Winston Churchill? Simon Singh? Stanley Baldwin? The Reader’s Digest? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Simon Singh is a fine author who writes knowledgeably about mathematical and scientific topics. His book “Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe” credited the following words to the statesman Winston Churchill [WCSS]: Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of …
Yearly Archives: 2012
You Only Live Once – YOLO
Drake? Schlitz Beer? Fritz Lang? Honoré de Balzac? Joe E. Lewis? Frank Sinatra? Fyodor Dostoevsky? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: In 2011 a song called “The Motto” by Drake was released, and it contained this expression: You only live once. The acronym YOLO was popularized by this song, I think. But I have heard the catch …
There Is No Right Way to Do the Wrong Thing
Toby Keith? Charles Jewett? W. Adam? Seneca the Younger? Waylon Jennings? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A song by the country music superstar Toby Keith includes the following words in the chorus: Ain’t no right way, To do the wrong thing, The song is on the album “White Trash With Money” which was released in 2006. …
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Do Good Anyway. The Paradoxical Commandments
Mother Teresa? Kent M. Keith? Dempsey Byrd? Howard Ferguson? E. T. Gurney? Lucinda Vardey? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Mother Teresa is credited with a very popular collection of wise rules. Here are the first two: People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish …
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Everything Is Energy and That’s All There Is To It. Match the Frequency of the Reality You Want
Albert Einstein? Darryl Anka? Bashar? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Many odd quotations are credited to the brilliant scientist Albert Einstein, and recently I have seen another peculiar example featured on Facebook and multiple websites: Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot …
Denial Is Not a River in Egypt
Florence Kerns? Ray Hallinan? Herb Caen? Pauline Tymon? Larry Pickard? David Crosby? Joe Bob Briggs? Al Franken? Stuart Smalley? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The Saturday Night Live television program once featured skits with a character named Stuart Smalley who was played by the comedian and former senator Al Franken. Smalley was enamored with self-help programs …
Everybody Steals in Commerce and Industry. I’ve Stolen A Lot Myself
Thomas Edison? Martin André Rosanoff? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: While reading a novel about the remarkable inventor Nikola Tesla I came across a statement credited to Thomas Edison that I find very hard to believe [TLDS]: Everyone steals in commerce and industry. I’ve stolen a lot, myself. But I know how to steal! They don’t …
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Life is What Happens To You While You’re Busy Making Other Plans
John Lennon? Allen Saunders? Quin Ryan? Walter Ward? Henry Cooke? Robert Balzer? L. S. McCandless? Publilius Syrus? Thomas a Kempis? William Gaddis? Question for Quote Investigator: Recently, a medical emergency threw all my carefully constructed plans into complete disarray. I was reminded of a remarkably astute and ruefully humorous saying credited to the musical superstar …
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Clothes Make the Man. Naked People Have Little or No Influence in Society
Mark Twain? Merle Johnson? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Comments about stylish clothing always remind me of Mark Twain’s comment: Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society. But I cannot seem to find any direct reference for this quote. The best citation I have seen was dated more than fifteen …
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Laughter Would Be Bereaved If Snobbery Died
James Ussher? Peter Ustinov? Arland Ussher? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The Times of London has a regular Quote-of-the-Day feature called “Last Word”. My question is about the following insightful quotation [TLJU]: Laughter would be bereft if snobbery died. The newspaper credited this remark to Archbishop James Ussher who lived between 1581 and 1656. Ussher …
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