Carl Sagan? Lewis Thomas? Douglas Adams? Stephen Fry? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Suppose humanity decided to deliberately send a message out into space. What should be included in that message which might someday be read by a hypothetical alien civilization? In fact, the U.S. launched two robotic interstellar probes in 1977, Voyager 1 …
Tag Archives: Douglas Adams
Quote Origin: You Don’t Have To Be Crazy To Work Here, But It Helps
Walt Disney? Carolyn Kay Shafer? Douglas Adams? John Lloyd? Adam Breede? Ralph Spence? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I first encountered the following quip many years ago. Here are two versions: (1) You don’t have to be crazy to work here, but it helps.(2) You don’t have to be mad to work here, but it …
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The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything Is Forty-Two
Douglas Adams? Deep Thought? Geoffrey Hinton? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The number forty-two is sometimes presented as the answer to life’s deepest question. Where did this answer originate? Who suggested this eccentric and opaque answer? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1978 BBC Radio 4 broadcast the science fiction comedy series “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to …
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To Give Real Service You Must Add Something — Sincerity and Integrity
Douglas Adams? Donald A. Adams? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A popular business adage states that providing real service to a customer requires a crucial added ingredient known as sincerity and integrity. This notion has confusingly been credited to two different people: Douglas Adams and Donald A. Adams. The first was a science fiction humorist who …
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Creativity Is Allowing Yourself to Make Mistakes. Art Is Knowing Which Ones to Keep
Scott Adams? Ricky Gervais? Douglas Adams? Anonymous? Quote Investigator: Using creativity to solve a problem or create an artwork requires openness, originality, and imagination. Yet, the process inevitably produces some missteps and gaffes. That is why the following is my favorite quotation: Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to …