Albert Einstein? Truman Twill? Lyndon B. Johnson? Laurence J. Peter? Paul A. Freund? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Many sayings attributed to the scientific genius Albert Einstein concern the mind. Here is a funny example: If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign? …
Yearly Archives: 2017
Quote Origin: A Cluttered Desk Produces a Cluttered Mind
J. K. Turner? Newton A. Fuessle? Edward Earle Purinton? William C. McCraw? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Office workers whose desks are covered with a jumble of papers are criticized with the following adage. Here are three versions: World you please investigate this saying? Reply from Quote Investigator: This maxim is difficult to trace because …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Cluttered Desk Produces a Cluttered Mind”
Quote Origin: The Face of Venus, the Figure of Juno, the Brains of Minerva, the Memory of Macaulay . . . Above and Beyond All, the Hide of a Rhinoceros
Ethel Barrymore? Madge Kendal? J. H. Ellis? Lilian Braithwaite? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous actress Ethel Barrymore was asked to list the requirements for success in the theater. She specified remarkable qualities such as the beauty of Venus and the intelligence of Minerva. The final crucial precondition was an ability to ignore criticism. …
Quote Origin: Posterity Is As Likely To Be Wrong As Anybody Else
Heywood Broun? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The popular embrace or condemnation of an artwork is often transitory. Artists and critics speculate about the judgement of posterity, but that future evaluation may be just as flawed as the current viewpoint. I love this insightful remark: Posterity is as likely to be wrong as anybody else. …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Posterity Is As Likely To Be Wrong As Anybody Else”
Anecdote Origin: Lug Nuts: I’m Here Because I’m Crazy; Not Stupid
Asylum Inmate? Lester Ridenhour? Leo Aikman? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: According to legend an automobile driver noticed that a tire was going flat, and pulled over to the side of a lonely road adjacent to a tall metal fence. While replacing the tire with a spare the apprehensive driver removed the four lug nuts …
Continue reading “Anecdote Origin: Lug Nuts: I’m Here Because I’m Crazy; Not Stupid”
Quote Origin: He Is a Modest Man Who Has a Great Deal To Be Modest About
Winston Churchill? Voltaire? Julian Amery? Ronald Reagan? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: According to legend a political rival of Winston Churchill was once praised with the description “He is a modest man.” Churchill responded with the quip “He has much to be modest about.” Would you please investigate this tale? Reply from Quote Investigator: Clement …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: He Is a Modest Man Who Has a Great Deal To Be Modest About”
Quote Origin: You Can’t Have a Better Tomorrow If You Are Thinking About Yesterday All the Time
Charles F. Kettering? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Charles F. Kettering was a prominent inventor and the head of research at General Motors for more than twenty-five years. I believe he said that one couldn’t envision a better tomorrow if one was always thinking about yesterday. I am not sure of the precise phrasing he …
Quote Origin: Resentment Is Like Taking Poison and Waiting for the Other Person To Die
Carrie Fisher? Nelson Mandel? Malachy McCourt? Emmet Fox? Bert Ghezzi? Susan Cheever? Alan Brandt? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A vivid simile depicts the self-destructiveness of a common bitter emotion. Here are two versions: This figurative language has been credited to the actress Carrie Fisher, the statesman Nelson Mandela, the author Malachy McCourt, and others. …
Quote Origin: As You Climb the Ladder of Success, Be Sure It’s Leaning Against the Right Building
Stephen R. Covey? Thomas Merton? Allen Raine? Anne Adaliza Evans? Mae Maloo? H. Jackson Brown? Sarah Frances Brown? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The metaphorical notion of climbing a ladder of success was in use by writers in the nineteenth century. Here is an intriguing cautionary twist about faulty objectives: When you get to the …
Quote Origin: Tell ’Em What You’re Going To Tell ’Em; Next, Tell ’Em; Next, Tell ’Em What You Told ’Em
Aristotle? Dale Carnegie? J. H. Jowett? Fred E. Marble? Royal Meeker? Henry Koster? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: For many years I have been encouraged to split my speeches into three parts. Here are two versions of the guidance: (A) Tell the audience what you’re going to say, say it; then tell them what you’ve …