Science has taught us many things over the years: one day we'll all have light-sabers; making age inappropriate friends with kooky old Doctors/Professors will always result in time-traveling shenanigans; and cyborgs are AWESOME.
Whether they're regular people who've been rebuilt after a horrific accident as superpowered crime fighters, sexy advanced fleshbots created to tend to our every whim, develop independent thought and eventually overthrow us, or just meat-covered robots sent back in time to kill all of mankind, cyborgs are cool.
But what is it that so fascinates us about this unholy fusion of flesh and steel? Will science ever reach a level so advanced that super strong cyborgs become a reality? At what point does a person become more machine than man, losing that intangible spark of humanity we call a soul? These are questions this article will endeavor not to answer in any way, shape or form. Let us instead discuss the eight cyborgs we've arbitrarily decided are the coolest. Androids and robots need not apply.
8) Raiden, Metal Gear Solid Everything you need to know about Raiden can be summed up in two words: "Cyborg Ninja". BOOM. Most people become significantly less cool after having their head and spine ripped from their body, what with the being extremely dead and all, but not Raiden. He went with option B instead: undergo exoskeletal enhancement surgery and become a total hard ass. How hard, you ask? At one stage, Raiden fought an elite team of powersuited lady soldiers to a standstill. On his own. With no arms. Holding a sword in his mouth.
7) Inspector Gadget We could talk all day about how lovably inept Gadget is, or about how awesome all of his GO, GO, GADGETS are. But it's actually completely possible to scientifically prove that Gadget is cool without even mentioning any of those things. He's an eccentric, much older, trench coat wearing gentleman who is constantly hanging out with a 12 year old girl and a dog and nobody seems to think it's worth putting him on a government watch list. Therefore, he must be cool... right?
6) Steve Austin, The Six Million Dollar Man "We can rebuild him. We have the technology... better than he was before. Better. Stronger. Faster." Steve Austin makes the list for this tagline alone, but more importantly for the super cool noise his bionic powers made. Sure, six million dollars doesn't buy you a lot of bionics these days, but back in 1974 it got you cutting edge robolegs, arm and an eye. As an added bonus, you were also in the '70s, which were literally bursting with attractive women willing to practice free love with hunky superpowered cyborg ex-astronaut secret agents. Like they're soooo special.
5) Robocop The future of law enforcement looks pretty grim if you live in Detroit of the near future (i.e. the mid-1990's), particularly if you're a cop who enjoys things like spending time with your family and not being literally shot to pieces with shotguns. That is, until you get turned into Robocop, a super strong, almost invincible, deadly accurate cyborg who almost single-handedly somehow wipes out crime in the entire city, despite the fact that he moves more slowly than most glaciers. But what really makes Robocop awesome is his gun holstering flair, his deadpan delivery and the feeling that underneath all of that armor is guy who just wants to get back to his family. Make the statue, Detroit!
4) Seven of Nine, Star Trek: Voyager There is one rule on Federation starships that everyone knows but no one mentions: there must always be a logic-driven, monotone, emotionless crewmember who comments on the foibles of his/her human colleagues whilst him/herself trying to become more human, who solves all of the ship's problems and gradually becomes the star of every single episode. Yes, it's a long rule. That's why they don't bring it up all the time. Seven of Nine is the Spock/Data/Tuvok of Star Trek: Voyager, but cooler because she's Borg, a race of implacable cybernetically enhanced organisms intent on assimilating the entire universe into their collective. And no, of course Seven's not only on this list just because she's incredibly hot. But now that you mention it, resistance of her feminine cyborg wily charms is futile.
Some memorable moments of Seven of Nine. All material belongs to Paramount. 0:00 - 0:22 - Night 0:23 - 0:32 - In the Flesh 0:33 - 1:07 - Dark Fronter 1:08 - 1:24 - Someone To Watch Over Me 1:25 - 1:28 - Drone 1:29 - 1:48 - Revulsion 1:49 - 2:08 - Hope and Fear 2:09 - 2:15 - Scientific Method 2:16 - 2:28 - Revulsion 2:29 - 2:52 - Message in a Bottle 2:53 - 3:01 - The Killing Game 3:02 - 3:33 - The Void 3:34 - 3:50 - Someone To Watch Over Me
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3) Cable, X-Men If position on this list was decided based on shoulder to waist ratio or the prodigious use of ridiculously oversized weaponry, Nathan Summers would be number one hands down. In his earliest appearances in New Mutants and X-Force, Cable was made immediately cool by his "take no prisoners" attitude and the mystique surrounding his origins. Plus the shoulder pads, obviously. Since then, Cable's back-story has become so convoluted you need a PhD in Advanced Quantum Mechanics to understand it, but he still has a sweet glowing eye and awesome off-and-on telekinetic, telepathic and technopathic superpowers. Bonus points for being the first X-Person to custom make an X-themed baby carrier. Now that's dedication.
