Quote Origin: The Word ‘No’ Is a Complete Sentence

Shonda Rhimes? Carol Burnett? Jane Fonda? Anne Lamott? Megan LeBoutillier? Bil Keane? Earl Wilson? Si Cornell? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: A negative response to a request often causes dissatisfaction. Hence the request is repeated many times. Some people do not wish to accept “No” for an answer. The following adage is favored by adamant respondents:

The word “No” is a complete sentence.

This statement has been attributed to prominent U.S. television producer Shonda Rhimes, well-known U.S. comedian Carol Burnett, and popular U.S. author Anne Lamott. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in 1958 within the newspaper column of Si Cornell in “The Cincinnati Post” of Ohio. Boldface added to excerpt by QI:[1] 1958 October 20, The Cincinnati Post, The Town’s Talking: Lawyer Tries Hypnotism by Si Cornell, Quote Page 11, Column 2, Cincinnati, Ohio. (GenealogyBank)

SIGN ON BANK official’s desk: “In this office, the word NO is a complete sentence.”

The creator of this quip remains anonymous. Shonda Rhimes, Carol Burnett, Anne Lamott, and many others employed this saying after it was already in circulation.

Additional details and citations are available in the article on the Medium platform which is located here.

Image Notes: Sign depicting a choice between “Yes” and “No” from geralt at Pixabay.

Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Ben Yagoda whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Yagoda told QI about the podcasts with Jane Fonda and Carol Burnett during which the expression was employed. Yagoda also told QI about the 1959 citation in the “Reader’s Digest”.

References

References
↑1 1958 October 20, The Cincinnati Post, The Town’s Talking: Lawyer Tries Hypnotism by Si Cornell, Quote Page 11, Column 2, Cincinnati, Ohio. (GenealogyBank)

Quote Origin: Not a Day’s Work in All My Life. What I Have Done I Have Done, Because It Has Been Play

Mark Twain? Lawrence Pearsall Jacks? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The famous author Mark Twain once surprisingly proclaimed that he had done “not a day’s work in all my life”. He stated that his efforts in life had “been play”. Would you please help me to find a citation for his fascinating comments?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1905 “The New York Times” published an interview with the well-known U.S. humorist under the title “Mark Twain: A Humorist’s Confession”. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1] 1905 November 26, The New York Times, Section: Magazine, Mark Twain: A Humorist’s Confession, Quote Page 1, Column 1, New York. (Newspapers_com)

Mark Twain will be 70 years old on Thanksgiving Day, and he has never done a day’s work in his life. He told me so himself, sitting in one of the cheerful, spacious rooms of the old-fashioned stately New York house which he will probably call his city home as long as he lives. I probably started upon hearing this unlooked-for statement from the lips of the good, gray humorist, for he repeated emphatically:

“No, Sir, not a day’s work in all my life. What I have done I have done, because it has been play. If it had been work I shouldn’t have done it.

“Who was it who said, ‘Blessed is the man who has found his work?’ Whoever it was he had the same idea in his mind. Mark you, he says his work—not somebody else’s work. The work that is really a man’s own work is play and not work at all. Cursed is the man who has found some other man’s work and cannot lose it. When we talk about the great workers of the world we really mean the great players of the world. The fellows who groan and sweat under the weary load of toil that they bear never can hope to do anything great. How can they when their souls are in a ferment of revolt against the employment of their hands and brains?”

Additional details and citations are available in the article on the Medium platform which is located here.

References

References
↑1 1905 November 26, The New York Times, Section: Magazine, Mark Twain: A Humorist’s Confession, Quote Page 1, Column 1, New York. (Newspapers_com)

Quote Origin: Life Is Not a Journey To the Grave With the Intention of Arriving Safely

Hunter S. Thompson? Bill McKenna? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson has received credit for a remark about living an exuberant life and sliding broadside amid a cloud of smoke into the grave. I am skeptical of this ascription because I have been unable to find a solid citation. Would you please help?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has been unable to find a match in the writings of Hunter S. Thompson who ended his life in 2005.

