Tracing Quotations
Arthur Kantrowitz? Gerard K. O’Neill? Timothy Leary? Arthur C. Clarke? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Grand futuristic projects such as the following four examples have been greeted with a mixture of hope, excitement, skepticism, and derision: (1) Laser propulsion systems for spacecraft(2) Space-based solar power systems(3) Space habitats with thousands or millions of people(4) Space …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You’ll Have the Result Ten Years After You’ve Stopped Laughing”
Kansas Cooperative Council? Lance Burr? Betty Hutton? Jim Briggs? John Rankin? Boris Yavitz? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: One encounters numerous obstacles when working toward the completion of an ambitious goal. It is necessary to keep the final objective in mind to make progress. A humorous statement highlights the troubles one must circumvent: When you …
François Truffaut? Sam Mendes? Steven Spielberg? Gene Siskel? Roger Ebert? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The excitement, violence, and brutality of films about war often causes confusion in the minds of movie goers. Even when a director’s avowed stance is anti-war the visceral reaction of viewers might be very different. A prominent director once said something …
Francis Bacon? Samuel Palmer? James Kelly? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Valuable insights into cultures may be obtained by studying popular proverbs. The English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon has been credited with the following statement: The genius, wit, and spirit of a nation are discovered in its proverbs. I am skeptical of this attribution …
Margaret Atwood? Ingrid Koenig? Naomi Wolf? Gavin de Becker? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Each of us experiences different fears. A popular feminist saying presents divergent dreads: Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them. This saying has been attributed to prominent Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, U.S. feminist …
Continue reading “Adage Origin: Men Fear Women Will Laugh at Them; Women Fear Men Will Kill Them”
Edwin Lutyens? Arthur Wimperis? Geoffrey Willans? John Poole? Malcolm Sterling Mackinlay? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A wit at a restaurant was served a plate of cod which looked unappetizing. The rejected fish inspired this memorably hilarious pun: A piece of cod which passeth all understanding. The wordplay was based on a biblical verse: The …
Continue reading “Pun Origin: A Piece of Cod Which Passeth All Understanding”
Mao Zedong? Zhou Enlai? Eduard Shevardnadze? Andre Malraux? Anonymous Official? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular anecdote claims that a high-level U.S. politician once met with a Chinese official during the 1970s, and they began to talk about the French Revolution. When the Chinese official was asked about the impact of this momentous historical …
Douglas Adams? Spike Milligan? Terry Pratchett? Charlie Bates? Harry Harrison? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Prominent humorists have been credited with statements from the following family of jokes about collisions. Here are three examples: (1) Falling doesn’t hurt you; it’s the sudden stop at the end.(2) It isn’t the speed that kills people; it’s the …
Continue reading “Quip Origin: It’s Not the Fall That Hurts You; It’s the Sudden Stop at the End”
Mark Twain? Merle Johnson? Albert Bigelow Paine? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous humorist apparently said something like the following about taxation. Here are two versions: (1) “What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector?” “The taxidermist takes only your skin.” (2) The difference between a tax collector and a taxidermist is …
John Maynard Keynes? Dennis Gabor? Alan L. Mackay? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A cynical taxpayer crafted the following remark: The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that still carries any reward. This statement has been credited to the famous economist John Maynard Keynes, but I am skeptical because I have never …