Carrie Fisher? Courtney Love? Edward Dowling? Mariette Hartley? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Terrible experiences often cause an individual to seek a superior pathway through life. Here is a pertinent adage: Some of us can’t find heaven without backing away from hell. This saying has been attributed to actress and writer Carrie Fisher and to …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: There Are Only Nine Meals Between Mankind and Anarchy
Alfred Henry Lewis? Larry Niven? Jerry Pournelle? Eric Sevareid? George Allan England? Donald Lowrie? John J. Fitzgerald? Hiram Motherwell? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When the food supplies of a society are disrupted it takes only a few days before extreme behaviors emerge, e.g., chaos, mayhem, and rebellion. An adage states that: There are only …
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Quote Origin: One Half of What I Have Told You May Be Proved Untrue. Unfortunately, I Cannot Tell You Which Half
Charles Sidney Burwell? Charles F. Kettering? Helen Clapesattle? Carl Sandburg? Camille Pierre Dadant? Josh Billings? William Osler? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator Educators and researchers know that knowledge in fields like science and medicine is continuously growing and changing. Thus, today’s verities become tomorrow’s fallacies. A lecturer once candidly admitted these weaknesses by saying something …
Quote Origin: No Snowflake in an Avalanche Ever Feels Responsible
Voltaire? George Burns? Paul Harvey? Stanisław Jerzy Lec? Percy Bysshe Shelley? Etaislaw Lee? Stanisław Leszczyński? Stanisław Lem? Jacek Galazka? Question for Quote Investigator: A mob or a mass movement can cause enormous destruction. Also, the inaction of a large apathetic group in a perilous time can lead to ruination. Yet, individuals disavow liability. Here are …
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Quote Origin: A Little More Persistence, Courage, Vim!
Henry Austin? Henry Austen? Robert Burns Wilson? C. C. Cameron? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A poem about tenacity begins with the following four lines: Genius, that power which dazzles mortal eyes,Is oft but perseverance in disguise.Continuous effort, of itself, implies,In spite of countless falls, the power to rise. This verse has been attributed to …
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Quote Origin: Genius Is Really Only the Power of Making Continuous Efforts
Elbert Hubbard? Robert Burns Wilson? Dale Carnegie? Kin Hubbard? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A short motivational piece of about 130 words begins with the following sentence: “Genius is really only the power of making continuous efforts.” The piece has been attributed to aphorist Elbert Hubbard and poet Robert Burns Wilson. Would you please explore …
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Quote Origin: There Is Really No Insurmountable Barrier, Save Your Own Inherent Weakness of Purpose
Elbert Hubbard? Kin Hubbard? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Robert Burns Wilson? Henry Austin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Success is often achieved via persistence. Here is a popular elaboration of this notion: There is no defeat except from within. There is really no insurmountable barrier, save your own inherent weakness of purpose. This remark has been …
Quote Origin: One-Half the Money I Spend for Advertising Is Wasted, But I Have Never Been Able To Decide Which Half
John Wanamaker? William Hesketh Lever? William Hulme Lever? Lord Leverhulme? William Wrigley Jr.? John T. Dorrance? Robert C. Ogden? George Washington Hill? Roy L. Smith? David Ogilvy? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Readers often ignore advertisements, but sometimes ads decisively influence purchasing decisions. A business mogul once humorously commented on this hit-or-miss quality. Here are …
Joke Origin: Optimist: The Glass Is Half Full. Pessimist: The Glass Is Half Empty. Comedian: The Glass Is the Wrong Size
Steve Martin? George Carlin? Terry Pratchett? O. J. Anderson? Davis Merritt Jr.? Tom Page? Allen Klein? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Different attitudes towards life are vividly illustrated by divergent reactions to a partially filled glass: Optimist: The glass half fullPessimist: The glass is half empty A third humorous category is sometimes added to the …
Maxim Origin: Optimist: The Glass Is Half Full. Pessimist: The Glass Is Half Empty
Josiah Stamp? Vivian F. Rausch? David Dodge? Hugh Overman? Ted Healy? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Life impressions differ dramatically between people with sunny dispositions versus morose temperaments. This point is cleverly illustrated via the disparate reactions elicited by a container partially filled with liquid: The optimist says the container is half full. The pessimist …