“Never underestimate the power of a woman.”

THE FAMOUS LADIES HOME JOURNAL SLOGAN: “Never underestimate the power of a woman!”         A saying popularized by the Ladies Home Journal through its use as an slogan for the magazine and the headline of a recurring cartoon feature        The Ladies Home Journal was first published in 1883 and has been in print ever since. The editors launched “Never underestimate the power of a woman” as a promotional slogan in the March 1941 issue, which featured a painting of a ballerina on the cover.        The editors didn’t use the term “power” exactly as it might be used today. It wasn’t meant to suggest that women have the power to be equal to men in all ways. It was used to mean that women are smarter than men in many ways and have a superior sense of morality. Thus, they have the power to point men “to the right decisions.”        After being launched, the slogan was used for years in each issue as the headline of a cartoon feature. The cartoons demonstrated the power of women to set examples for men and guide them in the right direction.        Interestingly, the March 1941 issue also had a full-page ad for Chesterfield cigarettes inside, showing that tobacco companies and their pre-Mad Men era ad agencies were at least eager to give women an equal right to smoke.

V.I. WARSHAWSKI’S VERSION: “Never underestimate a man’s ability to underestimate a woman.”        Kathleen Turner        American actress        A quip she makes as the title character of the 1991 movie V.I. Warshawski (based on the series of detective novels written by Sara Paretsky)

AN OPTIMIST’S INSPIRING QUOTE “Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.”        Wilma Rudolph (1940-1994)         American athlete who overcame leg damage from childhood polio and went on to became an Olympic gold medalist        This quote by Rudolph is widely cited, though usually without any specific source or date. In his great book Neverisms, quote maven Dr. Mardy Grothe says it was a remark she made shortly after the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, during which she became the first American to win three track-and-field gold medals.

A PESSIMIST’S COUNTERQUOTE: “Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.”        Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988)        American author best known for his science fiction stories and novels        A quip from his time travel novel Time Enough for Love: the Lives of Lazarus Long (1973)

THE FRIENDS (WITH BENEFITS) UPDATE: “Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.”         Brendan Bradley        American actor             One of the 100 rules about life of his character Brad in the movie Friends (With Benefits) (2009)

THE TRUE BELIEVERS AXIOM: “Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.”          A quote attributed to the fictional character Caedmon Erb in the sci-fi novel Dune: House Harkonnen (2001), written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson        (The image at left is the logo of The Flat Earth Society.)

THE TESLA CAR RENTAL VARIATION: “Never underestimate the human urge to look like a big-time operator, at least to the valet parking guy.”        Jim Motavalli        American journalist, speaker and book author        In a post on the Mother Nature Network site about Hertz’s recent addition of pricey Tesla electric cars to its rental fleets in certain cities, to appeal to wealthy customers — and wannabe poseurs.

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