diff --git a/graph_browser.cpp b/graph_browser.cpp
index dab9f94..cf1482a 100644
--- a/graph_browser.cpp
+++ b/graph_browser.cpp
@@ -1,10 +1,20 @@
 #include <cstring>
-#include <cassert>
+
+
+// every day is assert day
+#ifndef NDEBUG
+  #include <cassert>
+#else
+  #define NDEBUG
+    #include <cassert>
+  #undef NDEBUG
+#endif
 
 #include <algorithm>
 
 #include "graph_browser.hpp"
 
+
 namespace {
   std::string historyToString(const std::deque<std::string>& d, size_t max_length)
   {