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In Forrest Gump, it is often shown that small things the character does have outsized effects on the world around him, and many of these are real-world historical events or outcomes.

At one point, after Forrest has achieved financial success with Bubba Gump shrimp, he mentions Lt. Dan has invested him in "Some kind of fruit company", with the related letterhead showing the logo for Apple Computers, implying he was an early investor in the soon to be huge company.

He then remarks that they called him up one day and told him "we don't need to worry about money anymore", to which he replied, "Good, one less thing."

I've always thought the "One less thing" line might be a reference to an early Apple marketing slogan or other historical Apple reference, implying that Forrest's reply had influenced the company, but I've never found any evidence of such.

Was this just Forrest using a common idiom, or was it another example in the film where an off the cuff reaction by Forrest has other "real world" historical implications? Did Apple ever use that phrase in real life?

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  • Do you have a link to the relevant section? I want to hear if the portrayal of the line feels like Steve Jobs' famous "One more thing...", which may indicate the writers used it knowingly, even if it doesn't necessarily imply Apple 'borrowed' it in the plot. – Tetsujin Dec 18 '17 at 17:52
  • @Tetsujin see here: I'm not sure, but I don't know Job's mannerisms that well. youtube.com/watch?v=zKp9Z8vuOXc – Cameron Roberts Dec 18 '17 at 18:20
  • Thanks - & no, it doesn't really feel like how Jobs would say it. i'd go with the "yup, it's a common ref, one less thing to worry about' – Tetsujin Dec 18 '17 at 18:53
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It's pretty common expression which, here, has been shortened.

See this answer over on ELL

In full it would be

"Good, one less thing to worry about."

The idea here is that Forrest has a lot of things to be concerned about but, now, money isn't one of them!

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  • Thanks for the reply, I've edited my question for clarity. I'm wondering if there is any evidence Apple actually used the phrase "One Less Thing" in real life, making this part of the film another clever example of a tie-in with real history, where Forrest inspired a real-world thing – Cameron Roberts Dec 18 '17 at 16:42
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    Sounds like you're asking to prove a negative. It's a very common expression. – Paulie_D Dec 18 '17 at 16:45
  • I'd add that for Forrest to use an expression related to Apple he'd have to know who Apple were...which he clearly doesn't. – Paulie_D Dec 18 '17 at 16:52
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    As I said, I think you have this round the wrong way. Firstly you need to establish if this was used by Apple (that's a task for you)... then ask if the reference was deliberate. We can't prove a negative. – Paulie_D Dec 18 '17 at 16:56
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    "one more thing" is a bit of a thing with Apple reveals. Linking this to "one less thing" is a bit of a stretch. – user43022 Dec 18 '17 at 16:57
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Forrest Gump was not making a reference to Stevenotes.

"One more thing" was a signature line of Steve Jobs when he released new products during keynote addresses. These started after Jobs' company NeXT Computer was bought by Apple in 1997 in order to use NeXT OS as the basis of Mac OS X.

The film Forrest Gump was released in 1994, while Jobs was still at NeXT.

The first "one more thing" was the announcement in 1998 that Apple had its first profitable quarter since Microsoft invested heavily in the company.

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It turns out this question is based on a false premise, the wording referenced in the question doesn't match the script, it was misheard.

The question assumes the wording in the scene is:

And so then I got a call from them saying we don't have to worry
about money no more, and I said, "Good, one less thing"

However, in the script it states that it was not Apple ("them") who called forest, but rather Lt. Dan ("him"). Thus, since Forest never had any contact with Apple, the possibility of a tie in on the phrase "one less thing" doesn't make sense.

From the script:

               EXT. GUMP HOUSE MAILBOXES

           Forrest takes out a letter and opens it.

                                 FORREST (V.O.)
                     Though he did take care of my Bubba-
                     Gump money. He got me invested in 
                     some kind of fruit company. And so 
                     then I got a call from him saying we 
                     don't have to worry about money no 
                     more.

           EXT. BUS STOP

                                 FORREST
                     And I said, "That's good. One less 
                     thing."
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  • the question is asking if the words used by Forrest were being presented as the original source of an apple campaign slogan – Cameron Roberts Aug 28 '18 at 15:11

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