Tracing Quotations
Pablo Picasso? Vincent van Gogh? Fred Beerstein? Dear Quote Investigator: You have the following inspirational saying on the website: Only one who attempts the absurd is capable of achieving the impossible. The above remark reminded me of a statement that has been attributed to two very different painters: Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh: I …
Continue reading “I Am Always Doing What I Can’t Do Yet in Order To Learn How To Do It”
Arthur C. Clarke? Bob Thaves? Evan Esar? Jonah Peretti? Paul Heskett? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke was once asked whether he believed in astrology, and he gave a facetious self-contradictory answer. I have not been able to find a solid citation. Would you please help? Quote Investigator: The …
Continue reading “I Don’t Believe in Astrology; I’m a Sagittarian and We’re Skeptical”
Albert Einstein? Al-Anon? Narcotics Anonymous? Max Nordau? George Bernard Shaw? Samuel Beckett? George A. Kelly? Rita Mae Brown? John Larroquette? Jessie Potter? Werner Erhard? Dear Quote Investigator: It’s foolish to repeat ineffective actions. One popular formulation presents this point harshly: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting …
Eleanor Roosevelt? Confucius? Chinese Proverb? William L. Watkinson? E. Pomeroy Cutler? James Keller? Oliver Wendell Holmes? Adlai Stevenson? John F. Kennedy? Charles Schulz? William Appleton Lawrence? Dear Quote Investigator: I love the emphasis on constructive action in the following saying: It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. These words have …
Continue reading “Better to Light a Candle Than to Curse the Darkness”
Irish Saying? Levi Furbush? Harold Keating? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following expression was mentioned in the news recently: Always remember to forget the friends that proved untrue, but never forget to remember those that have stuck by you. Would you please rapidly conduct an examination of its provenance? Quote Investigator: The earliest appearance known …
Continue reading “Never Forget To Remember Those That Have Stuck By You”
Vince Lombardi? Henry ‘Red’ Sanders? Joe Kuharich? Jim Tatum? Murray Warmath? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A controversial uncompromising statement about the importance of winning has been credited to two successful football coaches: Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers and Henry ‘Red’ Sanders of the UCLA Bruins: Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing. Would …
Continue reading “Winning Isn’t Everything; It’s the Only Thing”
Ernest Hemingway? W. L. Sheldon? Hindu Proverb? Khryter? Seneca? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A quotation about “true nobility” attributed to the Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway suggests that one should avoid comparing oneself to others. I haven’t been able to find a solid citation. Would you please trace this aphorism? Quote Investigator: Ernest Hemingway was …
Letter Recipient: Miles Poindexter? Frank Crane? John Phillips? Hugh Ironpants Johnson? Dear Quote Investigator: Would you please explore the provenance of a story called “The Bedbug Letter” about a revelatory customer relations blunder? Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence known to QI appeared on June 12, 1913 in multiple newspapers such as “The Duluth Herald” of …
A Fired Machinist? Charles R. Wiers? Hubert N. Alyea? Charles Proteus Steinmetz? Henry Ford? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A popular anecdote highlights the extraordinary value of properly applying specialized knowledge. A top-expert is hired to fix a gigantic complicated machine suffering from an intractable problem. The adroit practitioner repairs the contraption with a simple action …
Huey Long? Winston Churchill? Bruce Bliven? H. L. Mencken? Lawrence Dennis? Jimmy Street? Robert Cantwell? Lawrence Dennis? Halford Luccock Dear Quote Investigator: The famous populist Huey Long and British leader Winston Churchill have both been credited with a bold prediction about political deception. Here are two versions: When the United States gets fascism, it will …
Continue reading “Sure, We’ll Have Fascism in This Country, and We’ll Call It Anti-Fascism”