Tracing Quotations
Harold L. Spence? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: You examined an adage about success and work that cleverly referred to their alphabetical order. I’ve seen a different joke about duty and pleasure: Duty comes before pleasure, but only in the dictionary. Would you please explore this saying? Quote Investigator: The earliest instance of this type of …
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George Bernard Shaw? John Harris? Brigid Brophy? Apocryphal? Dear Quote investigator: George Bernard Shaw was a strong advocate of vegetarianism who was greatly concerned with animal welfare. The following statement attributed to Shaw encouraged the reader to embrace an abstract extraplanetary perspective and asked the reader to condemn the instrumental use of animals for food, …
Continue reading “Animal Rights and Beings from Another Planet”
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Leo Rosten? Thomas Carlyle? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: On Facebook and the web the following quotation has been circulating widely: The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived …
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Grace Murray Hopper? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Grace Murray Hopper was a pioneering computer scientist whose work was central to the development of COBOL, one of the foundational high-level programming languages. She worked in a very fast moving technological domain where simply attempting to repeat previously successful strategies was sometimes disastrous. I am trying …
Continue reading “Most Dangerous Phrase: We’ve Always Done It That Way”
Milton Berle? Bob Hope? Eugene P. Bertin? Connie Nelson? Robert Zwickey? Dale Turner? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The comedian Milton Berle was a major star for decades on radio and then on television. The following insightful adage has been attributed to him: Laughter is an instant vacation. I have also seen these words credited to …
Albert Einstein? Helen Dukas? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Albert Einstein was asked to explain the abstruse theory of relativity so many times that he reportedly created a comical illustration involving a hot stove and a pretty girl. Would you please explore the provenance of this tale? Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence located by QI was …
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Dorothy Parker? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The notable wit Dorothy Parker constructed several epitaphs for herself. I am interested in the following: Here Lies the Body of Dorothy Parker. Thank God! When did she craft this fateful expression? Dear Quote Investigator: QI has already examined a collection of epitaphs that have been ascribed to Dorothy …
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Helen Keller? Van Wyck Brooks? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: An inspirational adage encouraging boldness and audacity has been attributed to Helen Keller who overcame great adversity: Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. Is this accurate? Quote Investigator: Helen Keller did write a closely matching statement; however, the appended phrase “at all” …
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Eleanor Roosevelt? Charles Stewart? Henry Thomas Buckle? James H. Halsey? Hyman G. Rickover? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following adage is largely used to deride people who are preoccupied with gossip: Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. The words are attributed to social activist and former First Lady Eleanor …
Theodor Seuss Geisel? Anita Merina? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is an enthusiastic quotation about reading that has been attributed to the famous children’s author Dr. Seuss: You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book & read to a child. I haven’t been able to track down the precise book …
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