Tracing Quotations
Daniel Boone? Chester Harding? Margaret Eliot White? Gene Tunney? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Daniel Boone was a famous U.S. pioneer and frontiersman. Boone’s hunting and tracking skills were celebrated. Boone has been credited with the following humorous response to a question about his adventures: “During your long hunts have you ever been lost?”“No, I …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Have Never Been Lost, But I Was Bewildered Once for Three Days”
Michael Foot? Norman Mailer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Hostility toward wealthy people has been expressed as follows: The top is greedy and mean and they will always find a way to take care of themselves. This statement has been attributed to British politician Michael Foot and U.S. author Norman Mailer. I am unsure because …
Don Herold? Nadine Stair? Nadine Star? Frank Dickey? Helen S. Moor? Berton Braley? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Imagine you were given the opportunity to live your life over again. What changes would you make? A popular essay made suggestions such as the following: (1) Pick more daisies(2) Ride more merry-go-rounds(3) Walk barefoot more often …
Waylon Jennings? P.J. O’Rourke? David Mamet? Johnny Rutherford? Luke Kaiser? Jerry Schofield? Fausto Coppi? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Physical abilities decline with age, but experience accumulates. The following adage is popular with feisty seniors: Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill. This saying has been attributed to singer-songwriter Waylon Jennings, playwright David …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Old Age and Treachery Will Always Defeat Youth and Skill”
Rex Harrison? Ian Sinclair? Harry Cohn? Kenneth R. Smith? Marie Michael? Terry Goodkind? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A powerful person once delivered a line that vividly combined anger and arrogance. After the individual harshly scolded an underling, an assistant said that the incessant episodes of rage might lead to a heart attack. The reply …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Don’t Get Heart Attacks, I Give Them”
Martha Quinn? Tom Freston? Judy McGrath? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: When MTV (music television) launched in 1981 numerous commentators were skeptical of its viability. Yet, the channel has persevered for decades. One of the early VJs (video jockeys) recalled the initial uncertainty, but the VJ added a twist with the following remark: Everybody said …
Vernor Vinge? Samuel Butler? Luke Muehlhauser? Anna Salamon? Anders Sandberg? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Current commentators are preoccupied with guessing when artificial intelligence (AI) systems will achieve human-level intelligence, but a thoughtful science fiction author crafted the following edifying dialogue: “Will computers ever be as smart as humans?”“Yes, but only briefly.” The author suggested …
Dorothy Parker? Martin Luther? Jonathan Swift? Alexander Pope? Anne Marsh-Caldwell? Matthew Poole? Richard Steele? Thomas Guthrie? Austin O’Malley? Maurice Baring? Question for Quote Investigator: A scathing comment about wealthy people has been attributed to the U.S. writer Dorothy Parker: If you would know what the Lord God thinks of money, you have only to look …
Salvador Dali? Leonard Lyons? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Two very different statements about madness have been attributed to the famous Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali: (1) The only difference between me and a madman is that I am not a madman. (2) There is only one difference between a madman and me. The madman …
John Maynard Keynes? Francis Bacon? Ian Dishart Suttie? Carveth Read? Curt John Ducasse? Gerald F. Shove? H. Wildon Carr? Question for Quote Investigator: Two seemingly contradictory adages have become popular: (1) It is better to be vaguely right than exactly wrong(2) It is better to be definitely wrong than vaguely right The justification for the …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: It Is Better To Be Vaguely Right Than Exactly Wrong”