80 million United States Postage stamps Quotes
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Source: 80 million United States Postage stamps
Author: Maya Angelou
A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.
Context
This line was mistakenly credited to Maya Angelou on a United States postage stamp (2015).
Maya Angelou knows why the caged bird sings. The United States Postal Service, on the other hand, has no freaking clue.
In April 2015, they unveiled a new postage stamp featuring Maya Angelou and the quote, "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." They printed 80 million of these, which is shocking for two reasons:
- We didn't know this many letters were sent in a year.
- Maya Angelou didn't say it. Poet Joan Walsh Anglund did.
We guess the USPS saw birds and thought, "Hey, Maya Angelou must have said it!" Better than "Birds of a feather flock together," we guess.
Where you've heard it
You've heard this if you're bird watching with someone who misquotes poetry.
If you really like this quote, you can learn more about the actual poet.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
The USPS really pushed the envelope of bad taste here. We're not sure what's more pretentious—misattributing a quote to Maya Angelou or using a stamp with her face on it to pay your credit card bill.