Tracing Quotations
Arthur C. Clarke? Bob Thaves? Evan Esar? Jonah Peretti? Paul Heskett? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke was once asked whether he believed in astrology, and he gave a facetious self-contradictory answer. I have not been able to find a solid citation. Would you please help? Quote Investigator: The …
Continue reading “I Don’t Believe in Astrology; I’m a Sagittarian and We’re Skeptical”
Napoléon Bonaparte? Voltaire? Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle? Claude Adrien Helvétius? Wendell Phillips? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Dear Quote Investigator: A popular skeptical viewpoint about history can be expressed in a few different ways: 1) What is history but a fable agreed upon? 2) History is a set of lies agreed upon. 3) History is a …
Christopher Marlowe? Laurence J. Peter? Evan Esar? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Christopher Marlowe was a brilliant poet and dramatist of the 1500s whose works influenced the luminary William Shakespeare. I was astonished to find the following statement attributed to him: Money can’t buy love, but it improves your bargaining position. In my opinion, this …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Money Can’t Buy Love, But It Improves Your Bargaining Position”
Winston Churchill? Evan Esar? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following humorous definition is often attributed to the statesman Winston Churchill: A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject. Could you explore the accuracy of this ascription? Reply from Quote Investigator: There is some evidence that Winston Churchill employed …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Fanatic: One Who Can’t Change His Mind and Won’t Change the Subject”
Boy’s Life magazine? Mutt and Jeff comic strip? Mulla Nasreddin? Esar’s Joke Dictionary? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a brilliant comical allegory that depicts the biases inherent in many types of scientific research: A police officer sees a drunken man intently searching the ground near a lamppost and asks him the goal of his …
Ingrid Bergman? Evan Esar? Paul H. Gilbert? Hal Boyle? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: One of my favorite websites recently presented a collection of “Ten Favorite Quotations about Words”. Number one was about osculation: A kiss is a lovely trick, designed by nature, to stop speech when words become superfluous. These words were attributed to …
Groucho Marx? Walter Winchell? George S. Kaufman? George Jean Nathan? Question for Quote Investigator: A critic once provided a hilariously nonchalant evaluation of a theatrical production: I did not like it, but perhaps this judgment is unfair. I saw it under adverse conditions — the curtain was up. This statement has been credited to comedian …
Evan Esar? Jan Harold Brunvand? Bennett Cerf? Question for Quote Investigator: I was speaking with a friend about all the misinformation and misattributions in the world of quotations, and he said that he was familiar with this phenomenon of unreliability because he enjoys reading about urban-legends. He also gave his own quotation on this theme …