2) The Daleks, Doctor Who The Daleks have to make this list for sheer staying power alone. They've been the Doctor's greatest foe for almost 50 years, waging war against him throughout all of time and space. And given how often the Time Lord Victorious has sent them packing, you've got to admire their perseverance. A lesser species would have given up by now and just settled down on a little retirement planet somewhere to exterminate a nice cup of tea and some scones. But not the Daleks. Over the years they've had numerous leaders, face lifts and even learnt how to LEVITAAATE (take THAT, stairs!) but they've always remained true to the dream of EXTERMINATING! everyone in the universe. You have to respect that.
1) Darth Vader, Star Wars He comes from a galaxy far, far away, yet almost everyone on our planet knows him by sight, and by the sound of that voice. In fact, given that Darth Vader is available in toy form, on lunchboxes, bed sheets and there's at least three mini-Vaders to a street every Halloween, it's arguable that he's the most famous fictional character of every time. The thing is, there's a reason for it. In fact, there's many. Perhaps it's because his temptation, fall and ultimate redemption are classic themes as old as time itself. Possibly it's that despite being a scary looking supervillain, there's something about his tale that's just so essentially human. Bah, who are we kidding? The guy looks (and sounds!) BAD ASS! He has cyborg powers! And an awesome laser sword! And magic powers! It doesn't get any cooler than that.
Tags: Doctor Who, Metal Gear Solid, Robocop, Star Trek, Star Wars, X-Men
Quip for Every Occasion
On the 50th Anniversary of her Death By Emily Temple June 7, 2017
If you were a certain kind of teenager (bookish, mouthy), you may have memorized literary quotes—quips, perhaps; zingers even—as a kind of social armor-slash-weapons kit in your spare time. If you did, doubtless you taught yourself at least a few phrases once spoken by Dorothy Parker—acerbic critic, witty drinker, sharp-eyed essayist—who died fifty years ago today at the age of 73. Parker is probably best known for her caustic repartee and suggestive rhyming lines (some of the most famous of which are apocryphal, alas), which is fair enough—everyone loves a good one-liner—but she’s also a fine prose stylist, and I highly recommend at least a few hours spent with her Constant Reader column in The New Yorker, in which she reviewed books, more than often negatively, from 1927 to 1933. (Bring back the pan, I always say.) Parker’s columns are like candy: read one—even a review of a book you’ve never heard of, it doesn’t matter—and you’ll be compelled to read the next. Unlike candy, however, these are not bad for you. Neither is anything else she wrote. As for her martini-fueled insults, well, the jury’s out. Either way, on the fiftieth anniversary of Parker’s death, I am writing to encourage you to embrace your inner teen and memorize some of her excellent quippage to use at your earliest convenience.
