Quote Investigator® – Tracing Quotations

Saying Origin: Labor-Saving Devices Don’t Save Labor. They Increase It

John Stuart Mill? Henry George? H. L. Mencken? C. Palfrey? J. E. Jennings? Adam Coaldigger? Anonymous?

**Illustration of the Edison multipolar dynamo from the British Library**

Question for Quote Investigator: Recent progress in artificial intelligence and robotics has led some to believe that work hours will shrink and leisure will grow. However, history suggests a different possibility.

Brilliant inventors have created a series of remarkable labor-saving devices, yet somehow people seem to be working harder than ever. This notion has been summarized with a trenchant adage:

Labor-saving machinery doesn’t really save labor.

This saying has been attributed to English philosopher John Stuart Mill, U.S. political economist Henry George, and U.S. essayist H. L. Mencken.

This counter-intuitive observation has inspired several possible explanations including the following: Machines allow more goods and services to be produced at lower prices, but this causes the needs and desires of people to grow and expand; hence, working hours have not decreased in several decades.

Would you please explore the provenance of this saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: This saying can be expressed in many ways; hence, it is difficult to trace. John Stuart Mill articulated the central idea in 1848 although he employed a different phrasing. Here is an overview with dates and attributions:

1848: It is questionable if all the mechanical inventions yet made have lightened the day’s toil of any human being (John Stuart Mill)

1869: All the contrivances of science and art for economy of labor do not save labor, but stimulate production (C. Palfrey)

1885: All the labor-saving machinery that has hitherto been invented has not lessened the toil of a single human being (Attributed to John Stuart Mill by Henry George)

1900: No labor-saving invention has been used to save labor, but to increase it (J. E. Jennings)

1905: Labor-saving devices don’t save labor. They increase it (Anonymous)

1929: Labor-saving devices don’t save labor which is proven by the fact that men never worked as many days per annum or worked as feverishly as they have since the advent of the labor-saving devices (Adam Coaldigger)

1935: The plain fact is that labor-saving machinery doesn’t save labor at all (Howard Vincent O’Brien)

1962: Labor-saving machinery had in fact not saved any labor (Attributed to John Stuart Mill by August Heckscher)

1989: The fact is that a lot of labour-saving devices don’t really save labour (Sue Birchmore)

2008: No labor-saving device has ever saved a minute of labor! (Attributed to H. L. Mencken)

Below are details for selected citations in chronological order.

Saying Origin: Good Science Fiction Can Predict the Automobile; Better SF Can Predict the Drive-In Theater; The Best SF Can Predict the Resultant Sexual Revolution

Gardner Dozois? Isaac Asimov? Robert Heinlein? Cory Doctorow? Apocryphal?

**Picture of a drive-in movie theater from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: A competent science-fiction (SF) author can use the knowledge of automobiles and movie theaters to predict the creation of drive-in movie theaters. But an ingenious SF author can predict the dramatic shift in sexual behavior caused by these changes in mobility and privacy.

The prominent SF editor Gardner Dozois has received credit for presenting this notion, but I do not know the precise phrasing he used. Also, I do not know where his comment appeared. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1972 Gardner Dozois edited the short story anthology “A Day in the Life”. The remark by Dozois about the difficulty of making predictions was contained in the introduction to one of the tales. The following passage by Dozois contains the initialisms SAC and AEC. SAC referred to the Strategic Air Command of the U.S. which was responsible for operating strategic bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles. AEC referred to the Atomic Energy Commission of the U.S. which was responsible for overseeing nuclear energy. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

It is a jump from predicting the atomic bomb to predicting atomic submarines or breeder reactors, and it is another jump from there to predicting SAC and the AEC. Few authors have accurately predicted the way the cultural changes will seep inside our everyday lives and alter the experience and quality of it: from SAC to the McCarthy trials.

Most SF can predict the car, some SF can predict the drive-in theater, but SF that can predict the changes in teen-age sexual behavior as a result of the drive-in is vanishingly rare.

Envisioning and depicting the indirect implications of technological advances is challenging. SF luminaries such as Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein also commented on this topic.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Go Often To the House of Thy Friend, for Weeds Choke the Unused Path

Ralph Waldo Emerson? W. Taylor? Karl Blind? Carolyne Larrington? Poetic Edda? Hávamál? Scandinavian Proverb? Anonymous?

