" My great-great-great-great-great-whatever came this close to signing the Declaration of Independence but got held up by a sore throat that killed him two days later. A sore throat. Which, sorry, is just about the lamest way a guy could go. I don't think he should get points for almost signing. That's like telling my parents I almost got a perfect score on my math test--a D is only four grades away from an A, right? "

― Alexandra Bracken , The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding (Prosper Redding, #1)