The bad apples metaphor originated as a warning of the corrupting influence of one corrupt or sinful person on a group: that "one bad apple can spoil the barrel". Over time the concept has been used to describe the opposite situation, where "a few bad apples" should not be seen as representative of the rest of their group. This latter version is often used in the context of police misconduct. Origins The bad apples metaphor originates from the proverb "A rotten apple quickly infects its neighbor", first recorded as used in English in 1340. The proverb was rephrased by Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard's Almanack in 1736, stating "the rotten apple spoils his companion." The phrase was popularized by sermons during the 19th century, claiming "As one bad apple spoils the others, so you must show no quarter to sin or sinners." A popular form of the saying became "One bad apple spoils the barrel." The saying has scientific basis: as well as mold being able to spread from one rotten fruit to others, ripening apples produce ethylene gas, which triggers aging and increases ethylene production in other, nearby apples. Change in meaning Linguists such as Ben Zimmer have pointed out that the proverb began to be used in the opposite sense in the 20th century, instead stating that "a few bad apples" are not representative of a group. According to Zimmer, this usage may have corresponded to the change in the grocery trade, where modern shops sold apples individually and would rarely put rotten ones on display, and people stopped thinking of apples as being stored in barrels. Zimmer said that "once the phrase is out there again and people are saying 'one bad apple,' you think, 'What could that mean?' Then you can assign it new meaning." Zimmer suggests the change in usage may have been solidified by the Osmonds 1971 song "One Bad Apple", which includes the line "One bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch, girl." Modern usage By US presidents When the US Army's war crimes at Abu Ghraib surfaced, the condemnation given by the George W. Bush administration was characterised by the press as blaming "a few bad apples" for abuse of prisoners. Barack Obama used the bad apple metaphor in a 2013 speech to defend his Healthcare law when thousands of Americans were losing their health insurance. He claimed that it was the