The earliest match located by QI appeared in the Usenet newsgroup rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys in October 1998. The quotation appeared within the signature section of a message from Jeff McRae, and no attribution was listed. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1] Usenet discussion message, Date: Oct 12, 1998, Newsgroup: rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys, From: Jeff McRae, Subject: Your Ultimate Driveway. (Google Groups Search; Accessed June 26, 2023) link

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, shouting “GERONIMO”.

Based on current knowledge the saying remains anonymous.

Additional details and citations are available in the article on the Medium platform which is located here.

Image Notes: Illustration of blue smoke from Stephen Hocking at Unsplash. The image has been cropped.

Acknowledgements: Great thanks to Adam Gee and Daniel Saunders whose inquiries led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration.

References

References
↑1 Usenet discussion message, Date: Oct 12, 1998, Newsgroup: rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys, From: Jeff McRae, Subject: Your Ultimate Driveway. (Google Groups Search; Accessed June 26, 2023) link

Anecdote Origin: Everything That Can Be Invented Has Been Invented

Henry L. Ellsworth? Charles H. Duell? Roswell Park? Royal S. Copeland? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: According to a popular legend the Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office wanted to shut down the organization in the nineteenth century. He supposedly proclaimed:

Everything that can be invented has been invented.

The two primary candidates for the identity of the commissioner are Henry L. Ellsworth and Charles H. Duell. Yet, I have never seen a substantive citation, and I am skeptical. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Many researchers have examined this extraordinary tale, and no significant supporting evidence has been located.

Henry L. Ellsworth was the first Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office. He submitted a report to the U.S. Congress in February 1844 summarizing the activities of the office in 1843. The report proudly described recent technological advances while highlighting the inventiveness of U.S. citizens. Yet, the report also contained the following statement which might have been the seed for this legend. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1]1844, Report of The Commissioner of Patents Showing the Operations of the Patent Office During the Year 1843, Referred to the Committee on Patents and the Patent Office on February 13, 1844, Ordered … Continue reading

The advancement of the arts, from year to year, taxes our credulity, and seems to presage the arrival of that period when human improvement must end.

Ellsworth’s report commented on the rapid and dazzling progress in industry, agriculture, and telecommunications. QI believes that Ellsworth was not literally suggesting an end to new inventions. Instead, he was employing a rhetorical technique of exaggeration. Nevertheless, some readers may have interpreted the comment literally. Ellsworth did leave his position in April 1845, but his letter of resignation indicated a desire to return to private life. He said nothing about shutting down the Patent Office.[2]1970, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-First Congress, Second Session, Hearing Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, Topic: Legislative Branch Appropriations for 1971, … Continue reading

The earliest strong match for this legend located by QI appeared in the New York journal “The Electrician” in 1883. The individual who resigned was described as a principal examiner at the Patent Office and not the commissioner:[3] 1883 December, The Electrician, Volume 2, Number 12, Section: 1883, Start Page 372, Quote Page 374, Williams & Company, New York. (Google Books Full View) link

About forty years ago, one of the principal examiners in the United States patent office, came to the mature decision that the work of the patent department must soon come to an end, because the inventive power of the human mind had reached its limit, and that there would be no further demand for new inventions. So, like a prudent man, he resigned, and engaged in portrait painting, which promised to be a good business to the end of time while vanity and funds kept company with humanity.

The marvelous growth of the American patent system is not merely the result of wise legislation, but an indication of a national trait which is doubtless the evolution of the economies rendered necessary by the privations of the early settlers of our country.

The time period referenced above was circa 1843. The delay of forty years and the lack of details reduces the credibility of this story. Note, Henry L. Ellsworth was not a portrait painter. Based on the data collected during this investigation QI believes that this tale with manifold versions is apocryphal.

The full version of this article with many additional citations is available on the Medium platform here.

