Tracing Quotations
Art Buchwald? Henry James Lee? Mrs. Kenneth Clarke? Linda Godeau? Laurence J. Peter? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular modern adage de-emphasizes materialism: The best things in life aren’t things. This phrase has been attributed to the humorist Art Buchwald and the quotation collector Laurence J. Peter. What do you think? Reply from Quote …
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Leo Tolstoy? Edwin H. Stuart? Elinor Glyn? Henry Traphagen? Art Buchwald? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: While I am working hard on a complex project my desk usually becomes messy, but I take comfort in the following sayings: Would you please explore the history of this modern adage? Reply from Quote Investigator: A strong match …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Disordered Desk Is a Sign of Genius”
Albert Einstein? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Einstein famously constructed a foundational equation about energy: E = mc². Apparently, he also fashioned a less-well-known humorous formula about success in life using the terms A, X, Y, and Z. Did Einstein actually craft this quasi-mathematical joke? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1929 Albert Einstein was interviewed …
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Dorothy Parker? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The well-known wit Dorothy Parker brought forth laughter from others, but personally she experienced episodes of depression. Apparently, when her doorbell rang she would sometimes proclaim: What fresh hell is this? Is this an accurate claim? Reply from Quote Investigator: Dorothy Parker died in 1967, and her earliest …
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Wendell Berry? Wallace Stegner? Ralph Ellison? Dorothy Noyes? Question for Quote Investigator: The nature writer and activist Wendell Berry has been credited with a statement about knowing one’s place in the world: If you don’t know where you are, you don’t know who you are. Yet, this saying has also been ascribed to the novelist …
Oscar Wilde? Alfred Hitchcock? Joseph Wood Krutch? Margo Coleman? Bennett Cerf? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Anyone who has grown tired of reading idealized and overly sentimental visions of nature will enjoy the following skewed definition: Nature is where the birds fly around uncooked. These words are credited to Oscar Wilde, but I haven’t found …
Paul A. Samuelson? Max Planck? Thomas S. Kuhn? Henri Poincaré? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Resistance to revolutionary scientific theories is intransigent. Progress only occurs when the prestigious detractors from a previous generation die out. Here are four versions of a maxim eloquently stating this viewpoint: Science advances funeral by funeral. Science advances one funeral …
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Elon Musk? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Controversial and path-breaking entrepreneur Elon Musk started the rocket company SpaceX because he is passionate about traveling to Mars. He said something like: If mankind does not get off of this mud ball then it will go extinct. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply …
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Mark Twain? Hugh Elmer Brown? Joseph Fort Newton? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The following quotation is often attributed to Mark Twain, but I do not know whether it is accurate: It ain’t the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand. Would you …
Frank Lloyd Wright? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright was critical of the new buildings he saw in cities. Apparently, he said: Novelty is mistaken for Progress. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1955 Frank Lloyd Wright published an essay titled “The …
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