“Great ideas originate in the muscles” means that the great ideas come from hard work. The quotation has been cited in print since at least 1991, when it was attributed to American inventor Thomas Edison (1847-1931). There is no known evidence that Edison ever said it or said anything like it.
Wikipedia: Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. Dubbed “The Wizard of Menlo Park” by a newspaper reporter, he was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and large-scale teamwork to the process of invention, and because of that, he is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory.
Google Books
Words of Wellness:
A Treasury of Quotations for Well-Being
Compiled and edited by Joseph Sutton
Carson, CA: Hay House, Inc.
1991
Pg. 115:
Great ideas originate in the muscles. — Thomas Edison
Google Books
Revolution from Within:
A Book of Self-Esteem
By Gloria Steinem
Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Co.
1992
Pg. 199:
“Great ideas originate in the muscles.”
THOMAS EDISON
Google Books
A Big Life
By Susan Johnson
Chippendale, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia
1993
Pg. ?:
“Great ideas originate in the muscles.”
THOMAS EDISON
29 November 1996, Aberdeen (SD) American News, pg. 4A (masthead):
“Great ideas originate in the muscles.”
Thomas Edison
Google Books
Innovate Like Edison:
The Five-Step System for Breakthrough Business Success
By Michael J. Gelb and Sarah Miller Caldicott
New York, NY: Plume
2007
Pg. ?:
His knack for using his kinesthetic intelligence to aid in problem solving is manifest in his comment that, “Great ideas originate in the muscles.”
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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