Jean-Paul Sartre? George Carlin? Slavoj Žižek? O. O. McIntyre? Sewell Ford? Billy Wilder? Leo Rosten? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Philosophers, linguists, and humorists enjoy the following joke about tacit knowledge: A person enters a café and requests coffee without cream. After a delay the waiter returns and says “I’m sorry. We’re out of cream. …
Tag Archives: George Carlin
Quote Origin: Never Underestimate the Power of Stupid People in Large Groups
George Carlin? Elsie Robinson? Eddie Schwartz? Jan M. Carroll? Gordie Spear? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When foolish people group together the results are often terrible. Here are two versions of a cautionary adage: (1) Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.(2) Never underestimate the power of stupid people in a large …
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Quote Origin: Never Argue With Stupid People. They Will Drag You Down To Their Level and Then Beat You With Experience
Mark Twain? George Carlin? Yul Brynner? Jean Cocteau? Bob Gray? Dilbert? Scott Adams? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Logic and careful reasoning are the ingredients of a constructive argument. Acrimony and irrationality are the elements of a fruitless argument. The celebrated humorist Mark Twain supposedly formulated the following cautionary remark. Here are two versions: (1) …
Joke Origin: Optimist: The Glass Is Half Full. Pessimist: The Glass Is Half Empty. Comedian: The Glass Is the Wrong Size
Steve Martin? George Carlin? Terry Pratchett? O. J. Anderson? Davis Merritt Jr.? Tom Page? Allen Klein? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Different attitudes towards life are vividly illustrated by divergent reactions to a partially filled glass: Optimist: The glass half fullPessimist: The glass is half empty A third humorous category is sometimes added to the …
Quote Origin: I Thought the Brain Was the Most Important Organ Until I Realized What Was Telling Me That
Emo Philips? George Carlin? Richard Saul Wurman? Dale Dauten? Daniel C. Dennett? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent philosopher of consciousness and the brain included a hilarious joke in a recent book. Here are three versions: I used to think that the human brain was the most fascinating part of the body. Then I …
Quote Origin: Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty
Anne Herbert? Chuck Wall? Ann Landers? George Carlin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Anyone listening to the news is confronted by disheartening phrases such as “random act of violence” and “ugly act of cruelty”. Yet, these phrases have been creatively reconstructed to produce uplifting suggestions. Here are three versions: Would you please explore the history …
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Quote Origin: Do You Want Six or Eight Slices of Pizza?
Yogi Berra? Ken Thompson? Bobby Bragan? Muriel Vernick? Danny Osinski? Andy Wimpfheimer? George Carlin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a comical tale about whether a pizza should be cut into six or eight slices. The punchline is typically attributed to an athlete such as Yogi Berra. Are you familiar with this joke? Would …
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Quote Origin: Life Is Not Measured By the Number of Breaths We Take, But By the Moments That Take Our Breath Away
George Carlin? Maya Angelou? Vicki Corona? Hilary Cooper? Kevin Bisch? Will Smith? Philip James Bailey? Question for Quote Investigator: The following inspirational quotation has been attributed to a wide variety of people: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. I doubt that …
Quote Origin: Military Intelligence is a Contradiction in Terms or an Oxymoron
Groucho Marx? George Carlin? John Charteris? Theodor Reik? Doctor Who? Shirley Hazzard? Niall MacDermot? Sam Ervin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous comedians Groucho Marx and George Carlin are both credited with a joke that can be expressed in many ways. Here are some examples: Military Intelligence is an oxymoron.Military Intelligence is a contradiction …
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Quote Origin: Those Who Dance Are Considered Insane by Those Who Can’t Hear the Music
Friedrich Nietzsche? Megan Fox? Anne Louise Germaine de Staël? John Stewart? Norman Flint? Science Fiction fans? Angela Monet? Rumi? George Carlin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following statement is credited to the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. …