Like many polls conducted before the presidential election of 1948, George Gallup's incorrectly predicted a Thomas Dewey victory. (Because they canvased opinion by telephone, a costly amenity in the late 1940s, early polls suffered from adverse selection.)
Shortly after the announcement of Harry Truman's upset, George Gallup was stopped by a police officer for driving down a one-way street in the wrong direction. Reading the name on Gallup's license, the officer smiled with recognition and issued his judgement: "Wrong again!"
[Truman's victory was such a surprise that the Chicago Tribune, having printed a premature "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN" headline, was forced to race back to the presses.]
Sources
C. Fadiman, ed., Bartlett`s Anecdotes
