Quote Investigator

Quote Origin: Humor Can Be Dissected, as a Frog Can, But the Thing Dies in the Process – Quote Investigator® Question for Quote Investigator: A cogent simile about the cerebral examination of humor has been attributed to three clever individuals: humorist Mark Twain, children’s author E. B. White, and French author André Maurois. Here are four versions:

@quoteinvestigator.com to the rescue!

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Quote Origin: Things Are More Like They Are Now Than They Have Ever Been – Quote Investigator® Question for Quote Investigator: President Dwight D. Eisenhower is commonly credited with making a comical statement that is almost a tautology. Here are a few different versions of his supposed remark:

By the way, the origins of that quote, often falsely attributed to President Dwight Eisenhower and others, were thoroughly studied by @quoteinvestigator.com at my request:

quoteinvestigator.com/2013/01/29/l...

Quote Origin: What Fresh Hell Can This Be? – Quote Investigator® Question for Quote Investigator: The well-known wit Dorothy Parker brought forth laughter from others, but personally she experienced episodes of depression. Apparently, when her doorbell rang she would sometimes proclaim:

Quote Origin: What Fresh Hell Can This Be?
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Picture of painting implements representing creativity. Picture from Tim Arterbury at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.

Don’t worry about people stealing your idea. If it’s original you will have to ram it down their throats

Who said this: Howard H. Aiken? Kenneth E. Iverson? Grace Murray Hopper? Anonymous?

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If you're someone who likes to occasionally reference famous/infamous quotes in your Bluesky posts and you're not already following @quoteinvestigator.com (or using his website database), I have only one question: Why not?

He's the real deal when it comes to researching proper attribution.

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Mark Twain, Dorothy Parker, Albert Einstein attract numerous misattributions. They are quotation magnets / flypaper figures.

Top 100 names listed here are based on number of QI articles. Large type face means more articles. Admittedly, this is a biased sample:

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Quote Origin: People Sleep Peacefully in Their Beds at Night Only Because Rough Men Stand Ready to Do Violence on Their Behalf
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Thanks for posting this (I came here to do just that but see my effort would have been superfluous.)

@quoteinvestigator.com is just the bee's knees on this stuff. I refer to him regularly as an indispensable source on proper quote attribution. An Internet treasure.

Details from @quoteinvestigator.com, if anyone wants:

quoteinvestigator.com/2011/11/07/r...

Quick search:
Aug 16, 1966, The News-Herald, Franklin, Pennsylvania
James Logue director of promotion local blood donation. Probably already in use

[Begin]
Logue ... it is going to take a lot of teamwork to make that dream work.
[End]

www.newspapers.com/article/the-...

@simonkoppel.bsky.social

"Two of us riding nowhere
Spending someone's hard-earned pay
You and me Sunday driving
Not arriving on our way back home" - Lennon & McCartney

Do you know where you are going?

Picture of a map with a compass from Denise Jans at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.

If you're not sure where you're going, you're liable to end up someplace else

Who said this: baseball player Yogi Berra? advice columnist Abigail Van Buren? psychologist Robert F. Mager? someone else?

quoteinvestigator.com/2026/03/04/k...

My standard version is "I don't know, I've never read any."

People always correct me. It's more satisfying than telling the joke. (Also, I'm indirectly named for the writer, and have read some.)

I have to say I prefer the spin-off:

A: Do you like duckling?

B: I don't know - I've never duckled.

Partly because duckling is (acc. to some) a foodstuff, but mainly because it sounds naughtier/cuter/sillier.

There is a QI article about that comical dialogue:

"Do You Like Kipling?"
"I Don't Know; I've Never Kippled Before"

quoteinvestigator.com/2012/10/02/l...

Picture of a blue peacock amongst yellow rubber ducks from Bob Jenkin Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.

The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe

The line above has been attributed to Friedrich Nietzsche and Rudyard Kipling. Did either say it?

quoteinvestigator.com/2026/03/02/s...

The image is a photo montage of the women portrayed in the book, "Roots and Wings: Inspiring Stories of Indian Women in Engineering.

Women's History Month is a great opportunity for me to plug my book - the first ever book on Indian engineering women - "Roots and Wings."

Consider gifting it this month to a young woman/girl in your life.

Comments have links for purchasing.

#womenshistorymonth2026

Is it fair the person who popularized something gets the credit? That is a hard question!

Speaker icon from presidentofspace at Pixabay

Everything beeps now

Who said the quip above: Comedian George Carlin? Television personality Jeremy Clarkson? Columnist Carol Mueller? Columnist Larry Tobin?

quoteinvestigator.com/2026/02/28/e...

Thanks for the hat tip and more importantly, the article.

Your inquiry about a phrase used by technology enthusiasts and critics inspired the creation of a Quote Investigator article:

Phrase Origin: A Solution in Search of a Problem
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/02/25/s...

@bjkeefe.bsky.social

Picture of an exhibit at the ArtScience Museum of Singapore from Robynne O at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized

A solution in search of a problem

Which technology inspired the creation of the phrase above.

Laser? Electronic computer? Nuclear energy? Meteorological satellite? Artificial intelligence? Bitcoin? Blockchain?

quoteinvestigator.com/2026/02/25/s...

Matt Seybold does excellent work. There is also a QI article on this topic.

Quote Origin: Politicians Are Like Diapers. They Should Be Changed Regularly
quoteinvestigator.com/2018/10/17/d...

That exchange is also the basis of the song "Man Say" in the rather underrated 1973 stage musical of A Raisin in the Sun, titled, not particularly wisely, Raisin.

Egg with a pink background from Leti Kugler at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.

Was the following dialogue crafted by horror author Stephen King, playwright Lorraine Hansberry, or someone else?

"I got me a dream" "Eat your eggs"

quoteinvestigator.com/2026/02/21/e...

Clever wordplay and cleverer investigation!

Illustration of a wooden gavel from Tingey Injury Law Firm at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.

Who crafted this quip using wordplay?

Thomas Robert Dewar? Grafton Grabb? A Ragged Tramp? Anonymous?

Life is full of trials with an occasional conviction

quoteinvestigator.com/2026/02/19/t...

fyi, phrase/quote origin: "There Is No Bad Weather, Only Inappropriate Clothing"
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thanks as always @quoteinvestigator.com
c/ @wanderinggaia.bsky.social

Good memory. Humorist Sam Levenson used the line in his 1966 memoir titled "Everything But Money". But it was circulating in February 1952

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