“Barbie’s one of those fads whose popularity makes you lose all faith in the human race.”
Source: Bellwether (1996), Chapter 3 “Tributaries”, Section 3 (p. 117)
This is not a quote by Kerouac. It's a quote by CBS broadcaster Charles Kuralt who used to present a TV news segment called 'On the Road' (which is probably how the confusion arose). This particular statement by Kuralt was made in May 1996 to students of Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19960527&id=yf8yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yQcGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3106,5606314
Misattributed
“Barbie’s one of those fads whose popularity makes you lose all faith in the human race.”
Source: Bellwether (1996), Chapter 3 “Tributaries”, Section 3 (p. 117)
“Marketing has long known how to exploit fads and how to develop trends.”
Geoffrey Moore book Crossing the Chasm
Source: Crossing the Chasm, 1991, p. 6
Murasaki Shikibu book The Diary of Lady Murasaki
In Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan
The Diary of Lady Murasaki
“Popular opinion is the greatest lie in the world.”
Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher
“Honesty" "Accuracy" is just "Popular Opinion.”
Conor Oberst (1980) American musician
Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002)
Paul Valéry (1871–1945) French poet, essayist, and philosopher
Source: Regards sur le monde actuel [Reflections on the World Today] (1931), p. 58