Mark Twain? Merle Johnson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Comments about stylish clothing always remind me of Mark Twain’s comment: Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society. But I cannot seem to find any direct reference for this quote. The best citation I have seen was dated more than …
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Quote Origin: Laughter Would Be Bereaved If Snobbery Died
James Ussher? Peter Ustinov? Arland Ussher? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The Times of London has a regular Quote-of-the-Day feature called “Last Word”. My question is about the following insightful quotation: Laughter would be bereft if snobbery died. The newspaper credited this remark to Archbishop James Ussher who lived between 1581 and 1656. Ussher …
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Quote Origin: No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent
Eleanor Roosevelt? Reader’s Digest? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a remarkably insightful statement about self-esteem that is usually credited to Eleanor Roosevelt, the diplomat and former First Lady: No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. This is one of my favorite quotations, but I have not been able to …
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Quote Origin: If I Had More Time, I Would Have Written a Shorter Letter
Blaise Pascal? John Locke? Benjamin Franklin? Henry David Thoreau? Cicero? Woodrow Wilson? Question for Quote Investigator: I was planning to end a letter with the following remark: If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter. But the number of different people credited with this comment is so numerous that an explanatory …
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Quote Origin: Students Today Can’t Prepare Bark to Calculate Their Problems
Teachers’ Conference in 1703? The Rural American Teacher of 1929? Gene Zirkel? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Everyone who works in the area formed by the intersection of education and technology has probably seen a hilarious collection of quotations that outlines the remarkable historical changes in education. Last month I saw these quotes, yet again, …
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Quote Origin: Hell! There Ain’t No Rules Around Here! We Are Tryin’ To Accomplish Somep’n!
Thomas Edison? Martin André Rosanoff? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: All the rules and regulations of the modern world can be quite aggravating. That is why I greatly enjoy the following quotation proclaimed by Thomas Edison to the employees in his Menlo Park laboratory: Hell, there are no rules here. We’re trying to accomplish something. …
Quote Origin: Taxes Are What We Pay for Civilized Society
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.? Vermont Legislature? Albert Bushnell Hart? IRS Building? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: It is tax time in the U.S., and I have a question about the inscription engraved on the exterior of the IRS Building in Washington D.C.: Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society The IRS website credited …
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Quote Origin: We Will Make Electricity So Cheap That Only the Rich Will Burn Candles
Thomas Edison? Samuel Insull? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I am curious about a quote attributed to the remarkable inventor Thomas Edison: We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles. What proof exists that Edison actually said this? It’s such a visionary prediction that I’d love for it to be …
Quote Origin: If You Love Someone, Set Them Free. If They Come Back They’re Yours
Richard Bach? Jess Lair? Anonymous student? Sting? Peter Max? Chantal Sicile? Question for Quote Investigator: On his first solo album in 1985 the musician Sting released a song called: If You Love Somebody Set Them Free Recently, I heard more elaborate quotations that included the above statement: If you love something, let it go. If …
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Quote Origin: In the Future Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
Andy Warhol? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The expression “fifteen minutes of fame” is based on a quotation by the influential Pop artist Andy Warhol. But what exactly did he say and when did he say it? Reply from Quote Investigator: Warhol’s notable maxim about the transience of fame has been popular for much longer …
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