Quote Investigator® – Page 73

Quote Origin: Once a Newspaper Touches a Story, the Facts Are Lost Forever, Even To the Protagonists

Norman Mailer? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: U.S. journalist and best-selling novelist Norman Mailer once sardonically stated that when newspapers focus on a story the facts are lost forever; inevitably, even the participants lose track of the facts. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In June 1960 “Esquire” magazine published comments from Norman Mailer inspired by a photo essay. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

It was a dull, hot, newsless day in summer, so it made the newspapers. All too inaccurately according to the Dealers. Ten vicious juvenile delinquents beat up a cripple, went the jazz. “Hell, man, it wasn’t like that at all,” one of them said, “it was a fair rumble.” We’ll never know. Once a newspaper touches a story, the facts are lost forever, even to the protagonists.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: I Think of Beauty as an Absolute Necessity

Toni Morrison? Claudia Brodsky Lacour? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The theme of beauty is pivotal within the novels written by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison. She once stated that beauty was an absolute necessity. Would you please help me to find a citation.

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 2019 “The Paris Review” published a podcast that included an audio recording of Toni Morrison delivering the quotation. The podcast included the following description of the source of the audio:¹

. . . excerpts from our interview with Toni Morrison conducted by Claudia Brodsky Lacour in Morrison’s office at Princeton University sometime in 1992.

The following inquiry and response occurred during the interview. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:²

Claudia Brodsky Lacour: Your novels are known for their extraordinary beauty. The beauty of their language and their inclusion of beauty as part of life. How do you handle beauty in fiction.

Toni Morrison: This is something that has preoccupied me for a long time. I think of beauty as an absolute necessity. I don’t think it’s a privilege or an indulgence, it’s not even a quest. I think it’s almost like knowledge, which is to say, it’s what we were born for.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: A Gorgeous Bird is the Pelican, Whose Beak Will Hold More Than His Bellican

C. M. Marshton? Dixon Lanier Merritt? Ogden Nash? Jeff McLemore? Bennett Cerf? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: A comical poem about the pelican uses a creative rhyming scheme with the word “pelican” matched to the invented words “belican” (belly can) and “helican” (hell he can). Would you please explore the provenance of this work?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest instance of this poem known to QI appeared in “The Tampa Morning Tribune” of Florida on April 2, 1913. The words were ascribed to C. M. Marshton. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

It has remained for one rhymer to produce one little “piece” that saves the season from utter mediocrity. This benefactor dwells in Chicago and he has written a classic–one which merits conspicuous publication in all the high-class literary journals. The author is C. M. Marshton, one of the editors of the Chicago Record-Herald, and the “poem” was written and sent by him to relatives who were spending the winter at St. Petersburg . . .

At the risk of infringing on a copyright, the Tribune prints the masterpiece of the Florida poetry season of 1912-13. Here it is:

A gorgeous bird is the pelican,
Whose beak will hold more than his bellican.
He can put in his beak
Food enough for a week.
But I’m d—- if I see how in hellecan.

C. M. Marshton is the leading candidate for creator of this poem based on current evidence.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Fashion Is Architecture: It Is a Matter of Proportions

Coco Chanel? Marcel Haedrich? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Did the famous fashion designer and style arbiter Coco Chanel say that “fashion Is architecture”? Would you please help me to find a citation showing the context?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Coco Chanel died in 1971, and in that same year Marcel Haedrich authored a biography in French titled “Coco Chanel Secrète”. The following year Haedrich’s work was translated by Charles Lam Markmann and published under the title “Coco Chanel: Her Life, Her Secrets”. A section called “She Said” printed a collection of remarks from Chanel including the following adage. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Appalling Silence of the Good People

Martin Luther King Jr.? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Civil rights champion Martin Luther King Jr. expressed unhappiness with people who were unwilling to support his efforts due to apathy or fear. He used the phrase “appalling silence”. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1958 Martin Luther King Jr. published “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story” which included the following pertinent passage. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

If the moderates of the white South fail to act now, history will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Our generation will have to repent not only for the acts and words of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light.

King used the phrase several times as shown in the selected citations in chronological order listed below.

Quote Origin: The Problem With Television Is That the People Must Sit and Keep Their Eyes Glued on a Screen; the Average American Family Hasn’t Time for It

The New York Times? Orrin E. Dunlap Jr.? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Wildly inaccurate predictions are always amusing. Apparently, an article in “The New York Times” contended that television broadcasting would never surpass radio broadcasting because people would never be willing to sit and stare at a screen for hours on end. Would you please help me to find a citation.

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1939 “The New York Times” printed a piece titled “Act I, Scene I: Telecasts to Homes Begin on April 30—World’s Fair Will Be the Stage” by Orrin E. Dunlap Jr., a journalist who specialized in covering the radio industry. Dunlap spoke to the program director of the National Broadcasting Company who discussed the challenges of the new entertainment format. The intimacy of the television medium required a different style of performance. Broad theatrical gestures were unappealing to audiences. Newsman Dunlap also articulated the skepticism of radio broadcasters. Boldface added to excepts by QI:¹

The problem with television is that the people must sit and keep their eyes glued on a screen; the average American family hasn’t time for it. Therefore, the showmen are convinced that for this reason, if for no other, television will never be a serious competitor of broadcasting.