**Picture of a narrow forest path from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: A friendship endures when it is nurtured and periodically renewed. Silence and distance cause a friendship to decay. The following adage expresses this viewpoint:

Go often to the house of thy friend, for weeds soon choke up the unused path.

This statement has been attributed to transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, but I have never seen a solid citation, and I have become skeptical. Would you please explore the provenance of this expression?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence that Ralph Waldo Emerson crafted this saying. He died in 1882, and he received credit by 1921.

The earliest match known to QI appeared in a poem called “Hávamál” which is part of the “Poetic Edda”, a Medieval Icelandic literary work. An English translation by W. Taylor was published in 1828 containing the following verse. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

If you’ve a friend, take care to keep him,
And often to his threshold pace;
Bushes and grass soon choke the path
On which a man neglects to walk.

A different translation of the verse by Carolyne Larrington appeared in a scholarly book from Oxford University Press in 2014:²

I advise you, Loddfafnir, to take this advice,
it will be useful if you learn it,
do you good, if you have it:
you know, if you’ve a friend, one whom you trust well,
go to see him often;
for brushwood grows, and tall grass,
on the road which no man treads.

Here is the corresponding medieval text published in an edition from the Viking Society for Northern Research in 1986:³

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: If You Wish to Achieve Some Kind of Intellectual Immortality, Writing for the AIs Is Probably Your Best Chance

Tyler Cowen? Joshua Rothman? Apocryphal?

**Painting of Muses Clio, Euterpe, and Thalia by Eustache Le Sueur circa 1652**

Question for Quote Investigator: Currently, the training of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems requires vast quantities of text, pictures, and videos. Most of this data is unlicensed. Hence, this training has become controversial, and the backlash against such systems has been growing. Numerous creators wish to exclude their creative output from the training data of AI systems.

Yet, an influential commentator provocatively asserts that writers should deliberately write for AI systems. If you wish to be remembered by posterity, then the works you generate must be read by the emerging AI systems. If your output is ignored by AI systems, then you will be forgotten.

Who presented this challenging notion?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In January 2025 U.S. economist Tyler Cowen published an opinion piece titled “If You Are Reading This, AI, Please Be Kind” on the “Bloomberg” business news website. Cowen discussed the evanescence of cultural memory. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

If you wish to achieve some kind of intellectual immortality, writing for the AIs is probably your best chance. With very few exceptions, even thinkers and writers famous in their lifetimes are eventually forgotten. But not by the AIs. If you want your grandchildren or great-grandchildren to know what you thought about a topic, the AIs can give them a pretty good idea.

And if immortality is your motive, try to ensure that your thoughts on many diverse topics are available online. Give the AIs a sense not just of how you think, but how you feel — what upsets you, what you really treasure.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: If All Those Present Were Laid End to End, I Wouldn’t Be at All Surprised

Dorothy Parker? Lillian Day? Alexander Woollcott? Apocryphal?

**Picture of a fallen sequence of dominoes from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: U.S. poet, critic, and fiction writer Dorothy Parker was famous for her witticisms. When discussing a prom, she said something like the following:

If all the young women who attended were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be at all surprised.

Would you please explore the provenance of this expression?

Reply from Quote Investigator: This quip was based on a popular family of expressions that were designed to help readers envision enormous quantities of items by placing them end to end and describing the resultant length. For example, in 1843 a newspaper in Liverpool England proudly described the massive number of pages produced by their printing press. Boldface added by QI:¹

One day last month the steam-presses of the Liverpool Mercury threw off so many impressions of that paper, that if all the printed columns were laid end to end without any intervening space, they would reach over hill and dale, through town and country, the whole distance from Liverpool to London.

