Painter Salvador Dalí once said, "Have no fear of perfection — you'll never reach it."

Writer George Orwell opined, "The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection."

And, as the great philosopher Tina Fey says, "Perfect is overrated. Perfect is boring."

It is in this spirit that, as part of this week's celebration of Morning Edition's 35th anniversary, we share some of our less-than-perfect moments.

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Salvador Dali once said, have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it. A trip through the MORNING EDITION archives shows just how true that is.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And then there's actor Jake Gyllahan (ph) - Gyllehall (ph) - Gyllenhaal.

And writer George Orwell wrote, the essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection.

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INSKEEP: Prime minister, we just got a few minutes left, and forgive me for asking this. But you're apparently a quite popular man today. Can I get you to turn off the cell phone that I keep hearing buzzing?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: That is yours - not mine.

INSKEEP: Is it mine?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Yes, 'cause I don't have mine. I - I...

INSKEEP: This should not...

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: ...I checked it out.

INSKEEP: ...In that case, forgive me. I stand corrected.

The great philosopher Tina Fey says, perfect is overrated. Perfect is boring.

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MONTAGNE: (Laughter) Good morning (laughter). OK, let's get it together.

INSKEEP: This week, we're celebrating MORNING EDITION's 35th anniversary. And since the perfect is the enemy of the good, we share with you some of our less-than-perfect moments - like this.

MONTAGNE: In the early 1980s, former MORNING EDITION's host Bob Edwards was speaking live with Minnesota Senator Rudy Boschwitz.

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BOB EDWARDS, HOST:

Have you told the president about your feelings?

RUDY BOSCHWITZ: No, but that - that will be done. Yeah, another call's coming in. Hold on.

MONTAGNE: The senator apparently got tied up speaking with whoever was on call waiting.

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EDWARDS: Senator? Senator? Senator?

INSKEEP: This happens. We have an early start every morning, waking up and making in the studio before sunrise. And some mornings, it does take a little longer to wake up than others.

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INSKEEP: Anyways, that's the Business News on MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Our Business News is produced by Brett Neely. That's your cue, Renee (laughter). I'll just go on. MORNING EDITION is edited by Greg Myre and Miranda Kennedy. The editorial staff includes Reena Advani. You want to pick up, Renee? No?

MONTAGNE: No, no, no.

(LAUGHTER)

MONTAGNE: And let's not forget David Greene who had to go through the ringer before joining us as a full-time host. Filling in one morning, he was excited to interview comedian Kathy Griffin. She was not so thrilled about chatting with David.

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KATHY GRIFFIN: Do you have a cute name for the show?

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION.

GRIFFIN: OK, yawn. It's got to be Greene Scene - Greene Time.

GREENE: I'm just filling in as host.

GRIFFIN: Who's the real host?

GREENE: Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne.

GRIFFIN: I didn't even have the real host today? Oh, this is so typical.

INSKEEP: Some of the mistakes and outtakes from 35 years of MORNING EDITION where our consolation is - there's always one more show to try to get it perfect tomorrow.

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INSKEEP: Here we go, it's Orning Medition.

MONTAGNE: No, it's edition.

INSKEEP: MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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