Top 10 Dorothy Parker Quotes
Gracious Quotes π π½ π
https://youtu.be/rU26PqKCmog
Some suggestions below. For buying lottery tickets: “I hate almost all rich people, but I think I’d be darling at it.” (The Paris Review)
For Friday nights: “It’s not the tragedies that kill us, it’s the messes. I can’t stand messes.” (The Paris Review)
For standing in the corner at parties: “Their pooled emotions wouldn’t fill a teaspoon.” (quoted in Not Much Fun: The Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker)
For missing your deadline, answering emails, calling people back, etc.: “Too fucking busy and vice versa.” (quoted in The Unimportance of Being Oscar by Oscar Levant)
For being asked for writing advice: “If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second-greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first-greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.” (originally published in a review in Esquire, 1959)
For riding the subway in New York City: “Not just plain terrible. This was fancy terrible; this was terrible with raisins in it.” (quoted in Chimes of Change and Hours by Audrey Borenstein)
For chiding that one friend who makes too many dumb jokes: “There’s a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.” (The Paris Review)
For talking to people who owe you money: “To me, the most beautiful word in the English language is cellar-door. Isn’t it wonderful? The ones I like, though, are ‘cheque’ and ‘enclosed.'” (quoted in Not Much Fun: The Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker)
For turning down a proposal: “By the time you swear you’re his, Shivering and sighing. And he vows his passion is, Infinite, undying. Lady make note of this— One of you is lying.” (her poem “Unfortunate Coincidence”)
For overpriced restaurants and/or pretentious people: “[T]ripe is tripe, even though it be served with every recommended precision of elegance.” (from a review of Elegant Infidelities of Madame Li Pei Fou in The New Yorker)
For when you hate a book everyone else loves, and you know you’re right: “But on second thinking, I dare to differ more specifically from the booksie-wooksies. . . . For years, you see, I have been crouching in corners hissing small and ladylike anathema of [author’s name here—in this case, it’s Theodore Dreiser]. I dared not yip it out loud, much less offer it up in print. But now, what with a series of events that have made me callous to anything that may later occur, I have become locally known as the What-the-Hell Girl of 1931.” (from a review of Theodore Dreiser’s Dawn in The New Yorker)
For Monday mornings: “To my own admittedly slanted vision, industry ranks with such sour and spinster virtues as thrift, punctuality, level-headedness, and caution.” (from a review of Sinclair Lewis’s Dodsworth in The New Yorker)
For leaving the party early to get into the bath (also, truncated, for use as a solid insult): “It has lately been drawn to your correspondent’s attention that, at social gatherings, she is not the human magnet she would be. Indeed, it turns out that as a source of entertainment, conviviality, and good fun, she ranks somewhere between a sprig of parsley and a single ice-skate.” (from a review of Favorite Jokes of Famous People in The New Yorker)
For book events: “My life and my arms are now and hereafter consecrated to the services of the Society for the Abolition of Charm. . . . There is entirely too much charm around, and something must be done to stop it.” (from a review of Debonair by G.B. Stern in The New Yorker)
For not leaving New York: “London is satisfied, Paris is resigned, but New York is always hopeful. Always it believes that something good is about to come off, and it must hurry to meet it. There is excitement ever running its streets. Each day, as you go out, you feel the little nervous quiver that is yours when you sit in the theater just before the curtain rises. Other places may give you a sweet and soothing sense of level; but in New York there is always the feeling of “Something’s going to happen.” It isn’t peace. But, you know, you do get used to peace, and so quickly. And you never get used to New York.” (from “My Hometown,” originally published in McCall’s in 1928)
For reading the Hottest, Newest Young Novelists: “All writers are either 29 or Thomas Hardy.” (her response to a question about the age of Ernest Hemingway)
For weddings and funerals: “You can’t teach an old dogma new tricks.” (probably uttered by Dorothy Parker, if not invented by her)
For every single day, reading the news: “Civilization is coming to an end, you understand.” (The Paris Review)
Ditto: “What fresh hell can this be?” (everyone’s favorite Dorothy Parker quote, though often misquoted, here reported in You Might as Well Live: the Life and Times of Dorothy Parker, by John Keats)
Enjoy the sharp-tongued wit of Dorothy Parker. ListCaboodle presents a look at the best Dorothy Parker quotes and sayings from her lifetime. Dorothy Parker is best known for her witty takes and sometimes stinging critiques of 20th-century culture and society. Her legacy includes founding the Algonquin Round Table with a group of writers, actors, and humorists. Wth smart quips and observations, she laid bare the hypocrisies and inconsistencies of the socially and politically elite of her day. Here is a list of some of her best quotes and lines.
