P.T. Barnum? Hungry Joe Lewis? Artemus Ward? Mike McDonald? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A famous saying about gullibility is usually attributed to the well-known showman P. T. Barnum. Here are two versions: There’s a sucker born every minute. There’s a fool born every minute. Whether Barnum actually used either of these expressions is controversial. …
Monthly Archives: April 2014
If I Had a Single Flower for Every Time I Think of You, I Could Walk Forever in My Garden
Alfred Lord Tennyson? Claudia Adrienne Grandi? Claudia Ghandi? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The website of a major international news organization has an article titled “Tennyson: 10 Essential Quotes” with the following item listed third:[1]Website: BBC News Magazine, Article title: “Tennyson: 10 essential quotes”, Date on website: March 7, 2011, Website description: British Broadcasting Corporation, public …
They May Forget What You Said, But They Will Never Forget How You Made Them Feel
Frank A. Patterson Jr.? Maya Angelou? Carl W. Buehner? Carl W. Buechner? Carol Buchner? Don Aslett? Jerry Johnston? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The most valuable advice that I have ever heard for speakers and teachers is the following: They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. This …
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Don’t Tax You. Don’t Tax Me. Tax That Fellow Behind the Tree
Russell B. Long? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: It’s tax time again in the U.S., and I recently heard a humorous rhyming verse on this topic: Don’t tax you. Don’t tax me. Tax the guy behind the tree. Do you know who originally said this? Quote Investigator: The earliest close match for this verse located by …
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Writers Are Just Schmucks with Underwoods
Jack L. Warner? Bill Davidson? Samuel Goldwyn? Louis B. Mayer? Harry Cohn? Apocryphal? Insult: Schmuck? Schlep? Schnook? Dear Quote Investigator: The attitude of Hollywood producers toward writers has been epitomized by the following callous remark: A writer is a schmuck with an Underwood. The Underwood Typewriter Company manufactured the best writing implements when the statement …
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