James Baldwin? Salim Muwakkil? Leonard Shlain? Jeff Baysa? Edgar H. Sorrells-Adewale? Tom Barone? Alva Noë? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The commonly accepted answers to questions are sometimes flawed. Deeper and more truthful discoveries are concealed by shallow and misleading explanations. A germane assertion about the objective of art has been attributed to the prominent …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: The Curate’s Egg: Parts of It Are Excellent
Punch Magazine? Judy Magazine? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous one-panel comic shows a lowly curate who is visiting the house of a powerful bishop for breakfast. The bishop notices that the curate has unfortunately been served a spoiled egg, and the curate’s response is overly polite and deferential. Here are two versions: A …
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Quote Origin: What You Read When You Don’t Have To, Determines What You Will Be When You Can’t Help It
Oscar Wilde? Charles Francis Potter? Mabel C. Wolcott? Anonymous? Question for 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. …
Quote Origin: We Must Get Beyond Textbooks, Go Out Into the Bypaths and Untrodden Depths of the Wilderness of Truth
John Hope Franklin? John Hope? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
Quote Origin: Success Don’t Konsist in Never Making Blunders, But in Never Making the Same One the Seckond Time
Josh Billings? Henry Wheeler Shaw? Apocryphal? Question for 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? Reply from Quote Investigator: In February 1872 “The Daily …
Quote Origin: Somebody Has To Do Something. . . It Seems Pathetic That It Has To Be Us
Jerry Garcia? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
Quote Origin: In Etymology Vowels Count for Nothing and Consonants for Very Little
Voltaire? Antoine Court de Gébelin? Louis de Bonald? Edward Moor? Anonymous? Question for 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: Would you please explore this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: Numerous researchers have been unable to find …
Quote Origin: 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? Question for 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 …
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Quote Origin: Fires Can’t Be Made with Dead Embers, Nor Can Enthusiasm Be Stirred by Spiritless Men
James Baldwin? James Mark Baldwin? Stanley Baldwin? Anonymous? Question for 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 …
Quote Origin: The Only Trouble With Coolidge Is That He Was Weaned on a Pickle
Alice Roosevelt Longworth? Bettina Borrmann Wells? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for 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 …
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