1.) “You can lead a horticulture, but you can’t make her think.” 2.) “If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.” 3.) “Their pooled emotions wouldn’t fill a teaspoon.” 4.) “I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.” 5.) “The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.” 6.) “Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses.” Parker moved to Hollywood to become a screenwriter in 1932. She earned two Acadamy Award nominations for her work, including a nomination for Best Writing–Screenplay for the 1937 film, A Star Is Born. 7.) “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.” 8.) “One more drink and I’ll be under the host.” 9.) “Brevity is the soul of lingerie.” 10.) “The best way to keep children at home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant, and let the air out of the tires.” 11.) “That would be a good thing for them to cut on my tombstone: Wherever she went, including here, it was against her better judgment.” 12.) “There’s a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.” 13.) “This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.” 14.) “I hate writing, I love having written.” In 1917, she married Wall Street stockbroker Edwin Pond Parker II. They divorced in 1928. She later remarried screenwriter and actor Alan Campbell but kept her last name from her first marriage. Dorothy Parker Quotes On Life 15.) “Money cannot buy health, but I’d settle for a diamond-studded wheelchair.” 16.) “She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B.” 17.) “Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye.” 18.) “I’ve never been a millionaire but I just know I’d be darling at it.” 19.) “I can’t write five words but that I change seven.” 20.) “The two most beautiful words in the English language are ‘cheque enclosed.'”
21.) “Women and elephants never forget.”
Dorothy Parker was born on August 22, 1893, in Long Branch, New Jersey.
Parker is known as a wisecracking satirist, critic, poet, and writer. Her writing style is best described as bittersweet and sardonic.Despite her enduring reputation for being sharp-tongued, she never liked being known as a ‘wisecracker’. Parker
is a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table, a group of New York
actors, writers, and critics that gathered regularly for lunch each day
at the Algonquin Hotel. Their satirizations and witticisms were
published in various newspaper columns across the country.
Parker’s
screenwriting came to a halt when she was placed on the Hollywood
blacklist for her Communist activities. The FBI put together a
1,000-page dossier that detailed her alleged involvement in Communism.
Some of her poems have been set to music, including Hate Songs by Marcus Paus. In
1914 Parker sold her first poem to Vanity Fair magazine. Later that
year, she became an editorial assistant for Vogue magazine. Two years
later she was hired at Vanity Fair as a staff writer. During
the 1920s, Parker published nearly 300 poems and free verses in
national publications, including Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Vogue,
Life, The New Republic, and McCall’s. GoodParker
used the pseudonym Constant Reader in her work for The New Yorker. Her
cutting book reviews for the newspaper were among her most widely-read
works. A compilation of the reviews was published under the name
Constant Reader in 1970.
Her first published book of poetry, Enough Rope(1926), became widely-acclaimed and sold 47,000 copies. She won the O. Henry Award for the best short story of 1929 for her best-known short story, Big Blonde.She
divorced Campbell in 1947 after their stormy relationship, fueled by
her drinking and his infidelity, broke apart. The couple could not stay
apart, remarrying in 1950 and leading to an inevitable separation again
in 1952.
In
the late 1950s, Parker moved back to New York and wrote book reviews
for Esquire magazine. With age and alcohol, her writing became
increasingly erratic. Sayings
By 1961, she was back in Hollywood and reconciled with Campbell. After his death in 1963, Parker returned to New York City. In
the late 1950s, Parker moved back to New York and wrote book reviews
for Esquire magazine. With age and alcohol, her writing became
increasingly erratic. Sayings
Died
at age 73 on June 7, 1967, in New York City. She willed her estate to
Martin Luther King Jr. (which eventually transferred to the NAACP after
his death). A commemorative plaque erected by the NAACP at her birthplace states: “Here lie the ashes of Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) humorist, writer, critic. Defender of human and civil rights. For her epitaph, she suggested, ‘Excuse my dust.’ This memorial garden is dedicated to her noble spirit, which celebrated the oneness of humankind and to the bonds of everlasting friendship between black and Jewish people. Dedicated by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. October 28, 1988.”
The Nation magazine once called Parker’s writing “caked with salty humor, rough with splinters of disillusion, and tarred with a bright black authenticity.”
Funny Dorothy Parker Quotes Here are some more of our favorite Dorothy Parker quotes. There’s a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words. Don’t look at me in that tone of voice. Take me or leave me; or, as is the usual order of things, both. Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt. Three be the things I shall never attain: Envy, content, and sufficient champagne. I’d like to have money. And I’d like to be a good writer. These two can come together, and I hope they will, but if that’s too adorable, I’d rather have the money.
Notable To me, the most beautiful word in the English language is cellar-door. Isn’t it wonderful? The ones I like, though, are ‘cheque’ and ‘enclosed.’ Of course, I talk to myself. I like a good speaker, and I appreciate an intelligent audience. If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now while they’re happy.
Claire Evans Claire writes about history, pop culture, and literature.