Below is an overview showing humorous variant statements with dates and source data:

1927 Aug: If all the college boys who slept in class were placed end to end they would be much more comfortable (“Judge” magazine acknowledged the “Cornell Widow”)

1927 Dec: If all the people who stay out most of the night were laid end to end they wouldn’t get up until noon.(“Judge” magazine)

1931: If all Ruby’s lovers were laid end to end, it would put them in a very awkward position. (Advertisement in “The Publisher’s Weekly” for a book by Lillian Day)

1934: Wholesale libel on a Yale prom. If all the girls attending it were laid end to end she wouldn’t be at all surprised. (Alexander Woollcott credited Dorothy Parker)

1945: If all the girls who attended the Yale Prom this year were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised. (Samuel Hopkins Adams credited Dorothy Parker)

1945 Jul: If all your lovers were laid end to end, I’d be very much pleased. (“The New Yorker” magazine acknowledged the operetta “Marinka”)

1967: Princeton prom: If all the girls were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be surprised. (Corey Ford credited Dorothy Parker)

1968: If all those sweet young things present were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be at all surprised. (Robert E. Drennan credited Dorothy Parker)

1974: If all the girls at Smith and Bennington were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be surprised. (Scott Meredith credited Dorothy Parker)

2003: If all the girls attending it were laid end to end … I wouldn’t be at all surprised. (Dominique Enright credited Dorothy Parker)

Here are selected detailed citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Economics Is the Only Field in Which Two People Can Get a Nobel Prize for Saying Exactly the Opposite Thing

Roberto Alazar? Pasi Kuoppamaki? Richard M. Scammon? Ben Wattenberg? John Kenneth Galbraith? Anonymous?

**A graph showing lines heading downward and upward from Pixabay**

Question for Quote Investigator: Economics is a complex and contentious discipline. Sharp disagreements between economists inspired the following quip:

Economics is the only field in which two people can share a Nobel Prize for saying opposing things.

Would you please help me to trace this expression?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest close match found by QI appeared in a message posted to the Usenet newsgroup sci.econ in May 1995. No attribution was given for the quip; hence, the creator remains anonymous. The message contained fourteen miscellaneous jokes about economics. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Economics is the only field in which two people can get a Nobel Prize for saying exactly the opposite thing.

Finnish economist Pasi Kuoppamaki replied to this Usenet message by stating that the jokes had been copied from a webpage of economics jokes which he maintained at the website of ETLA – Elinkeinoelämän tutkimuslaitos (Finnish Institute of Business Research). Currently, the webpage does not exist. Kuoppamaki gave this description:²

The collection is a result of contributions from many people round the world (though mostly US) to whom I owe a big thanks.

In November 1995 the “San Francisco Chronicle” of California published a story discussing the webpage of economics jokes maintained by Kuoppamaki. The article reprinted the quip without attribution:³

“Economics is the only field in which two people can get a Nobel Prize for saying exactly the opposite thing.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Courage Is What It Takes To Stand Up and Speak; It Is Also What It Takes To Sit Down and Listen

Winston Churchill? William Arthur Ward? Googey Bince? Carl Hermann Voss? George W. Norris? Anonymous?

**Illustration of two individuals sitting and listening from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: It takes courage to stand up and speak, but it also takes courage to sit down and listen. This notion has been attributed to U.K statesman Winston Churchill, but I have never seen a solid citation, and I am skeptical. Would you please help me to trace this saying.

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match found by QI appeared in 1964 within “Quote: The Weekly Digest”. The statement was credited to U.S. motivational author William Arthur Ward who crafted many affirmational sayings. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; it is also what it takes, on occasion, to sit down and listen.
—William A. Ward, Texas Wesleyan College, Meadowbrook (Tex) Herald, 7-30-64.

William Arthur Ward is the most likely creator of this saying.

Winston Churchill died in 1965. He received credit for the saying by 1976, but the attribution was unsupported. Also, the website of the International Churchill Society lists an instance and indicates that it is not an authentic quotation from the statesman:²

Courage
‘Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.’
This fake quote is very often attributed to Churchill but appears nowhere in the Churchill canon.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: A Committee Is a Gathering of Important People Who, Singly Can Do Nothing, But Together Can Decide That Nothing Can Be Done

Fred Allen? John Florence Sullivan? St. Martin’s Review? Anonymous?

**Picture of a boardroom from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: Meetings are often ineffective time-wasting exercises. Here are two versions of a popular comical criticism:

(1) A committee is a body of people who individually can do nothing but collectively they may decide that nothing can be done.

