Mark Twain: Undervalue Headache

Posted by admin on Monday, June 22, 2020

Mark Twain Money Quote saying the value of the end of a headache is much higher than the difficult painful portion. Mark Twain said:
 

 

“Do not undervalue the headache. While it is at its sharpest it seems a bad investment; but when relief begins, the unexpired remainder is worth $4 a minute” — Mark Twain

 

 

In this quote, Mark Twain is making light of the intense pain of a headache through his characteristic wit. When a headache is at its peak, he acknowledges that it feels like a “bad investment” of one’s time and energy. However, he then points out that as relief sets in, each remaining minute becomes extremely valuable, worth $4 per minute in his joking estimation.

Overall, Twain appears to be humorously suggesting that while a headache is unbearably awful in the moment, once it starts to fade the feeling of release and comfort gained from the absence of pain makes the preceding suffering seem almost worthwhile in retrospect. He is characteristically using satire to downplay human suffering.

Birthday: November 30, 1835 – Death: April 21, 1910