Tracing Quotations
Kurt Vonnegut? Jacqueline Blais? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent writer was unhappy that the world was not rapidly phasing out the use of fossil fuels. So the wit wrote a sardonic explanation for future generations. Here are two versions: (1) We were roaring drunk on petroleum.(2) We were rolling drunk on petroleum. These …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Please Accept Our Apologies. We Were Roaring Drunk On Petroleum”
Jacques Barzun? Morris Philipson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: There are several roles in the domain of publishing. A prominent thinker has asserted that writing “is the most difficult of all to learn”. The thinker also said writing is “at least a craft and at its best an art”. These remarks have been attributed to …
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Jules Verne? Friedrich Nietzsche? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A character in a novel by the prominent German poet and novelist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe presented a radical stance on happiness and illusion. Here are two versions: (1) Nothing which makes us happy is an illusion?(2) Can that be a delusion …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Nothing That Makes Us Happy Is an Illusion”
Stephen Hawking? Alvin Toffler? David Deutsch? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Humankind currently inhabits only one small fragile planet, and the perils on Earth continue to grow. A prominent physicist once insisted that humankind must expand into space in order to survive the next thousand years. I am not sure of the exact phrasing. Would …
Paul Krugman? Herman Kahn? Steven D. Levitt? Stephen J. Dubner? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Predicting the technological future is enormously difficult. Will society ever have flying cars, home robots, or cities on Mars? The opinions of enthusiasts, skeptics, and experts are highly variable. The record of most prognosticators has been poor. Apparently, during the …
David Letterman? Wilson Mizner? Edward Dean Sullivan? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: People who are angry and irritable often conceal a secret. They know they are mistaken about something vital. Here is a germane saying: The worst tempered people I have ever met were people who knew they were wrong. This saying has been attributed …
Dorothy Parker? Bennett Cerf? Richard Martin Stern? Playboy’s Party Jokes? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous wit Dorothy Parker had trouble controlling her use of alcohol. According to legend she was asked about her experiences at a party, and she replied: One more drink and I’d have been under the host! Parker’s line was …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: One More Drink, and I’m Under the Host”
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Elbert Hubbard? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: New forms of celebrity have been created in recent years. TikTok and YouTube have produced influencers. Yet, popularity has become remarkably transient. I am reminded of the following harsh comment: (1) Fame is proof that the people are gullible.(2) Fame is proof that people are …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Fame Is Proof That The People Are Gullible”
Henry David Thoreau? Winston Churchill? Marshall McLuhan? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Automation has been occurring for centuries, but the modern age has taken the trend to new extremes. The culture of humanity has shifted dramatically because of the tools created by technology. Here are two versions of a pertinent adage: (1) People have become …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: People Have Become the Tools of Their Tools”
Margaret Fuller? Thomas Carlyle? Henry James Sr.? William James? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Horace Greely? Julia Ward Howe? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous nineteenth-century thinker once delivered a grand affirmation of the universe: “I accept the universe.” Another well-known intellectual heard about this pronouncement and attempted to puncture the elevated tone of the avowal: …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: “I Accept the Universe” “Gad! She’d Better!””