Dunlap correctly noted that radio allowed people to “listen and go about their household duties and routine”. Yet, that advantage was insufficient to hold back the burgeoning television age.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: If You Watch a Lot of TV, You’re Not Considered Well-Viewed

Lily Tomlin? Jane Wagner? Barbara Rowes? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: People who read numerous books are perceived positively by society. The term “well-read” implies knowledgeable and discerning. However, people who view television for endless hours are perceived negatively. The term “well-viewed” is uncommon. I have only heard it used within the punchline of a joke from comedian Lily Tomlin. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in the 1979 compilation “The Book of Quotes” edited by Barbara Rowes. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

If you read a lot of books, you’re considered well-read. But if you watch a lot of TV, you’re not considered well-viewed.
—Lily Tomlin

Interestingly, Lily Tomlin’s personal website includes a webpage listing a collection of jokes. The statement under investigation is ascribed to Jane Wagner who is Tomlin’s longtime collaborator and wife:²

If you read a lot of books, you’re considered well-read. But if you watch a lot of TV, you’re not considered well-viewed. – written by Jane Wagner for Lily’s act

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Nothing Is Ugly as Long as It Is Alive

Coco Chanel? Marcel Haedrich? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Did the famous fashion designer and style arbiter Coco Chanel say that “nothing is ugly”? Would you please help me to find a citation showing the context?

Nothing is ugly as long as it is alive. Women tell me: “I have rather thick legs.” I ask them: “Do they support you? That’s what matters. The legs carry you, you don’t carry them. Stop thinking about it; that is not what will make you happy.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
The passage above appeared in 1971 as follows in the original French within “Coco Chanel Secrète”:²

Rien n’est laid, du moment que c’est vivant. Des femmes me disent : « J’ai des jambes un peu grosses… » Je leur demande : « Elles vous portent ? C’est l’essentiel. Les jambes vous portent, on ne les porte pas. N’y pensez plus, ce n’est pas cela qui rend heureux. »

In 1972 the English language edition of “Vogue” magazine published a piece under Haedrich’s byline titled “Chanel: What She Knew That You Should Know Now About Life, Love ,Taste, Fashion”. The quotation was included.³ Thus, Chanel’s comment achieved further circulation.

The 1977 reference “The Quotable Woman: 1800-1975” compiled by Elaine Partnow included this entry with a supporting citation:⁴

Coco Chanel (1883-1971)
Nothing is ugly as long as it is alive.
Quoted in Coco Chanel, Her Life, Her Secrets by Marcel Haedrich

In conclusion Coco Chanel deserves credit for this quotation based on the testimony of her biographer Marcel Haedrich.

Image Notes: Illustration from “Les Élégances parisiennes” with publication date Juillet 1916. Image accessed via gallica.bnf.fr. Caption says: COSTUMES DE JERSEY: Modèles de Gabrielle Channel. (The correct spelling is Chanel). Image has been cropped and resized.

Update History: On March 27, 2025 the format of the bibliographical notes was updated.

1972, Coco Chanel: Her Life, Her Secrets by Marcel Haedrich, Translated from French to English by Charles Lam Markmann, Chapter 21: Coco at Work, Section: She Said, Quote Page 253 and 254, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, Massachusetts. (Verified on paper) ↩︎
1971, Coco Chanel Secrète by Marcel Haedrich, Chapter 21: Coco au travail, Section: Elle disait, Quote Page 307, Éditions Robert Laffont, Paris. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
1972 May 1, Vogue, Volume 159, Issue 9, Features: Chanel: What She Knew That You Should Know Now About Life, Love ,Taste, Fashion by Marcel Haedrich, Start Page 164, Quote Page 165, Column 2, The Condé Nast Publications Inc., New York. (ProQuest) ↩︎
1977, The Quotable Woman: 1800-1975, Compiled and edited by Elaine Partnow, Entry: Coco Chanel (1883-1971), Quote Page 186, Corwin Books, Los Angeles, California. (Verified with scans) ↩︎

Quote Origin: Patriotism is the Last Refuge of a Scoundrel

Samuel Johnson? James Boswell? Samuel Maunder? Henry F. Mason? Bernard J. Sheil? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A politician whose popularity is dropping may attempt to recapture acceptance by disingenuously embracing jingoistic patriotism. Here are three versions of a germane saying:

Pretended patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.
Patriotism is the first refuge of a scoundrel.
Patriotism is the scoundrel’s last refuge.

Would you please help me to identify an accurate version of this saying together with the identity of its creator?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Lexicographer Samuel Johnson was a celebrated eighteenth-century man of letters. Close friend and diarist James Boswell recorded Johnson’s life with exhaustive precision in a multi-volume biography. An entry dated April 7, 1775 mentioned a discussion on the topic (spelled “topick”) of patriotism during which Johnson articulated the saying. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Patriotism having become one of our topicks, Johnson suddenly uttered, in a strong determined tone, an apothegm, at which many will start: “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” But let it be considered, that he did not mean a real and generous love of our country, but that pretended patriotism which so many, in all ages and countries, have made a cloak for self-interest. I maintained, that certainly all patriots were not scoundrels. Being urged (not by Johnson,) to name one exception, I mentioned an eminent person, whom we all greatly admired.

JOHNSON. “Sir, I do not say that he is not honest; but we have no reason to conclude from his political conduct that he is honest.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: I Don’t Think Necessity Is the Mother of Invention — Invention . . . Arises Directly From Idleness . . . From Laziness

Agatha Christie? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Necessity is the mother of invention according to the well-known proverb, but the brilliant mystery writer Agatha Christie disagreed. She suggested that the crucial motivation was laziness. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1976 Agatha Christie died, and the following year her autobiography was published. Christie discussed work and invention within one passage, and she mentioned George Stephenson who was a railway and steam locomotive pioneer. The ellipsis below was in the original text. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Presumably little Georgie Stephenson was enjoying idleness when he observed his mother’s tea-kettle lid rising and falling. Having nothing at the moment to do, he began to have ideas about it. . . .

I don’t think necessity is the mother of invention—invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness. To save oneself trouble. That is the big secret that has brought us down the ages hundreds of thousands of years, from chipping flints to switching on the washing-up machine.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.