Image Notes: An illustration of a tree with icons representing invention and innovation in the business domain. Picture from geralt at Pixabay.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to previous researchers including Albert A. Hopkins, Ebner Jeffrey, Samuel Sass, David P. Mikkelson, Ralph Keyes, Fred R. Shapiro, and Barry Popik. These researchers uncovered several of the citations listed above. Thanks to veriflip who mentioned a typo.

References

References
↑1 1844, Report of The Commissioner of Patents Showing the Operations of the Patent Office During the Year 1843, Referred to the Committee on Patents and the Patent Office on February 13, 1844, Ordered to be printed on February 27, 1844, Start Page 1, Quote Page 6, Washington D.C. (Google Books Full View) link
↑2 1970, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-First Congress, Second Session, Hearing Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, Topic: Legislative Branch Appropriations for 1971, Reprint “Nothing Left To Invent” by Ebner Jeffrey from the “Journal of the Patent Office Society” in July 1940, Quote Page 286 and 287, (Includes copy of resignation letter from Henry L. Ellsworth to the U.S. President dated April 1, 1845), U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington. (Google Books Full View) link
↑3 1883 December, The Electrician, Volume 2, Number 12, Section: 1883, Start Page 372, Quote Page 374, Williams & Company, New York. (Google Books Full View) link

Quote Origin: It Is More From Carelessness About Truth Than From Intentional Lying That There Is So Much Falsehood in the World

Samuel Johnson? James Boswell? Robert J. Hanlon? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Misquotations and misattributions are prevalent online, but people who are presenting this faulty information are rarely lying deliberately. Instead, they are naively repeating misinformation they have encountered in the past. The famous English lexicographer Samuel Johnson once said something pertinent which contrasted “carelessness about truth” versus “intentional lying”. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Biographer James Boswell published “The Life of Samuel Johnson” in 1791. Boswell recounted an episode from 1778 during which Johnson spoke to a hostess about the need to educate children to scrupulously avoid lying. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1]1791, The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.: Comprehending an Account of His Studies and Numerous Works, Author: James Boswell, Volume 2 of 2, Diary Date: 1778, Start Page 189 and 190, Printed by Henry … Continue reading

Next morning, while we were at breakfast, Johnson gave a very earnest recommendation of what he himself practised with the utmost conscientiousness:

I mean a strict attention to truth, even in the most minute particulars. “Accustom your children (said he) constantly to this; if a thing happened at one window, and they, when relating it, say that it happened at another, do not let it pass, but instantly check them; you do not know where deviation from truth will end.”

BOSWELL. “It may come to the door; and when once an account is at all varied in one circumstance, it may by degrees be varied so as to be totally different from what really happened.”

Our lively hostess, whose fancy was impatient of the rein, fidgeted at this, and ventured to say, “Nay, this is too much. If Mr. Johnson should forbid me to drink tea, I would comply, as I should feel the restraint only twice a day; but little variations in narrative must happen a thousand times a day, if one is not perpetually watching.”

JOHNSON: “Well, Madam, and you ought to be perpetually watching. It is more from carelessness about truth than from intentional lying, that there is so much falsehood in the world.”

Additional details and citations are available in the article on the Medium platform which is located here.

A separate Quote Investigator article (which is available here) explores a thematically related expression: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity”.

Image Notes: Illustration depicting a large number of signs  displaying the words LIE and TRUTH from geralt at Pixabay.

Acknowledgements: Great thanks to Scott Baker whose tweet led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Baker noted that the quotation under examination appeared in James Boswell’s “The Life of Samuel Johnson”. Thanks also to Jay Lund, Jane Bella, Denise Kuhn, and Bryan Fillmer who participated in the tweet thread.

References

References
↑1 1791, The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.: Comprehending an Account of His Studies and Numerous Works, Author: James Boswell, Volume 2 of 2, Diary Date: 1778, Start Page 189 and 190, Printed by Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly, London. (Google Books Full View) link

Quote Origin: Anything You Lose Automatically Doubles In Value

Mignon McLaughlin? Curzon Cooper? Robert Byrne? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Whenever I lose an item it suddenly becomes very important. The item is exactly what I need to complete a vital task. This experience is reflected in the following quip:

Anything you lose automatically doubles in value.

