Didn't See That Coming/Quotes

"Ob Nixilis had prepared for every eventuality—except Chandra Nalaar."

- Devour in Flames flavor text

""Now what is the message there? The message is that there are known "knowns." There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know. So when we do the best we can and we pull all this information together, and we then say well that's basically what we see as the situation, that is really only the known knowns and the known unknowns. And each year, we discover a few more of those unknown unknowns.""

- Donald Rumsfeld

""You see, nobody panics when things go according to plan. Even if the plan is horrifying. If I told people that a gangbanger was going to get shot, or a busload of soldiers was going to get blown up, nobody would panic. Because it's all part of the plan. But tell people that one tiny little mayor is going to die and everyone loses their minds!""

- The Joker, Batman: The Dark Knight

""It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.""

- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

""Just once, I would like to be a puppetmaster and have nothing go wrong. Is that too much to ask?""

- Dwight Schrute, The Office

"The best-laid plans of mice and men Often go awry"

- Robert Burns, To A Mouse

"It is easy to make plans in this world; even a cat can do it; and when one is out in those remote oceans it is noticeable that a cat's plans and a man's are worth about the same."

- Mark Twain

"Homer: That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough! I'm going to clown college! (Beat) Bart: I don't think any of us expected him to say that."

- The Simpsons, "Homie the Clown"

""Well, that was unexpected..." Chaos Warmaster Varan the Undefeatable, last words"

"Thus my clever plans were all upset by the refusal of my antagonist to do the maneuver I had assigned him."

Eddie Rickenbacker remembers an observer's eluding him in, Fighting the Flying Circus.