQ test and the results were negative.
 
9 July 1999, The Argus-Press (Owosso, MI) “Words of wisdom: You can’t beat a bumper sticker,” pg. 4, col. 1:
I took an IQ test and results were negative
   
Google Books
1001 Internet Jokes:
Get the Jokes You’ve Been Missing
By D. M. Schwab
San Jose, CA: IUniverse.com
2001
Pg. 78:
I took an IQ test and the results were negative.
 
Google Books
Read This; It’s Funny!!
By Carl E. Knox
Portland, OR : Our Computer Guy, Incorporated
2003
Pg. 65:
I took an IQ test and the results were negative.
 
Twitter
JokeBuddha
‏@jokebuddha
I took an IQ test and the results were negative. http://bit.ly/gglM7X #jokes
12:43 AM - 28 Nov 2010
 
Twitter
unknowncomic
‏@unknowncomic
My IQ test results came back Negative.
Taylorsville, UT
12:15 PM - 1 Oct 2014