Will Rogers? J. J. Swartz? Owen Davis? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The enormously popular American humorist Will Rogers had some ancestors who were Cherokee Indians, and apparently one of his jokes was about his forebears and the early European colonists who arrived on the Mayflower. Are you familiar with this quip? Was it really spoken …
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Good Girls Keep Diaries; Bad Girls Don’t Have the Time
Tallulah Bankhead? Herb Stein? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: You have previously examined a quotation attributed to the movie star Tallulah Bankhead. Perhaps you would be willing to look at another quip. Here are two versions: 1) Only good girls keep diaries. Bad girls don’t have time. 2) It’s the good girls who keep diaries; the …
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Every Child Is an Artist. The Problem Is How to Remain an Artist Once He or She Grows Up
John Lennon? Pablo Picasso? Carleton Noyes? Percy Mackaye? Dudley Crafts Watson? Agnes Snyder? Ricky Gervais? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: When a child is supplied with paint, clay, paper, and scissors he or she will experiment and construct images and figures. The artistic impulse is strong in the early years of life, but sadly it is …
The Best Lack All Conviction While the Worst Are Full of Passionate Intensity
William Butler Yeats? Bertrand Russell? Charles Bukowski? Question for Quote Investigator: Have you ever been absolutely certain about a fact and later determined that you were completely wrong? If you learn from that experience you become less arrogant and more empathetic. I wish more people would achieve this form of personal growth. Here are three …
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Quote Origin: The Most Exciting Phrase in Science Is Not ‘Eureka!’ But ‘That’s Funny’
Isaac Asimov? Gordon Rattray Taylor? Alexander Fleming? Archimedes? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous phrase uttered by an inventor or scientist when making a major discovery is “Eureka!” That was the cry of the ancient Greek sage Archimedes. Yet, a clever contrarian has asserted that the remark preceding a breakthrough reflects surprise and uncertainty …
Shoot Them Now, While They’re Happy
Dorothy Parker? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The brilliant wit Dorothy Parker’s career was based on writing. She composed screenplays in Hollywood, and she authored columns for the magazines “Esquire” and “The New Yorker”. Yet, she was not always happy with her literary livelihood. Recently on Pinterest I saw a piece of comically lethal acerbic advice …
Firearms Stand Next in Importance to the Constitution Itself. They Are the American People’s Liberty Teeth and Keystone under Independence
George Washington? C. S. Wheatley? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Are you familiar with the “liberty teeth” speech attributed to George Washington? Researchers have been unable to find evidence that Washington delivered this address, and some phrases are apparently anachronistic. Would you please explore its provenance? Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence located by QI was published …
Unless You Try To Do Something Beyond What You Have Already Mastered, You Will Never Grow
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Ronald E. Osborn? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following adage about personal growth has appeared in many self-help and motivational texts: Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow. Often the words are attributed to the well-known transcendental philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, but I …
Only One Who Attempts the Absurd Is Capable of Achieving the Impossible
Albert Einstein? M. C. Escher? Robin Morgan? Miguel de Unamuno? Miguel de Cervantes? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: To fully succeed in life one must ultimately follow an audacious path that may seem nonsensical or reckless to ones colleagues. My favorite saying supports this idea. Here are three versions: 1) Only those who attempt the absurd …
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The Philosopher, the Theologian, and the Elusive Black Cat
Julian Huxley? H. L. Mencken? Lewis Browne? Eric Temple Bell? William James? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The QI website has an article tracing a quip about a problematic absurdist quest: A metaphysician is a man who goes into a dark cellar at midnight without a light looking for a black cat that is not there. …
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