10 Witty Sayings From The Writer On Her 128th Birthday By Suman Varandani Suman Varandani
Writers Guild Awards: We Asked Celebs How The Current Political Climate Will Affect Their Work? Legendary author and poet Dorothy Parker would have turned 128 on Sunday if she was alive.
Parker, who was born Aug. 22, 1893, started her writing career as a teenager. She wrote for many publications such as Vogue, Vanity Fair and later the New Yorker, according to her biography on the Dorothy Parker Society Website.
She published nearly 300 poems and free verses in various publications, and in 1926, her first volume of poetry became a bestseller. In the 1930s, Parker became associated with the Communist Party and supported causes such as the fight for civil rights. Because of this, she was blacklisted from Hollywood. She died in 1967 and left her entire estate to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Foundation.
Here are some witty quotes from the legend, courtesy Good Reads and Bookriot:
1. "That would be a good thing for them to cut on my tombstone: Wherever she went, including here, it was against her better judgment." 2. "Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone." 3. "It's not the tragedies that kill us; it's the messes." 4. "To me, the most beautiful word in the English language is cellar-door. Isn't it wonderful? The ones I like, though, are 'cheque' and 'enclosed.'" 5. "The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue." Related Stories Best Writing Masterclass 2021: 10 Online Courses From Famous, Award-Winning Writers National Typewriter Day 2021: Ideas To Celebrate And Quote 6. "I'm not a writer with a drinking problem, I'm a drinker with a writing problem." 7. "And if my heart be scarred and burned, / The safer, I, for all I learned." 8. "Now I know the things I know, and I do the things I do; and if you do not like me so, to hell, my love, with you!" 9. "Don't look at me in that tone of voice." 10. "I hate writing, I love having written."
Bette Davis adds some feminist culture and class to 60's TV via this appearance, and ends up trading some banter with Vince Edwards, aka Ben Casey. But no, she can't get him to say "Dr. Kildare" or "Richard Chamberlain!"
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Aug
31, 2018 More rarities... preserving golden age TV.
Always the best
quality available. Some items may be on the Net somewhere in bad public
domain condition, with frayed edges and blur and a lot of boring
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This channel digitizes and edits for the best possible viewing experience.
The
most scathingly hilarious quip about a novel is credited to the famous
wit Dorothy Parker who reportedly included it in a book review: This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force. Unfortunately,
no one seems to know when this line was written or spoken. Also, I have
not been able to determine the name of the book that was being slammed.
Could you explore this?
Quote Investigator:
Multiple researchers have attempted to locate this joke in the writings of Dorothy Parker and have been unsuccessful.
QI
has not yet identified the creator of this comical barb, but QI
believes that the most likely target of the mockery was titled “To You I
Tell It” by Bill Miller who was a boxing publicist and newspaper
columnist. In 1929 Miller collected material from his columns and
published it in book form. His work was not universally panned; instead,
it initially received praise from colleagues. In November 1929 the
famous journalist and tale-spinner Damon Runyon complimented it by
saying, “There is plenty of bang in the little volume.” In December
1929 boxing columnist Marty J. Berg also published a positive remark,
“His book, a 250 page affair, is positively hilarious from cover to
cover.” Almost three decades later in 1958, Miller’s book was
mentioned by Sid Ziff who wrote “The Inside Track” column in the “Mirror
News” of Los Angeles, California. Ziff stated that the clever insult
under examination was aimed at the book by an unnamed reviewer. The
ellipsis appeared in Ziff’s text. Boldface added to excerpts by QI: Miller,
who contributes now and again to Inside Track, once wrote a book titled
“To You I Tell It.” It received mixed reviews. One critic said: “It is
not a book to be lightly thrown aside. It should be thrown with great
force . . .”
The joke was rephrased and reassigned to Dorothy
Parker in 1962 by publisher Bennett Cerf who enjoyed collecting and
popularizing quotations. Details are given further below.
Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Book
reviewers do use expressions such as “lightly tossed aside” and
“lightly thrown aside”. Here is an example in 1870 that was not intended
to be humorous: We have examined Mommsen’s History with the greatest
interest. It is not a book to be lightly read and lightly thrown aside,
like a novel, yet it is as entertaining as fiction. The quip under scrutiny exaggerates and modifies the phrase “lightly thrown aside” to generate humor.
