Tag Archives: Mulla Nasreddin

Anecdote Origin: “I Can Hear the Donkey Bray” “Do You Believe Me or the Donkey?”

Mulla Nasreddin? Khodshah? Khoja Nasr ed-Dîn Effendi? Harry Charles Lukach? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: In the past you have examined a family of humorous anecdotes about credulousness. The punchline of these tales was: Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes? There is another anecdote of this type which seems to be older: …

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Dialogue Origin: “Did You Lose the Keys Here?” “No, But the Light Is Much Better Here”

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 …

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