Alexander von Humboldt? Voltaire? Samuel Eliot Morison? Timothy Ferris? Bill Bryson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Time is required for a society to fully comprehend and accept a major discovery. Resistance to a breakthrough occurs in a series of phases. Here are two versions of a cogent saying: Three degrees of doubt: First, deny the …
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Quote Origin: Your Room Is Not Your Prison. You Are
Sylvia Plath? Karen V. Kukil? Ronald Hayman? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent literary figure who was experiencing bouts of intense anxiety wrote about feelings of restriction. Here are two versions: (1) Your room is not your prison. You are.(2) It isn’t your room that’s a prison, it’s yourself. This notion has been attributed …
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Quote Origin: When Colombus Promised a New Hemisphere, All Said That It Could Not Exist. When He Found It, All Said It Had Been Known Long Before
Voltaire? Abraham Hayward? Alexander von Humboldt? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The resistance to new ideas is tenacious. Yet, there is a breathtaking reversal in attitude once a new idea is established. The philosopher Voltaire has received credit for presenting the following example regarding Christopher Columbus. When the explorer proposed an expedition to reach a new …
Quote Origin: The Person Who Never Quotes Will Never Be Quoted
Charles Haddon Spurgeon? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Employing quotations enlivens your writings and speeches. The best quotations are forceful, witty, eloquent, authoritative, and persuasive. Here are three versions of a pertinent statement: (1) You will never be quoted if you never quote.(2) He who never quotes will never be quoted.(3) He who never quotes, …
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Quip Origin: Only On Days Ending With the Letter “Y”
Norman Jacobshagen? Joe Murphy? Robert Orben? Alfred Sheinwold? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular family of quips is based on the curious uniformity in the spelling of the days of the week. Here are two examples: (1) Don’t play bridge on any day ending in a “y”(2) Play golf just on those days ending …
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Quote Origin: I Am a Fugitive From a Daisy Chain Gang
Dorothy Parker? Tiffany Thayer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The popular 1932 movie “I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang” was about an innocent man who was sent to prison and escaped from a chain gang. A humorist wrote a scathing review of an erotic book which suggested that the shoddy novel should have …
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Quote Origin: Mother — One of the Highest-Salaried Jobs in Any Field, Since the Payment is Pure Love
Mildred B. Vermont? Marian Inman? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Motherhood is stressful and tiring, but the rewards are remarkable. One delighted mother said something like the following: Being a mother is one of the highest salaried positions since the payment is pure love. Would you please help me to determine the author and find …
Quote Origin: Those Who Do Not Want To Imitate Anything, Produce Nothing
Salvador Dali? Eleanor R. Morse? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Neophyte artists must learn from the works of established artists, but imitation is controversial. A famous creator presented the following adage: Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing. This statement has been attributed to the prominent Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí. Is …
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Quote Origin: Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery That Mediocrity Can Pay To Greatness
Oscar Wilde? Charles Caleb Colton? Herbert Beerbohm Tree? Punch Magazine? Dublin Monthly Magazine? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Words and deeds are imitated when they are deemed useful, popular, or admirable. However, a simulacrum is inferior when compared to the original. A wit once said: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can …
Quote Origin: “Do You Think In Words or Pictures?” “I Think In Thoughts”
John Maynard Keynes? Daniel Dennett? Isaiah Berlin? Eloise Jarvis McGraw? Herman Melville? T. H. Pear? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Are our thoughts composed of basic elements? Do we contemplate words, pictures, video snippets, or perception patterns while cogitating? I was reminded of this classic epistemological question by recent advancements in the field of artificial …
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