Tracing Quotations
Teachers’ Conference in 1703? The Rural American Teacher of 1929? Gene Zirkel? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Everyone who works in the area formed by the intersection of education and technology has probably seen a hilarious collection of quotations that outlines the remarkable historical changes in education. Last month I saw these quotes, yet again, in …
Continue reading “Students Today Can’t Prepare Bark to Calculate Their Problems”
Thomas Edison? Martin André Rosanoff? Apocryphal? Dear Quote investigator: All the rules and regulations of the modern world can be quite aggravating. That is why I greatly enjoy the following quotation proclaimed by Thomas Edison to the employees in his Menlo Park laboratory: Hell, there are no rules here. We’re trying to accomplish something. I …
Continue reading “Hell! there ain’t no rules around here! We are tryin’ to accomplish somep’n!”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.? Vermont Legislature? Albert Bushnell Hart? IRS Building? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: It is tax time in the U.S., and I have a question about the inscription engraved on the exterior of the IRS Building in Washington D.C.: Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society The IRS website credited the …
Continue reading “Taxes Are What We Pay for Civilized Society”
Thomas Edison? Samuel Insull? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: I am curious about a quote attributed to the remarkable inventor Thomas Edison: We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles. What proof exists that Edison actually said this? It’s such a visionary prediction that I’d love for it to be true. …
Continue reading “We Will Make Electricity So Cheap That Only the Rich Will Burn Candles”
Richard Bach? Jess Lair? Anonymous student? Sting? Peter Max? Chantal Sicile? Dear Quote Investigator: On his first solo album in 1985 the musician Sting released a song called: If You Love Somebody Set Them Free Recently, I heard more elaborate quotations that included the above statement: If you love something, let it go. If it …
Continue reading “If You Love Someone, Set Them Free. If They Come Back They’re Yours”
Andy Warhol? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The expression “fifteen minutes of fame” is based on a quotation by the influential Pop artist Andy Warhol. But what exactly did he say and when did he say it? Quote Investigator: Warhol’s notable maxim about the transience of fame has been popular for much longer than the standard …
Continue reading “In the Future Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes”
Albert Einstein? Samuel Johnson? Sophonisba Breckinridge? John Brunner? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The depth and breadth of information available on the internet is wondrous. Here are three examples from a family of pertinent sayings I came across recently: 1) I don’t need to know everything; I just need to know where to find it, …
Continue reading “You Don’t Have to Know Everything. You Just Have to Know Where to Find It”
Bertrand Russell? William James? Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.? Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.? Dear Quote Investigator: The eminent philosopher Bertrand Russell discussed visions and experiences in his major opus “A History of Western Philosophy” in 1945. Russell noted that subjective experiences were not always reliable:[1]1945, A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, Book One, Part …
Continue reading “Secret of the Universe: A Strong Smell of Turpentine Prevails Throughout”
William James? Dorothy Parker? Ogden Nash? Mrs. Amos Pinchot? Alice Duer Miller? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I read a wild story about William James, the prominent psychologist, educator, and philosopher. One night he experimented with the psychoactive gas nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas. While experiencing a reverie James became convinced that he …
Continue reading “Hogamous, Higamous, Man is Polygamous, Higamous, Hogamous, Woman is Monagamous”
George Bernard Shaw? Winston Churchill? Randolph Churchill? Noel Coward? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The sharpest example of repartee that I have ever heard about was a famous exchange between George Bernard Shaw and Winston Churchill about a pair of tickets to a play. Shaw: I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my …
Continue reading “Here are Two Tickets for the Opening of My Play. Bring a Friend—If You Have One”