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”
Joseph Campbell? Diane K. Osbon? Kurt Vonnegut? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: When I watch the news I see endless reports signaling that the world is a mess. Efforts to mend the world are necessary and laudable; however, I am reminded of the advice given by mythology scholar Joseph Campbell. The world has always been a …
Continue reading “We Cannot Cure the World of Sorrows, But We Can Choose To Live in Joy”
Kurt Vonnegut? Larry L. King? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The quotations and misquotations discussed on this website have typically been attributed to famous people. My inquiry is different. I would like you to explore a ubiquitous quotation describing a famous person. The prominent satirist and science fiction author Kurt Vonnegut has been called a laughing …
Continue reading “Kurt Vonnegut Is a Laughing Prophet of Doom”
Steven Wright? Kurt Vonnegut? Emo Philips? Rich Siegel? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A speaker will typically ask audience members to raise their hands to signal an affirmative answer to a question. A humorist constructed a funny remark based on a transformation of this scenario: If you believe in psychokinetic powers, please raise my hand. This …
Continue reading “How Many People Here Tonight Are Telekinetic? Raise My Hand”
Mark Twain? Thomas Jefferson? Voltaire? Edward Young? George Bernard Shaw? Laird MacKenzie? Elsie McCormick? Bertrand Russell? Kurt Vonnegut? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Several thinkers have offered an anguished explanation for the dangerously disordered state of the world. Here are four versions: This world is the lunatic asylum for other planets. Earth is a madhouse …
Continue reading “This World Is the Lunatic Asylum of the Universe”
Mary Schmich? Eleanor Roosevelt? Kurt Vonnegut? Baz Luhrmann? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Jane Addams? Mark Toby? Dear Quote Investigator: To achieve personal growth it is sometimes necessary to move outside of a comfort zone. Unjustified fears can constrain exploration and positive development. Here is a saying I find valuable: Do one thing every day that scares …
Ray Bradbury? Franco Mancassola? Kurt Vonnegut? Annie Dillard? Anonymous? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The influential publisher Tim O’Reilly recently tweeted a great quotation about entrepreneurship that was used in a commencement address given by DJ Patil, a Data Scientist at a venture capital company. Here is an excerpt from the speech given at the University …
Continue reading “Jump Off the Cliff and Build Your Wings on the Way Down”
Kurt Vonnegut? Winston Niles Rumfoord? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A good friend of mine is a volunteer firefighter, and he asked me about a quote credited to Kurt Vonnegut: I can think of no more stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine This statement can be found on many websites and …