Would you please determine who originated this quip?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Mignon McLaughlin was a writer and editor at magazines such as “The Atlantic Monthly”, “Glamour”, and “Vogue” for four decades from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1966 she published “The Second Neurotic’s Notebook” which contained miscellaneous aphorisms such as the following three statements. Boldface added to excepts by QI:[1] 1966, The Second Neurotic’s Notebook by Mignon McLaughlin, Chapter 9: Getting and Spending, Quote Page 37, 55, and 80, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis, Indiana. (Verified with scans)

A sense of humor is a major defense against minor troubles.
It’s easier to part with a friend than an opinion.
Anything you lose automatically doubles in value.

Additional details and citations are available in the article on the Medium platform which is located here.

Image Notes: Illustration of question marks symbolically representing lost objects from qimono at Pixabay.

References

References
↑1 1966, The Second Neurotic’s Notebook by Mignon McLaughlin, Chapter 9: Getting and Spending, Quote Page 37, 55, and 80, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis, Indiana. (Verified with scans)

Quip Origin: If You’re Not Part of the Solution You’re Part of the Precipitate

David Foster Wallace? Richard Feynman? Sally Grant? Herb Caen? Wes Craven? Garrison Keillor? Henry J. Tillman? Graffito? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Chemists have taken the popular saying (A) and converted it into the comical remark (B):

(A) If you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem.
(B) If you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the precipitate.

This joke has been attributed to the prominent U.S. novelist David Foster Wallace, the famous U.S. physicist Richard Feynman, and others. Would you please explore the provenance of this statement?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match known to QI appeared in 1969 within “The Gateway”, the student newspaper of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. The quip was split between the leftmost and rightmost columns within the header of the front page. No attribution was specified. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1]1969 December 12, The Gateway, Volume 60, Number 45, (Quotation visible in leftmost and rightmost columns of header), Quote Page 1, Published by Students’ Union of the University of Alberta, … Continue reading

if you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the precipitate

The originator of this quip remains anonymous. David Foster Wallace included it in a short story in 1988. Horror moviemaker Wes Craven included it in a novel in 1999. Interestingly, Craven credited Richard Feynman, but QI believes this attribution was invented. Raconteur Garrison Keillor included the remark in a joke book in 2009.

Additional details and citations are available in the article on the Medium platform which is located here.

A separate QI article located here examines the adage “If you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem”.

Image Notes: Illustration of chemistry equipment from PublicDomainPictures at Pixabay. The image has been cropped.

Acknowledgements: Great thanks to Craig Good, Nancy Friedman, and Steve Robinson who each told QI about this saying which inspired this exploration. Many thanks to Bill Mullins who located the important 1969 citation. Special thanks to Simon Koppel who located the valuable 1973 citation.

Update History: On June 15, 2023 the citations dated December 12, 1969 and April 25, 1973 were added to the article.

References

References
↑1 1969 December 12, The Gateway, Volume 60, Number 45, (Quotation visible in leftmost and rightmost columns of header), Quote Page 1, Published by Students’ Union of the University of Alberta, Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. (Verified with scans via archive.org) link

Adage Origin: You Are Either Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution

Eldridge Cleaver? Harry Emerson Fosdick? Edna G. Fuller? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: The world faces many difficulties, and each of us must shoulder the responsibility for helping to solve or ameliorate these difficulties. Here are three versions of a pertinent adage:

(1) Each individual is either part of the problem or part of the answer.
(2) You and I are either part of the solution or part of the problem.
(3) If you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem.

