Arthur C. Clarke? Albert Scott Crossfield? George T. Hauty? S. Fred Singer? Question for Quote Investigator: In the early days of the space-age researchers and administrators were considering replacing human pilots and astronauts with computers. The argument against this form of automation was presented with a single humorous sentence that emphasized the advantages of humans. …
Yearly Archives: 2016
Quote Origin: The Architect’s Most Effective Tools Are the Eraser in the Drafting Room and the Wrecking Bar on the Job
Frank Lloyd Wright? Edgar Tafel? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Recently, I was reading a book about software design, and the author emphasized the importance of detecting and fixing errors quickly. The following quotation was presented: You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledgehammer on the construction site. The statement was …
Quote Origin: It’s True I’m Here, and I’m Just as Strange as You
Frida Kahlo? Rebecca Katherine Martin? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a fascinating quotation about self-consciousness and the desire to establish a connection with an alter ego or doppelganger. Here is the beginning: I used to think I was the strangest person in the world, but then I thought, there are so many …
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Anecdote Origin: The Dictionary Feud of Faulkner versus Hemingway
William Faulkner? Ernest Hemingway? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Two major writers of the twentieth century disagreed sharply about the type of vocabulary that was advantageous in literary works. According to a literary legend Faulkner attacked Hemingway by saying he had “no courage”. Hemingway’s tightly circumscribed word choice was pedestrian. Hemingway punched back by stating …
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Quote Origin: An Apology Is the Superglue of Life. It Can Repair Just About Anything
Lynn Johnston? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The Canadian cartoonist Lynn Johnston has crafted a wonderful metaphor equating the reparative quality of apologies to superglue. Her statement is very popular on the web, but no one seems to know the precise phrasing; also, I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please trace this …
Quote Origin: They’ve Absolutely Ruined Your Perfectly Dreadful Play
Tallulah Bankhead? Merle Miller? Tennessee Williams? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The funniest one-line review of a movie I have ever encountered is the following: Darling, they’ve absolutely ruined your perfectly dreadful play. According to a show-business legend, the movie star Tallulah Bankhead delivered this mortifying judgement to the famous playwright Tennessee Williams when she …
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Quote Origin: Failure Is Only the Opportunity More Intelligently To Begin Again
Henry Ford? Samuel Crowther? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The failure of a project is often disheartening, but some self-help and inspirational texts highlight a quotation that presents a positive interpretation to the setback: Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently. This statement has been attributed to the assembly-line innovator and industrial titan …
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Quote Origin: Life’s Most Persistent and Urgent Question Is, “What Are You Doing for Others?”
Martin Luther King Jr.? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A speech by the civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. included a section about the importance of altruism versus selfishness; he posed the following question: What are you doing for others? Would you please help me to locate this quotation? Reply from Quote Investigator: The …
Quote Origin: Jealousy in Romance Is Like Salt in Food
Maya Angelou? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I once read a piece by the prominent memoirist and poet Maya Angelou that contained a fascinating simile depicting jealousy in a love affair as a spice or salt because it enhanced the flavor of the relationship. I have not been able to relocate this passage, and now …
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Quote Origin: Obscene and Not Heard
Groucho Marx? Ethel Barrymore? Maurice Barrymore? Paul M. Potter? Gertrude Battles Lane? John Lennon? Joe E. Lewis? Robert Heinlein? Marilyn Manson? Augustus John? Oscar Wilde? Question for Quote Investigator: There is well-known and often repeated admonition directed at young people who are making too much noise: Children should be seen and not heard. Wordplay has …