Tracing Quotations
Douglas Adams? Deep Thought? Geoffrey Hinton? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The number forty-two is sometimes presented as the answer to life’s deepest question. Where did this answer originate? Who suggested this eccentric and opaque answer? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1978 BBC Radio 4 broadcast the science fiction comedy series “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to …
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Samuel Johnson? Noah Webster? Orison Swett Marden? Charles Caleb Colton? Tryon Edwards? Question for Quote Investigator: If one’s contentment depends upon external forces and events that one cannot control then one should expect continual heartache. Seeking happiness requires changing one’s own dispositions. This notion has been attributed to the famous English lexicographer Samuel Johnson, the …
Warren Buffett? Peter Lynch? Allan R. Stuart? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When a stock in your portfolio goes up it is tempting to sell it and lock in profits. Also, when a stock is languishing it is natural to hold on to it with the hope that someday it will ascend. However, a vivid …
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William Howard Taft? Arthur Twining Hadley? Zora Neale Hurston? James Barnes? Wigg? Wagg? LeBaron Russell Briggs? Joseph Choate? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The rivalry between the universities Yale and Harvard exists in the domain of quips. The following jests use wordplay based on two different meanings of “tell”: (1) You always can tell a …
Thomas Edison? Robert H. Schuller? Helen Peikin? Leslie Hanscom? Dale Carnegie? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: After exploring a series of ineffective solutions to a problem it is natural to give up hope. Yet, a popular motivational saying suggests that perseverance will be rewarded: When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: You haven’t. This …
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Gertrude Stein? Herb Caen? Ben J. Wattenberg? William Gibson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent literary figure attempted to return home after a long absence and found that the location was unfamiliar because the home had been demolished. Fond memories of youth were no longer attached to a physical location. The feeling of disconnection …
Arthur C. Clarke? Fred Hoyle? Georg Borgstrom? Donald W. Mann? Gretchen C. Daily? Anne H. Ehrlich? Paul Ehrlich? Kenneth Smail? Question for Quote Investigator: The world population is projected to exceed 8 billion in 2022. Also, the United Nations Population Division forecasts that before 2100 the population will exceed 10 billion. Interestingly, some countries currently have …
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Charles Baudelaire? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Technophiles have welcomed recent advances in artificial intelligence in the domain of art. Yet, many artists and connoisseurs have been unsettled or openly hostile. One commentator attempted to provide historical perspective by claiming that the famous French poet and art critic Charles Baudelaire denounced the emerging technology of …
Elizabeth Madox Roberts? Harvey Wickham? Charles P. Curtis Jr.? Ferris Greenslet? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An entire lifetime can be encapsulated within the following memorably eccentric dialog: “Life is peculiar” said Jeremy. “Compared to what?” said the spider. I have encountered this exchange several times, but I have never been able to determine its …
Gilbert Ryle? Rat_sandwich? Brostoyevskiy? Clifford A. Pickover? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Halloween is approaching, and the following quasi-philosophical saying fits the holiday theme: You’re a ghost driving a meat-coated skeleton made from stardust; what do you have to be scared of? Would you please explore the provenance of this remark? Reply from Quote Investigator: …
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