(2) A conference is a gathering of important people who, singly can do nothing but together can decide that nothing can be done.

This gag has been attributed to U.S. comedian and radio broadcaster Fred Allen (stage name of John Florence Sullivan). Would you please help me to trace this joke?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match found by QI appeared in October 1934 within the “Evening Sentinel” of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England which pointed to “St. Martin’s Review” as the source. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

From the same Review — A Committee is a gathering of important people who, singly can do nothing, but together can decide that nothing can be done.

The newspaper did not specify the author; hence, the creator remains anonymous.

Fred Allen employed an instance of this gag in January 1940. Allen used the word “conference” instead of “committee”. Details appear further below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Adage Origin: The Only Way Out Is Through

Robert Frost? George William Curtis? Arthur Deerin Call? Anonymous?

**Picture of a path through a forest from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: Everyone encounters difficult problems and arduous tasks. When avoidance is impossible it becomes necessary to face these challenges directly. Here are four versions of a pertinent adage:

(1) The only way out is through.
(2) The best way out is always through.
(3) No way out but through.
(4) The best way out is through.

The U.S. poet Robert Frost has received credit for this notion, but I have not seen a solid citation. Also, I suspect that the saying was used before Frost was born. Would you please explore the provenance of this saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match found by QI appeared in 1870 within an opinion piece about the ongoing Franco-Prussian War published in “Harper’s Weekly” of New York. France had experienced significant defeats on the battlefield, and the author wished that the country would implement major reforms. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

The old things must utterly pass away if there are to be new things. It is to be hoped that there are men in France who understand that there can be no returning, that the only way out is through, not back. We have yet to see whether there will be a reaction which will only prolong the sorrow of the country, or a resolution which will at last regenerate it.

In 1871 the “Gold Hill Daily News” of Nevada reprinted a large excerpt from the “Harper’s Weekly” article which included the text above. The newspaper indicated that the author of the “Harper’s Weekly” article was essayist and political activist George William Curtis:²

It is to be hoped that there are men in France who understand that there can be no returning, that the only way out is through, not back.

Curtis is the leading candidate for creator of this adage. Robert Frost also used a version of this saying many years later as shown below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: I Worry More About the Return OF My Money Than the Return ON My Money

Will Rogers? Eddie Cantor? Benjamin Franklin? Anonymous?

**Stacks of coins which grow in height from Pixabay**

Question for Quote Investigator: Risky investments offer high returns, but the money invested may be completely lost. A family of statements uses wordplay to express a memorable warning. Here are three instances:

(1) I learned to worry about the return of my money instead of the return on my money

(2) I’m not so much interested in the return on my principal as I am in the return of my principal.

(3) I am not as concerned about the return on my investment as about the return of my investment.

The wordplay consists of repeating a template phrase while swapping the prepositions “of” and “on”. This quip has been attributed to U.S. humorist Will Rogers, U.S. comedian Eddie Cantor, and U.S. statesman Benjamin Franklin. Would you please explore the origin of this family of statements?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The phrasing of these statements is highly variable; hence, this family is difficult to trace. The earliest instance of this wordplay found by QI appeared in April 1920 in “The New York Times” within an advertisement for Prudence Bonds from Realty Associates Investment Corporation. The bonds offered 6 percent interest, which was not the highest rate available, but the advertisement emphasized the safety of the bonds. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Of course, you can get a bigger return on your money, provided you accept a reduction in security.

But please bear this in mind: When we talk of the 100% soundness of Prudence-Bonds, we have in mind, not only the return on your money, but the return of your money.

In April 1920, the same advertisement for Prudence Bonds appeared in other newspapers such as the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” of Brooklyn, New York.²

QI hypothesizes that an anonymous copywriter crafted this wordplay. Citations presented further below indicate that the popular entertainer Eddie Cantor used the same wordplay in 1933 and 1934. Cantor’s formulation placed more emphasis on wistful humor.

Will Rogers died in 1935. He posthumously received credit for a version of this quip by 1938 within a real estate advertisement. Overall, QI believes that the evidence linking Rogers to the quip is very weak.

Benjamin Franklin died in 1790. He implausibly received credit for a version of this quip by 1966 within a financial advertisement.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.