Tracing Quotations
Thomas Edison? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Ebooks have surged in popularity since Amazon introduced the Kindle and Apple released the iPad. Some futurists believe that paper books will be phased out and replaced by electronic books. But I came across a fascinating false prediction made by the most important innovator of the previous century: Books …
Continue reading “Books Will Soon Be Obsolete in the Schools”
Humphrey Bogart? George Bernard Shaw? W. Somerset Maugham? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Before Humphrey Bogart played iconic tough and sophisticated characters he appeared in drawing room comedies on Broadway. Supposedly in his first scene as a young actor he came striding onto the stage swinging a racquet and saying: Tennis anyone? Later this line became …
Banksy? Andy Warhol? John Leland? Graham Greenleaf? John Hilvert? Neal Gabler? Dear Quote Investigator: The rise of the hacktivist group “Anonymous” reminded me of an artwork I saw by the graffiti provocateur Banksy. He (or she, or they) created a pink television set with a screen that displayed this message: In the future everyone will …
Continue reading “In the Future Everyone Will Be Anonymous for Fifteen Minutes”
William Gibson? Anonymous? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: I work at Google, and a colleague of mine who leads our Search Education efforts pointed out your site as a great resource for people learning to search smarter. I love the site! There is a quotation credited to the influential and award-winning science fiction author William Gibson …
Continue reading “The Future Has Arrived — It’s Just Not Evenly Distributed Yet”
Noël Coward? Winston Churchill? W. Somerset Maugham? Joe Drum? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: After major news events people often start exchanging jokes related to the subject matter. The recent tragic cruise ship accident has caused two versions of a comical anecdote to enter circulation. The punch line has been attributed to the statesman Winston Churchill …
Continue reading “None of This Nonsense about Women and Children First”
Mark Twain? Chauncey Depew? Ring Lardner? William Allen White? Winston Churchill? Big Jim Watson? Joseph Hodges Choate? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: New Year’s resolutions often feature plans for more exercise. Mark Twain was once asked if he engaged in exercise, and he supposedly said: I take my only exercise acting as a pallbearer at the …
Continue reading “I Take My Only Exercise Acting as a Pallbearer to My Friends Who Exercise”
Julia Child? Harriet Van Horne? Sydney Smith? Margaret Grade? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: While reading a cookbook I encountered an amusing quotation about cooking: Cooking is like love — it should be entered into with abandon or not at all. But the authors apparently did not know where it came from and labeled the words: …
Continue reading “Cooking Is Like Love. It Should Be Entered Into with Abandon or Not At All”
Benjamin Franklin? Publilius Syrus? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: This is the season for New Year’s resolutions and toasts, and I have found a quotation credited to Benjamin Franklin that fits this theme: Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every New Year find you a better man (or …
W. C. Fields? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Humorous remarks about Philadelphia are often credited to the well-known actor and comic W. C. Fields. In the past the activities and nightlife in Philadelphia were limited because of strict laws. Hence, time seemed to move slowly, and someone created the following quip: I spent a week in …
Continue reading “I Spent a Week in Philadelphia One Sunday”
Saint Francis of Assisi? La Clochette magazine? Friends’ Intelligencer? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a very popular prayer that is usually credited to St. Francis of Assisi. It begins: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, Where there is hatred, let me sow love; What is known about this attribution? Is it correct? …