Oscar Wilde? Charles Francis Potter? Mabel C. Wolcott? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous wit Oscar Wilde was an avid reader and an excellent classicist. The following statement has been attributed to him: It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it. I …
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We Must Get Beyond Textbooks, Go Out Into the Bypaths and Untrodden Depths of the Wilderness of Truth
John Hope Franklin? John Hope? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Educator and activist John Hope has received credit for the following statement: We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness. Confusingly, these words have also been attributed to historian and educator John Hope Franklin. Some versions use the …
Success Don’t Konsist in Never Making Blunders, But in Never Making the Same One the Seckond Time
Josh Billings? Henry Wheeler Shaw? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Making mistakes is unavoidable in life. There is an insightful adage stating that the key to success is not making the same mistake twice. Would you please help me to find a citation for this notion? Quote Investigator: In February 1872 “The Daily State Journal” of …
Somebody Has To Do Something. . . It Seems Pathetic That It Has To Be Us
Jerry Garcia? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Celebrities often use their charisma to highlight social or environmental movements. The prominent guitarist Jerry Garcia of “The Grateful Dead” rock band advocated for the preservation of the world’s rain forests, and he apparently spoke with a mixture of candor, humility, and sadness about his involvement: Someone has to …
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In Etymology Vowels Count for Nothing and Consonants for Very Little
Voltaire? Antoine Court de Gébelin? Louis de Bonald? Edward Moor? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) has often received credit for a humorous remark about the study of language and its evolution. Here are two versions: In etymology vowels are nothing, and consonants next to nothing. Etymology is the science where vowels matter naught …
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No One Wants a Drill. What They Want Is the Hole
Clayton M. Christensen? Theodore Levitt? L. E. ‘Doc’ Hobbs? Percy H. Whiting? Leo McGivena? Robert G. Seymour? Zig Ziglar? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Companies sell products to solve the problems that their customers encounter. An emphasis on existing products and incremental changes causes an organization to ignore or misunderstand customer motivations. Here is one version …
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Fires Can’t Be Made with Dead Embers, Nor Can Enthusiasm Be Stirred by Spiritless Men
James Baldwin? James Mark Baldwin? Stanley Baldwin? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a quotation that begins with an assertion that fires cannot be made with dead embers. The quotation has often been credited to U.S. writer James Baldwin, but I haven’t been able to find a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic? …
The Only Trouble With Coolidge Is That He Was Weaned on a Pickle
Alice Roosevelt Longworth? Bettina Borrmann Wells? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Alice Roosevelt Longworth was the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt and the wife of politician Nicholas Longworth III. For decades she was a well-known socialite in Washington D.C. who experienced praise and condemnation for her sharp wit which was sometimes caustic. Calvin Coolidge who became …
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Kites Rise Against and Not With the Wind. Even a Head Wind Is Better than None
Winston Churchill? Henry Ford? John Neal? Henry W. Davis? Chinese Proverb? Lewis Mumford? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: An individual who faces opposition can grow in strength and resilience. This notion has been brilliantly expressed via a metaphorical kite in the wind. Here are three versions: Kites rise highest against the wind—not with it. Opposition is …
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When It Sounds Good, It Is Good
Duke Ellington? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: There is an enormous literature dedicated to critiquing music using sophisticated methodologies. Yet, one famous musician had the confidence to advocate an aesthetic viewpoint based on direct experience and organic reaction: When it sounds good, it is good. Duke Ellington (Edward Kennedy Ellington) has received credit for this remark. …