Helen Keller? Anne Sullivan? John Macy? Margaret Davidson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The remarkable story of Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan has been told in books, television programs, and movies. Keller who was deaf and blind learned to communicate, obtained a college degree, and became a notable speaker and author. The following …
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Quote Origin: It’s Not the Years in Your Life That Count. It’s the Life in Your Years
Abraham Lincoln? Adlai Stevenson? Edward J. Stieglitz? Edward Barrett Warman? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There are posters, shirts, mugs, and other commercial products displaying the following inspirational quote: And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln is credited with this aphorism, …
Quote Origin: Rock n Roll: The Most Brutal, Ugly, Degenerate, Vicious Form of Expression
Frank Sinatra? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I greatly enjoy the singing of Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, so I was surprised to hear that Sinatra once attacked the type of music that Elvis popularized. Supposedly Sinatra said: Rock n Roll is the most brutal, ugly, desperate, vicious form of expression it has been my …
Quote Origin: We’re Lost, But We’re Making Good Time!
Yogi Berra? George Lichty? Buddy Blattner? Joe Garagiola? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Famed baseball player Yogi Berra is credited with many hilarious remarks. Once Yogi was driving to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York with some other players. After passing the same landmark three times a fellow player named Joe …
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Quote Origin: Show Me a Sane Man and I Will Cure Him
Carl Jung? Sigmund Freud? Guy Bellamy? Jolande Jacobi? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: As part of a book project I have been tracking down quotations credited to the famed psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung. One of the most interesting was: Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you. The best citation I …
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Quote Origin: The Universe Is Full of Magical Things Patiently Waiting for Our Wits to Grow Sharper
Bertrand Russell? William Butler Yeats? Eden Phillpotts? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I adore the following quotation which is attributed to the philosopher Bertrand Russell: The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. But recently I saw a different version in which two words had been changed: The …
Quote Origin This Is the Sort of Nonsense Up With Which I Will Not Put
Winston Churchill? Rudy Vallee? Army Captain? High School Teacher? The Strand Magazine? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: My question concerns a memorable anecdote about the statesman Winston Churchill and the fine points of grammar. In the past many books offering grammatical advice told readers that they must never end a sentence with a preposition. Years …
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Quote Origin: I’ve Had a Perfectly Wonderful Evening, But This Wasn’t It
Groucho Marx? A. E. Thomas? Beatrice Faber? Sidney Skolsky? Hugh Herbert? Walter Catlett? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When Groucho Marx was leaving a boring party he supposedly said: I have had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it. Did Groucho really insult a host or hostess in this way, or did he use …
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Quote Origin: He Has Achieved Success Who Has Lived Well, Laughed Often and Loved Much
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Bessie A. Stanley? Albert Edward Wiggam? Harry Emerson Fosdick? Ann Landers? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: In church this morning I listened to a short discourse on the definition of success. It began: To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn …
Quote Origin: The Climate Is What You Expect; The Weather Is What You Get
Mark Twain? Robert Heinlein? A Schoolchild? Caroline B. Le Row? Andrew John Herbertson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I am preparing a book about the weather and climate, and I would like to include the following quotation: The climate is what you expect; the weather is what you get. Several web sites attribute this remark …
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