Tracing Quotations
Mark Twain? Clara Clemens? Justin Kaplan? Harlan Ellison? Darrell Schweitzer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Famous author Mark Twain was grief-stricken when his daughter Susy died at age 24. The following expression of bitter despair has been ascribed to him: If there is a God, he is a malign thug. Oddly, no one has presented …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: If There Is a God, He Is a Malign Thug”
Isaac Asimov? Robert Silverberg? Andrew J. Offutt? Harlan Ellison? David Gerrold? David Langford? Frederik Pohl? Anonymous Fan? Question for Quote Investigator: The popular science fiction authors Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg were both famously prolific. Apparently, one of them delivered the following quip: I had a writing block once. It was the worst 20 minutes …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Had a Writing Block Once. It Was the Worst 20 Minutes of My Life”
Harlan Ellison? Frank Zappa? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a popular quotation that expresses the following idea: Hydrogen and stupidity are the two most abundant materials in the universe This notion can be expressed in many different ways. One version has been credited to the SF writer Harlan Ellison, and another version has …