In the annals of the long, still-ongoing debate over nuclear power, the most infamous words are undoubtedly “too cheap to meter.” The origin of this phrase is a speech given…
“I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
Like virtually all African Americans who grew up in Mississippi during the first half of the 20th century, Fannie Lou Hamer endured many injustices in her life. Some went beyond…
“I coulda been a contender!”
When On the Waterfront was first released to American movie theaters on July 28, 1954, the film’s director, Elia Kazan, was worried about how well it would do on opening…
“I never promised you a rose garden.”
THE ORIGIN OF THE FAMOUS LINE: “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” Hannah Green (pen name of Joanne Greenberg; 1927–1996) American author Title of her 1964 novel This novel, first published on April…
“A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall…”
When Columbia Records released the first, self-titled album by Bob Dylan in 1962 it went largely unnoticed by the general public. Only about 5,000 copies were sold at the time.…
Mitt Romney’s infamous “47 percent” quote
On May 17, 2012, Republican presidential candidate, Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah), said something that was later cited as one of the factors that caused him to lose the election…
“Like reading Shakespeare by flashes of lightning.”
The British stage actor Edmund Kean (1789-1833) was like the James Dean of his time. He gained celebrity and fame at a young age. His performances were fiery and highly…