An anonymous wise old man, believed to have lived thousands of years ago, is often quoted “the nutshell is mightier than the sword”, possibly because the nutshell is notoriously tough and difficult to break. Indeed, this quote is believed to be a main factor in prompting the use of nutshells in military warfare. However, recent analysis made on the historic quote suggests the translation was not entirely accurate, and that ‘nutshell’ should actually be read as ‘nutcase’. This changes things somewhat, albeit the meaning of the quote is still dubious. The tendency to belief that the old man was rather a nutcase himself is increasing in popularity.