The New York Times? Orrin E. Dunlap Jr.? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Wildly inaccurate predictions are always amusing. Apparently, an article in “The New York Times” contended that television broadcasting would never surpass radio broadcasting because people would never be willing to sit and stare at a screen for hours on end. Would you …
Monthly Archives: June 2020
Quote Origin: If You Watch a Lot of TV, You’re Not Considered Well-Viewed
Lily Tomlin? Jane Wagner? Barbara Rowes? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: People who read numerous books are perceived positively by society. The term “well-read” implies knowledgeable and discerning. However, people who view television for endless hours are perceived negatively. The term “well-viewed” is uncommon. I have only heard it used within the punchline of a …
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Quote Origin: Nothing Is Ugly as Long as It Is Alive
Coco Chanel? Marcel Haedrich? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Did the famous fashion designer and style arbiter Coco Chanel say that “nothing is ugly”? Would you please help me to find a citation showing the context? Reply from Quote Investigator: Coco Chanel died in 1971, and in that same year Marcel Haedrich authored a biography …
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Quote Origin: Patriotism is the Last Refuge of a Scoundrel
Samuel Johnson? James Boswell? Samuel Maunder? Henry F. Mason? Bernard J. Sheil? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A politician whose popularity is dropping may attempt to recapture acceptance by disingenuously embracing jingoistic patriotism. Here are three versions of a germane saying: Would you please help me to identify an accurate version of this saying together …
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Quote Origin: I Don’t Think Necessity Is the Mother of Invention — Invention . . . Arises Directly From Idleness . . . From Laziness
Agatha Christie? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Necessity is the mother of invention according to the well-known proverb, but the brilliant mystery writer Agatha Christie disagreed. She suggested that the crucial motivation was laziness. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1976 Agatha Christie died, and the following …
Dialogue Origin: “Only Six Months To Live. What Would You Do Then?” “Type Faster”
Isaac Asimov? Barbara Walters? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: An interviewer decided to challenge a popular and prolific author with the specter of mortality. What would the energetic scribbler do when given a prognosis of death within a year asked the interviewer. The preternaturally fixated author replied, “Type faster”. Would you please help me to …
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Quote Origin: I Have Seen Dark Hours in My Life, and I Have Seen the Darkness Gradually Disappearing and the Light Gradually Increasing
Frederick Douglass? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous anti-slavery orator Frederick Douglass once stated that society was slowly improving. He believed that he was seeing “the darkness gradually disappearing and the light gradually increasing”. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: On October 22, 1890 “The Evening Star” …
Quote Origin: This Is My Truth, Now Tell Me Yours
Aneurin Bevan? Jennie Lee? Michael Foot? Friedrich Nietzsche? Zarathustra? Manic Street Preachers? John Strachey? Hubert Griffith? Herbert L. Matthews? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A U.K politician expressed a willingness to hear alternative viewpoints by using the following expression: This is my truth; tell me yours. British Labour Party leader Aneurin Bevan has received credit …
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Quote Origin: This Is My Way; Where Is Yours?
Friedrich Nietzsche? Zarathustra? John Strachey? Hubert Griffith? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Different people hold divergent views of the world. Here are three versions of a germane remark: The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche has received credit for this comment. Would you please explore this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: Between 1883 and 1885 Friedrich Nietzsche …
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Quote Origin: Years Wrinkle the Skin, But To Give Up Enthusiasm Wrinkles the Soul
Frank Crane? Douglas MacArthur? Watterson Lowe? Ann Landers? Jay B. Nash? L. F. Phelan? Samuel Ullman? Question for Quote Investigator: According to a popular essay about youth the primary cause of aging is the desertion of one’s ideals. Also, years may wrinkle the skin, but losing enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. This essay has been attributed …
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