Ulysses S. Grant? Rutherford B. Hayes? Howard Pew? George Peck? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A quotation about the telephone has been in the news recently because it was used in a speech by U.S. President Barack Obama. A widely-distributed anecdote asserted that Rutherford B. Hayes participated in a demonstration of the telephone when it …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Dialogue Origin: “Will You Write an Autobiography?” “Not Until Long After I’m Dead”
Samuel Goldwyn? Ezra Goodman? Robert Gessner? Question for Quote Investigator: The supply of comical lines credited to the Hollywood chief Samuel Goldwyn seems endless. Here is one that I love: I don’t think anyone should write their autobiography until after they’re dead. But I have become rather skeptical of these jokes because no one seems …
Quote Origin: The Five Stages of an Actor’s Career
Cary Grant? Mary Astor? Hugh O’Brian? Tige Andrews? Herb Caen? Danny Doakes? Herschel Bernardi? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I read an article last year about celebrity lookalikes that discussed the different stages of a Hollywood career. I remember a few of the stages: Get me John/Jane Smith.Get me someone who looks like John/Jane Smith.Who …
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Quote Origin: If You Want to Know What a Man’s Like, Look at How He Treats His Inferiors
J. K. Rowling? Lord Chesterfield? Sirius Black? Charles Bayard Miliken? M. C. B. Mason? Question for Quote Investigator: My favorite quotation from the entire Harry Potter series was the brilliantly insightful remark spoken by the character Sirius Black: If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats …
Quote Origin: Now We’re Just Haggling Over the Price
George Bernard Shaw? Winston Churchill? Groucho Marx? Max Aitken? Mark Twain? W. C. Fields? Bertrand Russell? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a famous story about sex and money that I have heard in myriad variations. A man asks a woman if she would be willing to sleep with him if he pays her an …
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Quote Origin: No Legs, No Jokes, No Chance!
Walter Winchell? Michael Todd? Rose Bigman? Helene Hanff? Richard Rodgers? Question for Quote Investigator: The most famous review in Broadway history is also the most controversial, and I hope you can help solve the following mystery. In 1943 a hardworking theater group in New Haven, Connecticut was trying to prepare a major musical so that …
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Quote Origin: The Next Time I Send a Damn Fool for Something, I Go Myself
Samuel Goldwyn? Michael Curtiz? Sheilah Graham? Jones? Scones? Louis Cukela? Fictional? Question for Quote Investigator: There is an unintentionally hilarious remark credited to the movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn. He sent an assistant on an important errand and was angry when the task was badly botched. In exasperation Goldwyn created this classic rebuke: The next time …
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Quote Origin: April, Like a Child, Writes Hieroglyphs on Dust with Flowers
Rabindranath Tagore? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: My daughter remembers a poem, or part of a poem, and she asked me about it. I don’t recognize it and have not been able to find it. Perhaps you can work your magic. April writes hieroglyphs in the sand Wipes them away and forgets Reply from Quote …
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Quote Origin: The Telegraph is Like a Very, Very Long Cat (or Dog)
Albert Einstein? Shah of Persia? National Telegraphic Union? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: According to legend, Albert Einstein was once asked to explain radio communication, and he supposedly gave the following answer: You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head …
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Quote Origin: Books Will Soon Be Obsolete in the Schools
Thomas Edison? Apocryphal? Question for 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: …
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