This saying has been attributed to U.S. pastor Harry Emerson Fosdick and U.S. activist Eldridge Cleaver. I have not seen any solid citations. Would you please explore the provenance of this expression?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match known to QI appeared in the “Columbia Daily Spectator” of New York on October 16, 1936 within an advertisement for a church service conducted by Reverend Harry Emerson Fosdick. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1]1936 October 16, Columbia Daily Spectator, Volume LX, Number 17, Section: Religious Announcements, Advertisement: The Riverside Church at Riverside Drive and 122nd Street, Quote Page 2, Column 4, New … Continue reading

The Riverside Church
Riverside Drive and 122nd Street

11 A. M. Morning Worship
Harry Emerson Fosdick
“ARE WE PART OF THE PROBLEM OR THE ANSWER?

On October 27, 1936 “The Windsor Daily Star” of Ontario, Canada published a column containing the following:[2] 1936 October 27, The Windsor Daily Star, As We See It by W. L. Clark, The Lure of Generalities, Quote Page 2, Column 1, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. (Newspapers_com) link

In a world which turns so quickly to the lure of pleasing generalities, it is well to pause and think deeply of whether each one, as an individual, is a part of the problem or a part of the answer, says Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick, D.D., pastor of Riverside Church, New York City.

QI believes that Harry Emerson Fosdick deserves credit for originating this family of sayings. During the 1930s several different phrasings were attributed to him. Eldridge Cleaver employed the saying by 1968.

Additional details and citations are available in the article on the Medium platform which is located here.

A separate QI article located here examines the humorous saying “If you are not part of the solution then you’re part of the precipitate”.

Image Notes: Illustration of puzzle pieces from PIRO4D at Pixabay. The image has been cropped.

Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Steve Robinson whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Special thanks to Simon Koppel who told QI about the first citation dated October 16, 1936. Additional thanks to previous researchers including Ralph Keyes, Nigel Rees, Jennifer Speake, Charles Clay Doyle, Wolfgang Mieder, and Fred R. Shapiro. “The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs” explored this saying and found citations beginning in 1937. Also, thanks to SKMurphy who suggested linking this article to the QI article about the quip mentioning precipitate.

Update History: On June 13, 2023 the citations dated October 16, 1936 and November 21, 1936 were added to the full article. In June 29, 2023 a link to a variant quip was added.

References

References
↑1 1936 October 16, Columbia Daily Spectator, Volume LX, Number 17, Section: Religious Announcements, Advertisement: The Riverside Church at Riverside Drive and 122nd Street, Quote Page 2, Column 4, New York. (Columbia Spectator Archive; accessed on June 13, 2023; website:spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu) link
↑2 1936 October 27, The Windsor Daily Star, As We See It by W. L. Clark, The Lure of Generalities, Quote Page 2, Column 1, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. (Newspapers_com) link

Repartee Origin: You Are the Second Most Beautiful Woman in the United Kingdom

Lilian Braithwaite? James Agate? Walter Winchell? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent drama critic in London once told a top actress that she was the second most beautiful woman in the United Kingdom. The critic expected her to ask for the identity of the most beautiful woman, but she wittily replied that she would treasure the compliment because it was coming from the second best drama critic. Would you please explore the provenance of this repartee?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in “The Daily Telegraph” of London in March 1932. The two figures in the anecdote were English theatre critic James Agate and English actress Lilian Braithwaite:[1] 1932 March 2, The Daily Telegraph, London Day by Day: Second Best by Peterborough, Quote Page 12, Column 5, London, England. (Newspapers_com)

“A little while ago,” said Mr. Agate, “I was fortunate enough to find myself alone with Miss Braithwaite. I hastened to avail myself of this rare opportunity.

“‘My dear lady,’ I said, ‘May I tell you something I have wanted to tell you for years: that you are the second most beautiful woman in the United Kingdom?’

“I naturally expected that Miss Braithwaite would ask who, in my opinion, was the woman who came before her. And I had prepared myself with a name to which it would have been interesting to see Miss Braithwaite’s reaction.

“But she asked no such question. She merely looked at me with her charming smile and said, ‘Thank you. I shall always cherish that, as coming from the second-best dramatic critic.’”

Additional details and citations are available in the article on the Medium platform which is located here.

