Richard Branson? Thornton Wilder? Francis Bacon? Mr. Bettenham? King James I of England? Henry Edmundson? Richard Flecknoe? Clint Murchison? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous British entrepreneur Richard Branson employed an extraordinary simile. He said that “money is like manure”, and elaborated on the thought as follows:[1]Website: Richard Branson blog at Virgin.com, Article title: Why …
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It’s Not True That Life Is One Damn Thing After Another—It’s One Damn Thing Over and Over
Edna St. Vincent Millay? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: You have already examined the following mordant saying: Life is just one damned thing after another. Apparently, the prominent poet Edna St. Vincent Millay disagreed, and she offered her own alternative trenchant analysis of life. Here are three versions: It’s one damn thing over and over. It’s …
Human: A Non-Linear Servo-Mechanism Weighing Only 150 Pounds that Can Be Produced Cheaply by Unskilled Labor
Arthur C. Clarke? Albert Scott Crossfield? George T. Hauty? S. Fred Singer? Dear Quote Investigator: In the early days of the space-age researchers and administrators were considering replacing human pilots and astronauts with computers. The argument against this form of automation was presented with a single humorous sentence that emphasized the advantages of humans. Are …
The Architect’s Most Effective Tools Are the Eraser in the Drafting Room and the Wrecking Bar on the Job
Frank Lloyd Wright? Edgar Tafel? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Recently, I was reading a book about software design, and the author emphasized the importance of detecting and fixing errors quickly. The following quotation was presented: You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledgehammer on the construction site. The statement was attributed …
It’s True I’m Here, and I’m Just as Strange as You
Frida Kahlo? Rebecca Katherine Martin? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a fascinating quotation about self-consciousness and the desire to establish a connection with an alter ego or doppelganger. Here is the beginning: I used to think I was the strangest person in the world, but then I thought, there are so many people …
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The Dictionary Feud: Faulkner versus Hemingway
William Faulkner? Ernest Hemingway? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Two major writers of the twentieth century disagreed sharply about the type of vocabulary that was advantageous in literary works. Apparently, Faulkner said that Hemingway had “no courage” because he tightly circumscribed his word choice. Hemingway punched back by stating that he did not need “ten-dollar words”. …
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An Apology Is the Superglue of Life. It Can Repair Just About Anything
Lynn Johnston? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The Canadian cartoonist Lynn Johnston has crafted a wonderful metaphor equating the reparative quality of apologies to superglue. Her statement is very popular on the web, but no one seems to know the precise phrasing; also, I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please trace this quotation? …
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They’ve Absolutely Ruined Your Perfectly Dreadful Play
Tallulah Bankhead? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The funniest one-line review of a movie I have ever encountered is the following: Darling, they’ve absolutely ruined your perfectly dreadful play. According to a show-business legend, the movie star Tallulah Bankhead delivered this mortifying judgement to the famous playwright Tennessee Williams when she saw the film version of …
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Failure Is Only the Opportunity More Intelligently To Begin Again
Henry Ford? Samuel Crowther? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The failure of a project is often disheartening, but some self-help and inspirational texts highlight a quotation that presents a positive interpretation to the setback: Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently. This statement has been attributed to the assembly-line innovator and industrial titan Henry …
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Life’s Most Persistent and Urgent Question Is, “What Are You Doing for Others?”
Martin Luther King Jr.? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A speech by the civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. included a section about the importance of altruism versus selfishness; he posed the following question: What are you doing for others? Would you please help me to locate this quotation? Quote Investigator: The 1963 collection “Strength …
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