Tracing Quotations
Fran Lebowitz? Herb Caen? Don Bleu? Rob Morse? Rebecca Blagrave? Liz Smith? William Deresiewicz? Dear Quote Investigator: The probability that you will purchase a lottery ticket worth millions of dollars is miniscule. Here are two comically exaggerated quips based on this observation: I figure your odds of winning the lottery are the same, whether you …
Continue reading “You Have the Same Chance of Winning a Lottery Whether You Play Or Not”
Vladimir Lenin? Karl Marx? Louis C. Fraina? Homero Aridjis? Carlos Fuentes? Saint Peter? George Galloway? Liz Smith? Steve Bannon? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Many societal changes do not follow smooth trajectories. Instead, change occurs via irregular starts and stops. Here are two versions of this notion: The first saying has been ascribed to Russian …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Days Into Which 20 Years Are Compressed”
Louisa May Alcott? Liz Smith? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The following quotation is popular with book lovers, and it has appeared on posters, mugs, tote bags, plaques, bookmarks, and jewelry: She is too fond of books, and it has addled her brain. The statement is attributed to the famous novelist Louisa May Alcott who wrote …
Continue reading “She Is Too Fond of Books, and It Has Turned Her Brain”