Tracing Quotations
Yogi Berra? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Yogi Berra was a brilliant baseball player and manager. He is also famous for his comically wise sayings which are known as ‘Yogiisms’. This is my favorite on the topic of making decisions: When you come to a fork in the road, take it. Is this an authentic …
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Albert Einstein? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The following saying is attributed to the scientific genius Albert Einstein: I never think of the future – it comes soon enough. Did he really say this? When did he say it? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence of this saying located by QI was printed in …
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John Lennon? Birthday Card? Dixie Lee Crosby? Dixie Willson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I am a big fan of the Beatles, and I think I have a good mental picture of my favorite band member, John Lennon. The following popular pair of statements is often credited to Lennon, but I think the attribution is …
Thomas Carlyle? Irving Fisher? Joseph Schumpeter? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a humorous saying about parrots and economists that is often attributed to the philosopher and satirist Thomas Carlyle. Sometimes the joke is simply ascribed to Anonymous. Here are three versions: 1: Teach a parrot the terms ‘supply and demand’ and you’ve got …
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Thomas Edison? David Sarnoff? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I saw the following quotation on the website of a medical school with a strong history of innovation: There’s a way to do it better — find it. The words were attributed to the inventor and research laboratory pioneer Thomas A. Edison. I also saw an …
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Warren Buffett? Samuel Johnson? Maria Edgeworth? Bertrand Russell? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I recall seeing a lecture by the famed investor Warren Buffett during which he cautioned his audience to avoid falling into self-destructive behavior patterns. He used this eloquent analysis: The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are …
John Maynard Keynes? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Quotations that were supposedly spoken by famous people shortly before death are notoriously unreliable. I heard that the prominent economist John Maynard Keynes on his deathbed was asked whether he had any regrets, and he said something like: I should have drunk more champagne. I only wish …
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Alexander Graham Bell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The brilliant inventor Alexander Graham Bell helped to create the first practical telephone. He is often credited with the following inspiring statement: Don’t keep forever on the public road. Leave the beaten track behind occasionally and dive into the woods. You will be certain to find something …
Audrey Hepburn? Sam Levenson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Audrey Hepburn was a magnificent movie star, and she was also a well-known worker for humanitarian causes. On various websites I have seen a collection of sayings called “Time Tested Beauty Tips” that have been attributed to her. The first tip says: For attractive lips, speak …
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Yogi Berra? Simone Signoret? Peter De Vries? Tommy Handley & Ronald Frankau? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Holidays sometimes make me nostalgic. They also remind me of the following clever quip: Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be. These words are often attributed to the famed baseball quotemaster Yogi Berra, but recently I learned of …
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