{"id":2106,"date":"2011-07-08T18:00:40","date_gmt":"2011-07-09T01:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=2106"},"modified":"2012-11-28T02:05:59","modified_gmt":"2012-11-28T10:05:59","slug":"the-origin-of-the-phrase-pipe-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/the-origin-of-the-phrase-pipe-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"The Origin of the Phrase \u201cPipe Dream\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pipe<\/a>Today I found out<\/a> the origin of the phrase “pipe dream”, meaning “a fantastic hope or plan that is generally regarded as being nearly impossible to achieve.”<\/p>\n

This phrase first popped up in the 19th century, with the earliest known documented case coming from Chicago, Illinois; specifically, coming from the December of 1890 issue of the Chicago Daily Tribune, in this case\u00a0referring\u00a0to aerial navigation: “It has been regarded as a pipe-dream for a good many years.”<\/p>\n

Yet another reference in Chicago, in September of 1895, demonstrates the true origin of phrase in terms of meaning, namely, as a reference to the dreams\u00a0experienced\u00a0when smoking opium. \u00a0This September of 1895 reference is from the Fort Wayne Gazette:<\/p>\n

There are things taking place every day in Chicago which are devoid of rational explanation as the mysterious coinings of the novelist’s brain. Newspaper men hear of them, but in the rush for cold, hard facts, the ‘pipe stories<\/strong>‘, as queer and unexplainable stories are called, are at a discount. Were it not for this the following incident, which can be verified by the word of several reputable men, would have long ago received the space and attention it merits instead of being consigned to the wastebasket as the ‘pipe dream<\/strong>‘ of an opium devotee.<\/div>\n

Bonus<\/span> Facts:<\/p>\n