Evan Esar? H. L. Mencken? Exchange? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The key to achieving equanimity and contentment in life is accurately assessing what is within your control and what is beyond your control. The following figurative adage is instructive: You can’t do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about …
Monthly Archives: June 2019
Education ‘To Earn a Living’ Will Become an Anachronism
Buckminster Fuller? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: In recent years the discussion of artificial intelligence and robotics replacing human workers has resurfaced. In addition, economic ideas such as universal basic income have been proposed to ameliorate societal dislocations. I am reminded of discourses from the 1960s. The controversial pathbreaking inventor and futurist R. Buckminster Fuller believed …
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I Say Hardly Any of Those Clever Things That Are Attributed To Me
Dorothy Parker? Yogi Berra? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Numerous sharp remarks have been credited incorrectly to the well-known wit Dorothy Parker. She was well aware of these misattributions, and she once commented that many of those clever remarks were not hers. Would you please help me to find a citation for her general disclaimer? Quote …
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In Order To Be Irreplaceable One Must Always Be Different
Coco Chanel? Marcel Haedrich? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A cookie created with a cookie cutter is easily replaceable, and this fact lowers its perceived value. This baking utensil is employed in a metaphorical insult targeting lack of originality, e.g., cookie-cutter clothes and cookie-cutter houses. Understandably, people like to view themselves as irreplaceable. Yet, to achieve …
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Don’t Pray When It Rains If You Don’t Pray When the Sun Shines
Satchel Paige? Billy Sunday? Hal Boyle? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Prayers are typically offered when a dangerous situation is encountered or when a disturbing event occurs. Yet, prayers of joy and thankfulness are also appropriate when something positive happens. The following metaphorical guidance is pertinent: Don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray …
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You Might Dispense With Half Your Doctors If You Would Only Consult Doctor Sun More
Henry Ward Beecher? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous nineteenth-century clergyman, social reformer, and orator Henry Ward Beecher offered some intriguingly modern health advice. He felt that people should “consult Doctor Sun more”. They should frequently enjoy the open air, sunlight, and rain. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: On …
“Did Hamlet Have an Affair with Ophelia?” “In My Theater Company, Invariably”
John Barrymore? Walter Sichel? William Powell Frith? Anonymous Scene-Shifter? Johnston Forbes-Robertson? Arthur Machen? Cedric Hardwicke? Errol Flynn? Dear Quote Investigator: The theater world has long been known for complex tempestuous relationships between cast members on and off the stage. One comical tale concerns the ambiguous relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia presented in William Shakespeare’s renowned …
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Socialism Would Take Too Many Evenings
Oscar Wilde? H. G. Wells? George Bernard Shaw? Michael Walzer? Arnold S. Kaufman? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Some forms of socialism are implemented via a participatory process. An engaged citizenry would attend meetings, learn about different approaches, discuss topics, formulate policies, build consensus, and vote. These tasks can be quite laborious. Here are two versions …
When You’re 60 You Realize No One Was Ever Thinking About You
Winston Churchill? Will Rogers? Jock Falkson? Ann Landers? Ewan McGregor? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: One’s sensitivity to the opinions of others often changes as one matures. The following statement has been attributed to statesman Winston Churchill: When you’re 20 you care what everyone thinks, when you’re 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you’re …
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