Tracing Quotations
Jimmy Durante? Edna Mae Oliver? Robert M. Hutchins? Chauncey Depew? Mark Twain? Paul Terry? Robert Benchley? Max Beerbohm? J. P. McEvoy? Dear Quote Investigator: The funniest quotation about exercise is usually credited to Mark Twain: Whenever I get the urge to exercise, I lie down until the feeling passes away. But this statement is also …
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Friedrich Nietzsche? Megan Fox? Anne Louise Germaine de Staël? John Stewart? Norman Flint? Science Fiction fans? Angela Monet? Rumi? George Carlin? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following statement is credited to the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. Yet, …
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Kurt Vonnegut? Winston Niles Rumfoord? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A good friend of mine is a volunteer firefighter, and he asked me about a quote credited to Kurt Vonnegut: I can think of no more stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine This statement can be found on many websites and …
Pierre-Auguste Renoir? Jean Renoir? Ōe Kenzaburō? Jeanette Winterson? D. H. Lawrence? Bernard Malamud? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The master painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir is my favorite Impressionist artist. For many years he has been credited with the following outrageous facetious quotation: I paint with my prick. Recently, I was surprised to discover that the Oxford Dictionary …
Winston Churchill? Simon Singh? Stanley Baldwin? The Reader’s Digest? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Simon Singh is a fine author who writes knowledgeably about mathematical and scientific topics. His book “Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe” credited the following words to the statesman Winston Churchill [WCSS]: Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of …
Drake? Schlitz Beer? Fritz Lang? Honoré de Balzac? Joe E. Lewis? Frank Sinatra? Fyodor Dostoevsky? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: In 2011 a song called “The Motto” by Drake was released, and it contained this expression: You only live once. The acronym YOLO was popularized by this song, I think. But I have heard the catch …
Toby Keith? Charles Jewett? W. Adam? Seneca the Younger? Waylon Jennings? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A song by the country music superstar Toby Keith includes the following words in the chorus: Ain’t no right way, To do the wrong thing, The song is on the album “White Trash With Money” which was released in 2006. …
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Mother Teresa? Kent M. Keith? Dempsey Byrd? Howard Ferguson? E. T. Gurney? Lucinda Vardey? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Mother Teresa is credited with a very popular collection of wise rules. Here are the first two: People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Do Good Anyway. The Paradoxical Commandments”
Albert Einstein? Darryl Anka? Bashar? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Many odd quotations are credited to the brilliant scientist Albert Einstein, and recently I have seen another peculiar example featured on Facebook and multiple websites: Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot …
Florence Kerns? Ray Hallinan? Herb Caen? Pauline Tymon? Larry Pickard? David Crosby? Joe Bob Briggs? Al Franken? Stuart Smalley? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The Saturday Night Live television program once featured skits with a character named Stuart Smalley who was played by the comedian and former senator Al Franken. Smalley was enamored with self-help programs …