Image Notes: Public domain portrait of Lillian Braithwaite by Charles Sims circa 1902.

Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Paul Craven who tweeted about this  repartee which led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Craven gave a hat tip to Robbie MacNab. Thanks also to Andrew Denny who participated in the tweet thread.

References

References
↑1 1932 March 2, The Daily Telegraph, London Day by Day: Second Best by Peterborough, Quote Page 12, Column 5, London, England. (Newspapers_com)

Anecdote Origin: Your Question Is Quite Simple. Hence, I’m Going To Ask My Chauffeur To Respond

Albert Einstein? Wernher von Braun? Max Planck? Charlie Munger? Ezekiel Landau? Jacob ben Wolf Kranz? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A humorous anecdote describes a brilliant person who has been invited by many organizations to deliver a lecture about their esoteric work. After successfully delivering lectures in multiple venues the person becomes bored and open to change. High jinks ensue when the lecturer and their chauffeur secretly swap places.

The chauffeur delivers a flawless speech while the brilliant person sits near the front disguised as the chauffeur. A tense moment occurs when an audience member asks a difficult question. The quick-witted chauffeur replies:

Your question is interesting, but the answer is remarkably simple. Hence, I’m going to ask my chauffeur to respond.

The role of the brilliant person in this tale has been assigned to several different people including theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun, quantum physicist Max Planck, and Rabbi Ezekiel Landau. Would you please explore the provenance of this story.

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in 1926 within “Laughs from Jewish Lore” compiled by Jacob Richman. The brilliant person in this version of the story was a prominent rabbi. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1]1926 Copyright, Laughs from Jewish Lore by Jacob Richman, Chapter 1: Leaders in Israel, Story: Even His Driver Was a Scholar, Quote Page 30 and 31, Funk & Wagnalls, New York. (Full View in … Continue reading

It was the custom of Rabbi Ezekiel Landau, of Prague, to make semi-annual trips to the communities suburban to his city, and render his services in settling their religious and economic problems.

His driver was a jolly man and he often took the liberty to jest with his famous master. “Rabbi,” he once facetiously remarked, “I  tell you that my task requires more skill than yours. I could settle the petty squabbles of the tiny hamlets just as well as you, but you couldn’t do my work.”

The ecclesiastical passenger accepted the challenge, and the two exchanged their clothes and their positions on the wagon, continuing their journey incognito.

Arriving in the first village the “rabbi” was welcomed by a committee of prominent men, who  escorted  him  to  the  house  of  one  of  their leading citizens. After having dined with the guest, the representative men of the community brought before the consideration of the visiting “rabbi” some difficult problem that had been baffling the best minds of the community for a long time.

The pseudo-rabbi heard the query with  great solemnity, and shrugged his shoulders, evidently wondering at the ignorance of his interlocutors.

“You have asked me a very, very silly question,” he finally remarked. “Even my driver can answer that. Here he is, ask him.”

QI hypothesizes that this family of anecdotes was derived from Jewish folklore. The stories were meant to be humorous and not veridical. The creator of the original tale remains unknown.

Additional details and citations are available in the article on the Medium platform which is located here.

Image Notes: Stylized time-lapse picture taken through the windshield of a moving car from Samuele Errico Piccarini at Unsplash.

Acknowledgements: Many thanks to the researchers at Snopes who explored this topic and suggested an origin within Jewish folklore. The Snopes article contained citations beginning in 1950. Special thanks to Allan Olley who told QI about the Snopes article and presented germane scans from a reprint of the 1948 book “A Treasury of Jewish Folklore”. Also, thanks to Kimpire who told QI about the 1948 book and provided helpful links.

Update History: On June 5, 2023 the citations in 1926, 1948, and 1950 were added to the article. The article was partially rewritten.

References

References
↑1 1926 Copyright, Laughs from Jewish Lore by Jacob Richman, Chapter 1: Leaders in Israel, Story: Even His Driver Was a Scholar, Quote Page 30 and 31, Funk & Wagnalls, New York. (Full View in archive.org) link