Alice Walker? Rhona Raskins? William Martin? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: People have more power than they believe, but they must be willing to exercise it if they wish to achieve their goals. Here is a pertinent saying: The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. This …
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Quote Origin: I Think There Is a World Market for About Five Computers
Thomas J. Watson Sr.? Thomas J. Watson Jr.? Howard H. Aiken? Harold Bergstein? J. Presper Eckert? John Mauchly? Chris Morgan? David Langford? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Collections of boneheaded predictions are popular with people who enjoy laughter combined with commiseration or superiority. Computers were extraordinarily expensive in the 1950s. First-generation machines used vacuum tubes …
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Quote Origin: All True Stories End in Death
Ernest Hemingway? Lionel Trilling? Ladislaus Boros? Larry Williams? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: U.S. novelist Ernest Hemingway has been credited with the following fatalistic remark: All true stories end in death. I have been unable to find this precise statement in Hemingway’s oeuvre. Apparently, he employed a different phrasing. Would you please help me find …
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Quote Origin: It Ain’t Bragging If You Can Do It
Dizzy Dean? Muhammad Ali? Sonny Liston? Reggie Jackson? Babe Ruth? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Unfounded boasts are criticized, but an individual who sets and accomplishes an audacious goal can win praise. Here are three versions of a pertinent saying: (1) It ain’t bragging if you can do it.(2) It ain’t bragging when you can …
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Quote Origin: I Find Ecstasy in Living; the Mere Sense of Living Is Joy Enough
Emily Dickinson? Thomas Wentworth Higginson? Mabel Loomis Todd? M. Lincoln Schuster? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent literary figure was asked about her life experiences, and she responded emphatically: I find ecstasy in living; the mere sense of living is joy enough. This remark has been attributed to nineteenth-century poet Emily Dickinson. Some sources …
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Quote Origin: When a Shoeshine Boy Knows as Much as I Do About the Stock Market It’s Time for Me to Get Out
Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.? Bernard Baruch? Joseph F. Dinneen? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Prescient investors pulled their money out of the U.S. stock market shortly before the crash of 1929. According to a Wall Street legend, a financier who received a stock tip from a shoeshine boy experienced the following epiphany: When a shoeshine …
Quote Origin: When People Show You Who They Are, Believe Them, the First Time
Maya Angelou? Oprah Winfrey? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The true character of a person cannot be hidden for a lengthy period behind a mask of deception. Here are two versions of a pertinent saying: (1) When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.(2) When someone shows you who they are …
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Quote Origin: When the Bird and the Book Disagree, Always Believe the Bird
John James Audubon? Joseph Cornell? Patricia Holt? Jack Barclay? Birdwatcher’s Proverb? Jack Kornfield? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Much of our knowledge is obtained indirectly through reference books and instruction manuals. Yet, direct observation provides a more accurate guide. Here is pertinent saying from the domain of ornithology: When the bird and the book disagree, …
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Quote Origin: Don’t Just Do Something; Sit There
Thich Nhat Hanh? Sylvia Boorstein? Peg Bracken? Ollie Crawford? George D. Ludcke? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Humorous sayings can be created by ingeniously transforming mundane expressions. Most people are familiar with the entreaty: Don’t just sit there, do something. However, the following reordered sentence indicates that inaction is often desirable: Don’t just do something, …
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Quote Origin: No Individual Raindrop Ever Considers Itself Responsible for the Flood
John Ruskin? Douglas Adams? Sydney J. Harris? Paul Harvey? Stanisław Jerzy Lec? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A group that acts in unison can cause enormous positive or negative changes. Each member of a group typically celebrates favorable developments but disavows adverse events. Here are three versions of a pertinent metaphorical adage: (1) No single …