Pablo Picasso? Vincent van Gogh? Fred Beerstein? Question for Quote Investigator: You have the following inspirational saying on the website: Only one who attempts the absurd is capable of achieving the impossible. The above remark reminded me of a statement that has been attributed to two very different painters: Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh: …
Yearly Archives: 2017
Quote Origin: I Don’t Believe in Astrology; I’m a Sagittarian and We’re Skeptical
Arthur C. Clarke? Bob Thaves? Evan Esar? Jonah Peretti? Paul Heskett? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke was once asked whether he believed in astrology, and he gave a facetious self-contradictory answer. I have not been able to find a solid citation. Would you please help? Reply from …
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Quote Origin: Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results
Albert Einstein? Al-Anon? Narcotics Anonymous? Max Nordau? George Bernard Shaw? Samuel Beckett? George A. Kelly? Rita Mae Brown? John Larroquette? Jessie Potter? Werner Erhard? Question for Quote Investigator: It’s foolish to repeat ineffective actions. One popular formulation presents this point harshly: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and …
Quote Origin: Better to Light a Candle Than to Curse the Darkness
Eleanor Roosevelt? Confucius? Chinese Proverb? William L. Watkinson? E. Pomeroy Cutler? James Keller? Oliver Wendell Holmes? Adlai Stevenson? John F. Kennedy? Charles Schulz? William Appleton Lawrence? Question for Quote Investigator: I love the emphasis on constructive action in the following saying: It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. These words …
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Quote Origin: Never Forget To Remember Those That Have Stuck By You
Irish Saying? Levi Furbush? Harold Keating? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following expression was mentioned in the news recently: Always remember to forget the friends that proved untrue, but never forget to remember those that have stuck by you. Would you please rapidly conduct an examination of its provenance? Reply from Quote Investigator: The …
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Quote Origin: Winning Isn’t Everything; It’s the Only Thing
Vince Lombardi? Henry ‘Red’ Sanders? Joe Kuharich? Jim Tatum? Murray Warmath? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A controversial uncompromising statement about the importance of winning has been credited to two successful football coaches: Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers and Henry ‘Red’ Sanders of the UCLA Bruins: Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing. …
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Quote Origin: There Is Nothing Noble in Being Superior to Some Other Man. The True Nobility Is in Being Superior to Your Previous Self
Ernest Hemingway? W. L. Sheldon? Hindu Proverb? Khryter? Seneca? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A quotation about “true nobility” attributed to the Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway suggests that one should avoid comparing oneself to others. I haven’t been able to find a solid citation. Would you please trace this aphorism? Reply from Quote Investigator: …
Anecdote Origin: Send Them The Bedbug Letter
Letter Recipient: Miles Poindexter? Frank Crane? John Phillips? Hugh Ironpants Johnson? Question for Quote Investigator: Would you please explore the provenance of a story called “The Bedbug Letter” about a revelatory customer relations blunder? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence known to QI appeared on June 12, 1913 in multiple newspapers such as “The …
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Anecdote Origin: Knowing Where To Tap
A Fired Machinist? Charles R. Wiers? Hubert N. Alyea? Charles Proteus Steinmetz? Henry Ford? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular anecdote highlights the extraordinary value of properly applying specialized knowledge. A top-expert is hired to fix a gigantic complicated machine suffering from an intractable problem. The adroit practitioner repairs the contraption with a simple …
Quote Origin: Sure, We’ll Have Fascism in This Country, and We’ll Call It Anti-Fascism
Huey Long? Winston Churchill? Bruce Bliven? H. L. Mencken? Lawrence Dennis? Jimmy Street? Robert Cantwell? Lawrence Dennis? Halford Luccock Question for Quote Investigator: The famous populist Huey Long and British leader Winston Churchill have both been credited with a bold prediction about political deception. Here are two versions: Would you please investigate? Reply from Quote …