Once thought to be the iconic words of the most gifted theoretical physicist of all time, the quotation - "I do not know how the Third World War will be fought, but I can tell you what they will use in the Fourth — rocks!" - wound up on Taggart's profile Thursday, whereupon it was officially attributed to the Facebook user.
Taggart's friend Jamie Pollock appeared to confirm the quotation's authenticity immediately following its publication by insisting: "you so smart Brandon. you should be a writer. what a profound way of lookin at things." For his part, Taggart confirmed the quote to be that of his own mind - not that of Nobel Prize winner and widely respected Physicist Einstein - by replying with: "thanks man. Just been thinking about this stuff a lot recently."
"For over seventy years, this quote - and perhaps countless others - have been wildly misattributed to Time Person of The Century and all round scientific legend Albert Einstein," said researcher Anita Walker. "As qualified historians, we owe the likes of Brandon Taggart a huge apology. We're sorry, Brandon."
All encyclopedias and journals citing the quotation are set to be republished in the coming year, giving bibliographical credit to Mr. Taggart.
The finding comes just weeks after Bethany Klasienko of Dayton, Ohio told fellow Facebook friends that "all women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his," leading scholars of literature to rethink this, and other, phrases in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.