Nothing can astound an American. It has often been asserted that the word "impossible" is not a French one. People have evidently been deceived by the dictionary. In America, all is easy, all is simple; and as for mechanical difficulties, they are overcome before they arise. Between Barbicane's proposition and its realization no true Yankee would have allowed even the semblance of a difficulty to be possible. A thing with them is no sooner said than done.


From the Earth to the Moon (1865)


Nothing can astound an American. It has often been asserted that the word impossible is not a French one. People have evidently been deceived by the...

Nothing can astound an American. It has often been asserted that the word impossible is not a French one. People have evidently been deceived by the...

Nothing can astound an American. It has often been asserted that the word impossible is not a French one. People have evidently been deceived by the...

Nothing can astound an American. It has often been asserted that the word impossible is not a French one. People have evidently been deceived by the...