Jean Piaget? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Jean Piaget was an influential developmental psychologist who studied the learning strategies of children. I am trying to determine if he said the following: When you teach a child something you take away forever his chance of discovering it for himself. I have not seen a precise citation …
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Quote Origin: Millions Are To Be Grabbed Out Here, and Your Only Competition Is Idiots
Herman J. Mankiewicz? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I have just returned from seeing an expensive Hollywood fiasco. While watching the film I was reminded of a vibrant telegram that a successful Hollywood writer reportedly sent to cajole another scribbler to join him. He made promises such as: “millions of dollars can be grabbed” and …
Quote Origin: Time Wounds All Heels
Groucho Marx? Marshall Reid? Fanny Brice? Frank Case? Jane Ace? Goodman Ace? Rudy Vallée? Verree Teasdale? Robert Bloch? John Lennon? Ann Landers? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following humorous pun about comeuppance for poor behavior has been attributed to the famous comedian Groucho Marx. The slang term “heel” refers to a contemptible person: Time …
Quote Origin: Actor: A Guy Who If You Ain’t Talking About Him, He Ain’t Listening
Marlon Brando? Gladwin Hill? George Glass? George Alan O’Dowd? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Performers on stage and screen are sometimes stereotyped as egocentric. Here is one formulation of that critique: An actor’s a guy who, if you ain’t talking about him, ain’t listening. These words are usually attributed to the Oscar-winning star Marlon Brando. …
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Quote Origin: Excuse My Dust
Dorothy Parker? Hudson Six Owner? Alexander Woollcott? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous wit Dorothy Parker was once asked to create an epitaph for her tombstone. Apparently, she crafted several different candidates for inscription over the years: 1) Excuse My Dust 2) Here Lies the Body of Dorothy Parker. Thank God! 3) This Is …
Quote Origin: You Can’t Be a Real Country Unless You Have a Beer and an Airline
Frank Zappa? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Did the Frank Zappa really say that a proper country needs a beer and an airline? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1989 “The Real Frank Zappa Book” was published by the well-known songwriter and musician, and it included an instance of the remark mentioned above. Zappa was not …
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Quote Origin: If You’re Going Through Hell, Keep Going
Winston Churchill? John Randall Dunn? J. Woodruff Smith? Douglas Bloch? Linda Crew? Mario Murillo? Brian Mulroney? Wally Amos? Ron Kenoly? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Winston Churchill is often associated with quotations about steadfastness and tenacity. Consider the following saying: If you’re going through hell, keep going. I have seen this statement attributed to Churchill …
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Quote Origin: Whenever a Friend Succeeds, a Little Something in Me Dies
Gore Vidal? Wilfrid Sheed? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a mordant expression that reflects the corrosive nature of jealousy. Here are four versions: 1) Whenever a friend succeeds, a little something in me dies. 2) Every time a friend succeeds I die a little. 3) When a friend succeeds, a small part of …
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Quote Origin: You’ll Worry Less About What People Think of You When You Realize How Seldom They Do
David Foster Wallace? Olin Miller? Lee Traveler? Ethel Barrett? Mark Twain? John Steinbeck? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An astute quotation about insecurity is often attributed to the novelist and teacher David Foster Wallace: You’ll worry less about what people think about you when you realize how seldom they do. Versions of this statement have …
Quote Origin: Education Is What Remains After You Have Forgotten Everything You Learned In School
Albert Einstein? B. F. Skinner? Edouard Herriot? C. F. Thwing? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Agnes F. Perkins? James Bryant Conant? E. F. L. Wood? George Savile? Lord Halifax? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: My question concerns a provocative aphorism about memory, schooling, and curriculum. Here are four example statements that can be grouped together: 1) Culture …