Britain and America Are Two Nations Divided by a Common Language

George Bernard Shaw? Mallory Browne? Raymond Gram Swing? Oscar Wilde? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The influential Irish playwright and commentator George Bernard Shaw has been credited with a humorous remark about language. Here are four versions: 1) Britain and America are two nations divided by a common language. 2) The English and Americans are two …

We Only Think When We Are Confronted With a Problem

John Dewey? William F. Russell? Helena Weatherby? Thomas A. Harris? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Thinking thoroughly about a topic is a difficult and painstaking task. Many people prefer quick and easy answers that can be selected with minimal thought. Yet sometimes people face obstacles that require careful cogitation. The famous philosopher and teacher John Dewey …

April Fool: Signed His Name and Forgot to Write the Letter

Henry Ward Beecher? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Are you familiar with the amusing anecdote about an “April Fool” letter sent to the famous orator Henry Ward Beecher. Would you please examine the tale’s provenance? Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence known to QI was published on April 27, 1870 in the “Daily Evening Traveller” of Boston, …

Research Is the Process of Going Up Alleys to See If They’re Blind

Marston Bates? Barstow Bates? Plutarch? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A path-breaking researcher must pursue many leads that do not work out. Sometimes he or she must exhaustively test a set of possibilities with the foreknowledge that only a handful will yield positive results. That is why I embrace the following insightful saying: Research is the …

Love Never Dies of Starvation, But Often of Indigestion

Ninon de Lenclos? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Ninon de Lenclos (also L’enclos) was a famous French author and courtesan who died in 1705. Her friends valued her perceptiveness, and one man asked her for guidance because he was infatuated with his paramour. Lenclos warned that his ardor would cool if he spent too much time …

If In the Last Few Years You Haven’t Discarded a Major Opinion or Acquired a New One, Check Your Pulse. You May Be Dead

Gelett Burgess? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Anyone who wishes to remain intellectually vital must be willing to challenge his or her own opinions. Viewpoints should evolve and flawed notions should be replaced. I came across the following cogent expression: If in the last few years you haven’t discarded a major opinion or acquired a …

If You Want To Tell People the Truth, You’d Better Make Them Laugh or They’ll Kill You

George Bernard Shaw? Oscar Wilde? Cecile Starr? Billy Wilder? Richard Pryor? James L. Brooks? Dustin Hoffman? Charles Ludlam? Dear Quote Investigator: Dramatists have discovered that challenging material often elicits hostility or boredom. This is dangerous for creators because jobs in the entertainment industry are precarious. Yet, a provocative production leavened with humor is often embraced …

Nine Requisites for Contented Living

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? William D. Smith? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The prominent German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe has been credited with the following group of expressions called: The Nine Requisites for Contented Living: (1) Health enough to make work a pleasure. (2) Wealth enough to support your needs. (3) Strength to battle with …

That Which Can Be Destroyed By the Truth Should Be

Carl Sagan? P. C. Hodgell? Kirien? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There exists a family of sayings that is popular in the community of skeptics. Here are four examples: 1) That which can be destroyed by the truth should be. 2) Anything that can be destroyed by the truth should be. 3) Anything that can be …

The Noblest Search of Today Is the Search for Excellence

Lyndon B. Johnson? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Lyndon B. Johnson was the President of the U.S. during the 1960s. I am having a difficult time trying to verify the following uplifting quotation which has been attributed to him: The noblest search is the search for excellence. What do you think? Quote Investigator: In April 1964 …