Albert Einstein? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: My University has an Academic Integrity Office which has launched a poster campaign that includes an image of Albert Einstein together with the following statement which has been ascribed to the brilliant physicist: Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted with large ones either. …
Yearly Archives: 2014
Quote Origin: Repentance on a Sunday for What One Has Done on Saturday
Thomas R. Ybarra? Contributor to Life Magazine? Victor L. Berger? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Individuals who attend church services without sincerity have long been criticized with the following sardonic description: Those who repent on Sunday, For what they did on Saturday, And plan to do again on Monday. I have been unable to determine …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Repentance on a Sunday for What One Has Done on Saturday”
Quote Origin: Do Not Be So Open-Minded That Your Brains Fall Out
Carl Sagan? Arthur Hays Sulzberger? Marianne Moore? E. E Cummings? William Allan Neilson? Walter Kotschnig? Samuel Butler? G. K. Chesterton? Max Radin? James Oberg? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a desirable balance between exploring novel ideas with an open mind and maintaining a healthy skepticism. The following humorous cautionary statement exemplifies the tension: …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Do Not Be So Open-Minded That Your Brains Fall Out”
Quote Origin: There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute
P.T. Barnum? Hungry Joe Lewis? Artemus Ward? Mike McDonald? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for 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 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute”
Quote Origin: 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? Question for Quote Investigator: The website of a major international news organization has an article titled “Tennyson: 10 Essential Quotes” with the following item listed third: If I had a flower for every time I thought of you… I could walk through my garden forever. Strangely, …
Quote Origin: 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? Question for 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. …
Quote Origin: Don’t Tax You. Don’t Tax Me. Tax That Fellow Behind the Tree
Russell B. Long? Anonymous? Question for 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? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest close match for this …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Don’t Tax You. Don’t Tax Me. Tax That Fellow Behind the Tree”
Quote Origin: Writers Are Just Schmucks with Underwoods
Jack L. Warner? Bill Davidson? Samuel Goldwyn? Louis B. Mayer? Harry Cohn? Apocryphal? Insult: Schmuck? Schlep? Schnook? Question for 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 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Writers Are Just Schmucks with Underwoods”
Quote Origin: When in Doubt Have a Man Come Through a Door with a Gun in His Hand
Raymond Chandler? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The novelist Raymond Chandler was famous for his literary crime fiction. He once discussed the techniques he employed to craft his hardboiled fiction and supposedly offered advice similar to the following: If your plot is flagging, have a man come in with a gun. When stumped, have a …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: When in Doubt Have a Man Come Through a Door with a Gun in His Hand”
Quote Origin: It Is the Responsibility of Every Human Being To Aspire To Do Something Worthwhile
Albert Einstein? Armand Hammer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A hospital in Rhode Island has a display in the main lobby listing the names of generous donors. The following quotation attributed to Albert Einstein is also printed on the display: It is the responsibility of every human being to aspire to do something worthwhile, to …