In 1894 a joke was published that exploited the ambiguity of the phrase “laid it aside with great pleasure”: McScribber - How did you like my last book of poems? Miss Birdie McGinnis - I laid it aside with great pleasure. - Texas Siftings.
By 1905 a jest about throwing books was in circulation under the title “The Book Agent”. Apologies to friends of animals:
Agent - Here is a book you can’t afford to be without. Victim - I never read books. Agent - Buy it for your children. Victim - I have no family—only a cat. Agent - Well, don’t you need a good heavy book to throw at the cat, sometimes?
In
February 1922 the anecdote above was reformulated and presented as
non-fiction by a letter writer whose tale was printed in a newspaper in
Cincinnati, Ohio. This story concerned the great-grandfather of the
writer, and the potential target was a dog instead of a cat:
Far back in the fifties he was selling on one occasion “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” by Gibbon. “Here is a book you can’t afford to be without,” he said, calling on a man in Hyde Park. “I never read,” answered the victim. “Well buy it for your children,” urged my great-grandfather. “I’m single—I have no family. All I have is a dog.” “Well,” insisted my great-grandfather, “don’t you want a nice heavy book to throw at the dog now and then?”
In
June 1927 Dorothy Parker published a poem titled “To A Lady, Who Must
Write Verse” in The New Yorker magazine. The poem suggested that
dabblers in poetry should keep their works private. The phrase “thrown
aside” was used, but the poem did not include the joke under
investigation:[9]
Let your rhymes be tinsel treasures, Strung and seen and thrown aside.
In
October 1927 Parker printed a book review column in The New Yorker that
included a quip about throwing a set of books. This jest was distinct
from the one being explored in this article, but the conceptual
similarity may have caused some confusion:[10]
That gifted
entertainer, the Countess of Oxford and Asquith, author of “The
Autobiography of Margot Asquith” (four volumes, neatly boxed, suitable
for throwing purposes), reverts to tripe in a new book deftly entitled
“Lay Sermons.”
In April 1928 Parker once again depicted a book as
a projectile in her column in The New Yorker. She was so unhappy with
“Beauty and the Beast” by Kathleen Norris that she decided
defenestration was required:
I’m much better now, in fact, than I
was when we started. I wish you could have heard that pretty crash
“Beauty and the Beast” made when, with one sweeping, liquid gesture, I
tossed it out of my twelfth-story window.
In 1929 Bill Miller
published “To You I Tell It”, and some positive reactions appeared in
newspapers as noted previously in this article.
In 1958 columnist
Sid Ziff printed the first known instance of the barb. It was aimed at
Miller’s book, and the creator of the joke was unnamed:
Miller,
who contributes now and again to Inside Track, once wrote a book titled
“To You I Tell It.” It received mixed reviews. One critic said: “It is
not a book to be lightly thrown aside. It should be thrown with great
force . . .”
In February 1960 the joke was reprinted in the
mass-circulation periodical Reader’s Digest with credit directly to Sid
Ziff. The lambasted book was not identified, and the fact that Ziff had
specified an anonymous attribution for the quip was not relayed to the
readers:
From a book review: “It is not a book to be lightly thrown aside. It should be thrown with great force.” - Sid Ziff in Los Angeles Mirror-News
In
April 1960 a newspaper in Oakland, California reprinted the joke. The
Mirror-News was acknowledged, but Ziff’s name was omitted:
IN BRIEF From a book review: “It is not a book to be lightly thrown aside. It should be thrown with great force.” - Los Angeles Mirror-News.
In
1962 the publisher and quotation maven Bennett Cerf printed a version
in his widely-syndicated column containing the phrase “thrown aside
lightly” instead of “lightly thrown aside”. Cerf ascribed the words to
Dorothy Parker, but he did not provide a citation: FROM A BOOK REVIEW BY DOROTHY PARKER: “This is not a novel to be thrown aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.”
In
1967 the writer Larry Wolters included a version of the jest in his
“Gag Bag” newspaper column. This version used the word “tossed” instead
of “thrown” and was credited to Parker:[16]
From a review by Dorothy Parker: “This is not a novel to be lightly tossed aside. It should be thrown with great force.”
In
1968 the author Robert E. Drennan printed a version of the joke in his
book “The Algonquin Wits” which collected humorous remarks attributed to
members of the Algonquin Round Table. The statement appeared in the
chapter covering Dorothy Parker, and the phrasing using “tossed” given
by Drennan is common today:
Book review: “This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.”
