The story
On March 1, 1941, The New Yorker printed a cartoon by Peter Arno. In the background, a brand-new plane has just failed its test, and its pilot is drifting safely down by parachute. Crews are running toward the scene.
In front, walking calmly the other way, is the engineer who designed it. He has his plans rolled up under his arm. His only comment: “Well, back to the old drawing board.”
Readers loved the shrug. With World War II under way and new aircraft being designed and tested at a furious pace, the line fit the moment. Life magazine reprinted the caption that October. By March 1942, a newspaper columnist was writing, “Back to the old drawing board. We’d better try again.”
Over the years the word “old” dropped away. What stayed was the cheerful idea at the heart of the cartoon: failure isn’t the end, just a reason to sketch again.
