“Disassemble the cells of a sponge (by passing them through a sieve, for instance), then dump them into a solution, and they will find their way back together and build themselves into a sponge again. You can do this to them over and over, and they will doggedly reassemble because, like you and me and every other living thing, they have one overwhelming impulse: to continue to be.”

Page 380
A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Disassemble the cells of a sponge (by passing them through a sieve, for instance), then dump them into a solution, and …" by Bill Bryson?
Bill Bryson photo
Bill Bryson 112
American author 1951

Related quotes

Cassandra Clare photo
Eric Hoffer photo

“Those who discover things for themselves and express them in their own way are not overly bothered by the fact that others have already discovered these things — have even discovered them over and over again — and have expressed what they found in all manner of ways.”

Eric Hoffer (1898–1983) American philosopher

Entry (1960)
Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)
Context: Total innovation is a flight from comparison and also from imitation. Those who discover things for themselves and express them in their own way are not overly bothered by the fact that others have already discovered these things — have even discovered them over and over again — and have expressed what they found in all manner of ways.

Don Soderquist photo

“Customer loyalty doesn’t just happen; you have to work on it every day. It isn’t only big things; it’s a lot of the little things done over and over again. Over time, these little things demonstrate to your customers that you really do care about them and are genuinely interested in satisfying them. It is important to understand that you don’t do it only to increase sales, you do it because it’s the right thing to do.”

Don Soderquist (1934–2016)

Don Soderquist “ The Wal-Mart Way: The Inside Story of the Success of the World's Largest Company https://books.google.com/books?id=mIxwVLXdyjQC&lpg=PR9&dq=Don%20Soderquist&pg=PR9#v=onepage&q=Don%20Soderquist&f=false, Thomas Nelson, April 2005, p. 92.
On Doing Things Right

Jacqueline Woodson photo
Frédéric Chopin photo
Jane Austen photo

“You know how interesting the purchase of a sponge-cake is to me.”

Jane Austen (1775–1817) English novelist

Letter to Cassandra (1808-06-15) [Letters of Jane Austen -- Brabourne Edition]
Letters

Paul Simon photo

“Hang on to your hopes, my friend.
That's an easy thing to say,
But if your hopes should pass away
Simply pretend that you can build them again.”

Paul Simon (1941) American musician, songwriter and producer

A Hazy Shade of Winter
Song lyrics, Bookends (1968)

Elisha Gray photo
Milan Kundera photo

Related topics