In 1975 the columnist Earl Wilson connected the expression to famed comedian Groucho Marx:
Wish
I’d Said That: Groucho Marx mentioned a new novel at the Beverly Hills
Saloon. “It’s not a book to be tossed lightly aside — it should be
thrown with great force.”
In conclusion, based on current
evidence QI believes that Bill Miller’s book “To You I Tell It” was the
target of this gibe. The creator of the joke is unknown. Sid Ziff helped
to popularize it, but he disclaimed credit.
Dorothy Parker died
in 1967 so the joke was being disseminated while she was alive, and she
may have used it herself, but QI has located no substantive support that
she coined it.
Two other books have been mentioned as possible
targets of the barb. “The Cardinal’s Mistress” is the English title of a
book by Benito Mussolini which was reviewed by Parker in the New Yorker
in 1928. But the review did not contain the jest.[19] “Atlas Shrugged”
by Ayn Rand has also been named as the object of excoriation, but QI has
located no support for this claim.
(Special thanks to Sam
Clements and Bonnie Taylor-Blake who explored this saying and found the
important citation in the Oakland Tribune on April 4, 1960 along with
the citation to Cerf’s column. Thanks also to the participants in
discussions about this quotation at the Snopes website and the Straight
Dope website which took place in years past. Thanks to
writersalmanac.org which posted an article that included the Parker
quotation in the 1928 citation.)
Update History:
On
June 19, 2015 the 1928 citation was added. On June 25, 2021 three
citations were added with dates November 30, 1929; December 4, 1929; and
December 18, 1958. Also, the body of the article and the conclusion
were partially rewritten.
Music has a profound effect on everyone. From the soothing tones of classical music to the peppy beats of jazz, it has the ability to change our mood. But does music affect plants, too?
People have been experimenting with music and plants for almost three decades now. From school-level amateur projects to higher-level scientific experiments, the effect of music on plants has been a confusing and debatable topic. Many people claim to have observed the response of plants to music. Scientists, however, are of the opinion that plants are devoid of a nervous system, and thus are unable to understand music, or respond to it.
Obviously, plants are living objects that breathe and grow. But do they feel? There are contradicting opinions about the effect of music on plants, and whether they feel, or understand the meaning of music. But before getting into any conclusions, let us understand the meaning of music and plant growth.
What is Music?
To strip it down to the basics, music is sound, and sound is a wave. Sound waves are produced by generation of vibrations, which are disturbances in the atmosphere. Sound waves need a medium to travel. They are emitted by a source and their frequency, or volume in layman's language is determined by the frequency of the vibrating source. From the music of the radio to the guitar being played, all of these are mechanical pressure waves that are translated into sounds - and on a higher level music.
What is Plant Growth?
Growth is a process which results in the increase of the number and size of leaves and stems in a plant. It also results in strengthening of roots and production of blossom. Plant growth is a result of the cell division that takes place within the cell. The nucleus, chloroplast, vacuoles, and ribosomes play an important role in cell division. Genes, temperature, moisture, soil quality, mineral retention, water retention, atmospheric changes, etc., are various factors that influence plant growth.
Is Music a Factor for Plant Growth?
Why is music associated with plant growth? In humans, music has a strong effect on our health and mood, and over the years, people have claimed that the same effect of music has been observed on plants, too. Plants are sensitive by nature, and many people claim that they feel just like humans do. There are stories that narrate about plants shedding tears. Although scientists do not support these as facts, these myths have led them to take up various experiments on plants.
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Various Experiments
The Retallack Experiment - 1973
In her pathbreaking book, The Sound of Music and Plants, Dorothy Retallack penned down her research. For her laboratory experiment in her studies for the degree in music she chose to study the effects of music in plants. Through rigorous studies and lots of observation, she concluded that plants grew abundantly in classical music as compared to rock and roll. Strangely, when the genre of jazz was played, some plants leaned towards the speaker whereas some leaned away from it.
After further research, Retallack discerned that the genre of music did not have anything to do with the response; it was the kind of instruments used and their resonance that probably made the difference. Her book says that loud frequencies of music played havoc with the health of the plants, resulting in a very slow and stunted growth; even death in some cases.
