Howard H. Aiken? Kenneth E. Iverson? Gregory W. Welch? Robert Slater? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A cynical comment about innovation states that it is not necessary to fear the theft of your ideas because people obstinately resist imaginative ideas. If your idea is original, you will have to ram it down people’s throats. This …
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Proverb Origin: If You’re Not Sure Where You’re Going, You’re Liable to End Up Someplace Else
Yogi Berra? Abigail Van Buren? Joe Garagiola? Laurence J. Peter? Robert F. Mager? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Selecting goals and targets is helpful. A collection of humorous sayings highlights the disadvantages of aimlessness. Here are three examples: (1) If you don’t know where you are going you will never arrive. (2) If you don’t …
Quote Origin: The Individual Has Always Had to Struggle to Keep from Being Overwhelmed by the Tribe
Rudyard Kipling? Friedrich Nietzsche? Arthur Gordon? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The peer group exerts enormous pressure on the individual. Achieving and maintaining an independent viewpoint is arduous. An influential thinker stated the following: The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. The thinker believed that pursuing a …
Quote Origin: Everything Beeps Now
George Carlin? Jeremy Clarkson? Carol Mueller? Larry Tobin? Bill Hall? Cheryl Saban? Ben Rubin? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Electronic devices beep when reporting notifications. Trucks beep when they are backing up. Microwave ovens beep when food is ready. A wit commented on our modern soundscape. Here are three versions: (1) Everything beeps now.(2) Now …
Phrase Origin: A Solution in Search of a Problem
Author: Jerrold R. Zacharias? Abigail Johnson? S. Paul Johnson? Theodore Maiman? Anonymous? Technology: Laser? Nuclear Energy? Electronic Computer? Meteorological Satellite? Artificial Intelligence? Bitcoin? Blockchain? Question for Quote Investigator: When the first laser was built it received high praise, but the applications of the invention were unclear. A clever phrase described the situation. Here are two …
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Dialogue Origin: “I Got Me a Dream” “Eat Your Eggs”
Lorraine Hansberry? Stephen King? Helene Keyssar? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I am trying to find the source of the following dialogue. The setting was a breakfast table. One person enthusiastically described a grand plan and said, “I have a dream” or “I want to fly”. The other person attenuated the emotional intensity by simply …
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Quote Origin: Life Is Full of Trials With an Occasional Conviction
Thomas Robert Dewar? Grafton Grabb? A Ragged Tramp? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Everyone faces trials, i.e., adversity. A humorous remark uses wordplay to tie together these hardships with the legal system: Life is full of trials with an occasional conviction. This quip has been attributed to Scottish whisky distiller Thomas Robert Dewar, but I …
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Quote Origin: When I Want Your Opinion, I’ll Give It To You
Samuel Goldwyn? Bill Keisler? Bobby Wayne? Vladimir Semyonov? Sam Levenson? Laurence J. Peter? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following astringent remark perfectly embodies the attitude of a high-handed boss who ignores feedback: When I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you. This line has been ascribed to movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn. The statement …
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Quote Origin: I May Not Always Be Right, But I Am Never Wrong
Samuel Goldwyn? Mrs. Jones? Cy Rigler? Margaret Grant? George Bernard Shaw? Harry Rapf? William Brown Meloney? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Samuel Goldwyn was a powerful Hollywood movie mogul who was famous for humorous gaffes. His malapropisms and paradoxes became known as Goldwynisms. For example, while discussing the accuracy of his predictions Goldwyn reportedly said: …
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Quip Origin: Dogs Believe You Are a God. Cats Believe They Are Gods
Christopher Hitchens? Brian Crane? Susie Blair? Brian K. Lebowitz? P. G. Wodehouse? Pickles? Muffin the Cat? Roscoe the Dog? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The attitudes of dogs and cats differ substantially according to a popular humorous analysis. A dog which receives food, water, care, and affection concludes: “My benefactor is a god”. A cat …
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