Peter Drucker? Gore Vidal? Professor Giddings? Jesse H. Shera? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I belong to an organization which is expending an inordinate effort perfecting the execution of a task that is peripheral to its mission. A famous management guru spoke about the pointlessness of efficiently performing a function that should not be done …
Yearly Archives: 2017
Quote Origin: Dictators Ride To and Fro Upon Tigers from Which They Dare Not Dismount
Winston Churchill? Harry Truman? Chinese Adage? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Anyone who was sitting atop a tiger would have a difficult time dismounting safely. Apparently, this scenario has been employed metaphorically by the political leaders Winston Churchill and Harry Truman. Would you please explore this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1937 Winston Churchill …
Quote Origin: Life is a Tragedy when Seen in Closeup, But a Comedy in Longshot
Charlie Chaplin? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The cinema icon Charlie Chaplin depicted comic and tragic situations in his films, and he also experienced both in his personal life. One of his memorable quotations metaphorically employed the film director terms closeup and longshot to contrast tragedy and comedy. Would you help me to find a …
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Quote Origin: Two Kinds of Fools: This Is Old, Therefore It Is Good. This Is New, Therefore It Is Better
William Ralph Inge? John Brunner? Bishop of Ripon? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There are two different types of fools. One naively embraces and extolls everything that is old; the other credulously praises everything that is new. This insight has been ascribed to William Ralph Inge who was a professor at Cambridge and Dean of …
Quote Origin: It’s Easy Enough, My Friend, to Dream of Utopian Worlds Afar…
Edgar Allan Poe? Ted Olson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a verse stating that only one person out of one-hundred is actively working toward making bold dreams come true. This notion has been ascribed to the horror master Edgar Allan Poe. Are you familiar with this verse? Would you please examine this topic? …
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Quote Origin: Life Is a Sexually Transmitted Terminal Disease
Margaret Atwood? Posy Simmonds? Guy Bellamy? Marilyn Duckworth? R. D. Laing? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following quotation may be morbid, but I still consider it cleverly humorous: Life is a sexually transmitted terminal disease. Would you please explore its provenance? Reply from Quote Investigator: Tracing this statement is difficult because it emerged from …
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Quote Origin: The Three Most Famous Names in History Are Jesus Christ, Sherlock Holmes, and Harry Houdini
George Bernard Shaw? Otto Penzler? James Thurber? Harold Ross? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Reportedly, George Bernard Shaw once presented an idiosyncratic list of the three most famous individuals: Jesus Christ, Sherlock Holmes, and Harry Houdini. Did Shaw really put forward this triptych? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence known to QI appeared in …
Quote Origin: Do Not Allow Idleness to Deceive You, for While You Give Him Today He Steals Tomorrow from You
H. Croccoquill? Alfred Crowquill? Alfred Henry Forrester? Question for Quote Investigator: I recently encountered an insightful quotation that begins: Don’t allow idleness to deceive you. . . Someone with the unusual name “H. Croccoquill” was credited, but I have been unable to learn anything about him or her. Is this ascription accurate? Reply from Quote …
Quote Origin: Planet “Earth” Should Have Been Called Planet “Sea”
Arthur C. Clarke? Carleton Ray? Ann Henderson-Sellers? James E. Lovelock? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The water covering our planet makes it look like a blue marble in pictures taken from outer space. Roughly three-quarters of the surface is enveloped in H₂O in liquid or frozen form. The science fiction luminary Arthur C. Clarke suggested …
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Quote Origin: We Shall Escape the Absurdity of Growing a Whole Chicken in Order To Eat the Breast or Wing
Winston Churchill? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Scientists have successfully produced meat in culture without the need to grow an entire animal. Apparently, long ago Winston Churchill envisioned this possibility, and he predicted that chicken wings would be created without growing a full chicken. Would you please locate Churchill’s remarks on this topic? Reply from …