Quote Origin: If There Is Magic On This Planet, It Is Contained In Water

Loren Eiseley? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The motions of water are often mesmerizing, e.g., the rhythmic crashing of waves on a beach, the misty turbulence of a plunging waterfall, and the sparkling jet of a fountain. A science popularizer apparently once said: If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water. …

Quote Origin: I Wasn’t a Sex Symbol; I Was a Sex Zombie

Veronica Lake? Judy Klemesrud? Walter Clemons? Anonymous? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A pulchritudinous movie star of the golden age of Hollywood supposedly said: I wasn’t a sex symbol; I was a sex zombie. Is this an authentic quotation? If someone did deliver this line would you please tell me who it was? Reply from …

Quote Origin: Humanity Invented the Atom Bomb. No Mouse in the World Would Think of Building a Mousetrap

Albert Einstein? Werner Mitsch? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: It is difficult to conceive of an ordinary creature foolish enough to design and build a device that would dramatically increase the probability of its self-annihilation. The great scientist Albert Einstein supposedly made the following remark: Mankind invented the atomic bomb, yet a mouse would never …

Quote Origin: All You Need In This Life Is Ignorance and Confidence; Then Success Is Sure

Mark Twain? Benjamin De Casseres? Richard Grant White? Mary Hallock Foote? Cordelia Foote? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Mark Twain once joked that the key to success was a combination of ignorance and confidence. I do not know the precise phrasing. Would you please help me to find the exact quotation and a citation? Reply …

Quote Origin: No Man Will Make a Great Business Who Wants To Do It All Himself, Or To Get All the Credit of Doing It

Andrew Carnegie? Barnard Alderson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Business titan and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie stated that one person cannot build a great enterprise alone. Also, one person should never demand all the credit. Would you please help me to find the precise quotation and a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1899 the “St. …

Quote Origin: You Cannot Push On a String (Or a Rope)

John Maynard Keynes? George Patton? Samuel Harries Daddow? ‎Benjamin Bannan? Henry Smith? S. H. Monell? Thomas Brackett Reed? Thomas Alan Goldsborough? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A brilliant figure of speech has been employed to describe the performance of a futile or counter-productive task. Here are two versions: (1) You cannot push on a string.(2) …

Quote Origin: The Next Best Thing To Being Witty One’s Self, Is To Be Able To Quote Another’s Wit

Christian Nestell Bovee? Evan Esar? Laurence J. Peter? Question for Quote Investigator: I once heard an observation that cogently explained the popularity of quotations. I do not recall the precise phrasing, but it was something like this: If you are unable to be witty yourself, the next best thing is being able to quote another’s …

Quote Origin: Everything Which Is Not Compulsory Is Forbidden

T. H. White? Robert Heinlein? W. H. Auden? Murray Gell-Mann? Friedrich Schiller? Weare Holbrook? Ronald Storrs? Harry Lindsay? Gordon Daniel Conant? Gerhart H. Seger? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following societal principle has been called totalitarian, authoritarian, fascist, and dictatorial. Here are two versions: Everything which is not forbidden is compulsory. Everything which is …

Quip Origin: Quotation Is The Act of Repeating Erroneously the Words of Another

Ambrose Bierce? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A clever wit claimed that the act of quoting someone really meant erroneously repeating their words. I do not remember the precise phrasing; hence, this quotation itself is somewhat erroneous. Would you please help me to find the correct quotation and author? Reply from Quote Investigator: In July …

Quote Origin: Everybody Has Plans Until They Get Hit for the First Time

Mike Tyson? Joe Louis? Helmuth von Moltke the Elder? Fair Play? Walter Payton? Mike Lupica? Dwight D. Eisenhower? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The opponent of a well-known boxing champion stated that he had a plan to win an upcoming match. The champion replied with a caustic dismissive remark. Here are four versions: (1) Everybody …