The year’s top quotes: ‘Wear a mask’ and ‘I can’t breathe’

“Wear a mask” and “I can’t breathe” are among the top 10 quotes of the year selected by a Yale Law School librarian.

The annual list is curated by the associate director at the library, Fred Shapiro, as an update to his book, “The Yale Book of Quotations,” first published in 2006.

Shapiro says he scours the internet to see how many times a quote has been mentioned. The list is not “a compilation of my favorites,” he says.

“I’m looking for quotes that become famous, important and historic (throughout the year) or quotes that say a lot about the nature of our culture and society at the time,” Shapiro told CNN.

“The Yale Book of Quotations,” Shapiro says, includes the greatest, most eloquent statements from literature and history from people like William Shakespeare.

“There are no Shakespeares nowadays,” Shapiro said. “There is very little eloquence around and very few admirable things being said. Most things said are pretty awful.”

He explained that this is the second time the quote “I can’t breathe” has appeared on his annual list. Eric Garner spoke the same three words in 2014 before he died at the hands of police.

Here is the entire list:

1. “Wear a mask.” — Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci, repeatedly urging Americans to slow the spread of Covid-19.
2. “I can’t breathe.” — George Floyd in his final words to Minneapolis police before he died May 25.
3. “One day it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.” — President Donald Trump about the coronavirus February 27.
4. “I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning?” — Trump during a White House Coronavirus Task Force news briefing on April 23.
5. “I will never lie to you. You have my word on that.” — White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany at her first press briefing May 1.
6. “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.” — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a statement dictated to her granddaughter Clara Spera.
7. “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.” — Joe Biden on “The Breakfast Club” radio program on May 22.
8. “The science should not stand in the way of this.” — McEnany about the reopening of schools on July 16.
9. “You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier.” — Biden February 9 to a student who asked how he can win a national election after his troubling results in Iowa.
10. “We are all Lakers today.” — Los Angeles Clippers Coach Doc Rivers after the death of Kobe Bryant on January 26.