Joel Sternheimer - 1991-92
Joel Sternheimer studied and investigated the vibrational frequencies of amino acids. Ribosomes plays an important role in the creation of proteins from a variety of twenty amino acids depending on the need of the cell and its organisms. While this process takes place within the ribosomes, the amino acids turn comparatively slow, making it possible for the researchers to measure their individual frequencies as a "note."
When the frequencies are recognized, each of these notes can then be recorded into a sequence, or melody. Sternheiner successfully replicated the recorded melodies for the selected proteins. When these melodies were played, he noticed that it increased the manifestation of the corresponding protein and accelerated the growth of the plant. Sternheiner affirms that tomatoes grew two and a half times larger when his melodies were played to them.
Mi-Jeong Jeong - 2007
A South Korean scientist Mi-Jeong Jeong would play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata to rice plants. He stated that it made the plants grow faster and taller, bringing in the blooms earlier. He claimed that he had identified plant genes that could "hear." The sounds produced between the frequencies of 125 hertz and 250 hertz made plants of the genes -- 'rbcS' and 'Ald' -- increasingly active. On the other hand, sound waves of 50 hertz reduced their activity.
These experiments were repeated again, albeit in the dark, in order to avoid the interference of light and its effect on their growth. Again, the same results were observed. Researchers concluded that due to exposure to music, the chemical changes that took place within the plant, could be studied and harnessed in order to throw better light and increase the blossoms of other crops, too.
The above-stated experiments prove that music does affect plants. But it is not the lyrics of the songs, or their meaning, it is the frequencies and the vibrations that they emit, which make the difference. The study by Dorothy Retallack goes to prove that loud music can ruin the mood and health of a plant. Soft music with lower frequencies is better for their growth and blossom. Although many claim that the experiments conducted by Retallack were unprofessional -- making the results unworthy -- these experiments have shed a lot of light on the way plants react to various frequencies.
Sonic Bloom
Various researches have proved that plants respond to acoustic energy in profound ways. It increases their rate of growth, their size, and influences their overall health. Dan Carlson, after a thorough research over a span of many years, had reached a conclusion that the medley of frequencies originating between 3,000 to 5,000 kHz helps the stomata of plants to open up quicker. This helps them absorb nutrients more efficiently.
It took Dan about fifteen years to develop a foliage spray designed such that it is used beneficially with the sound frequencies. This delay happened as the ability and desire of the plant to take up nutrition was altered due to its enhanced capability. Carlson calls this spray as the "Sonic Bloom". His findings have proved to be beneficial for countless farmers and have resulted in -- according to the Guinness Book -- the largest indoor plant on record.
The Purple Passion was treated with the sonic bloom process. It grew to be 1,300 feet tall and was alive even after 25 years. Its normal lifespan, however, is 18 months and it grows not more than 18-feet tall. The book, "Secrets of the Soil", writes about Sonic Bloom and its miraculous results. Sonic Bloom is also sold in the market by industry wholesalers.
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Project Idea!
Effect of music on plants can be used as a unique idea for school-level projects and science fairs. It makes for a fairly easy project with definite conclusions. Use the same species of plants for the project. Also, maintain equal interaction with all the plants.
Note: You will require seven to ten days for the completion of this experiment.
Requirements
• 4-5 potted plants
• Music CDs of different genres
• An observation chart
Procedure
Place the pots in different rooms of your house. Decide a genre for each plant and play that music to it every day for 2 hours at regular intervals. Make observations for each day. If you can, make them for a twelve-hour cycle. For example: One observation for 8 am, and another for 8 pm that day. At the end of the day compare your observations of each plant with each other and draw conclusions. You can make a comparative chart and display it for your project.
Word of Caution: Refrain from the use of heavy metal, or pop music around plants. Many previous experiments by laymen and scientists have recorded the death of plants due to exposure to them.
What is the Inference Drawn?
Plants are able to feel and respond to vibrations and frequencies. They grow at certain frequencies, whereas certain other frequencies can stunt their growth. The range of these differs for different species. Some scientists claim that the music actually makes gardeners take more care of these plants, resulting in their faster growth. But the experiment by Sternheimer claims otherwise. Also, the sonic bloom is a proof in its own right on the benefits of musical frequencies on plants.
The naysayers hold that there are no sensory devices in plants, like the ears, or the brain. Music is all about vibrations, but then, they may not be so powerful that they can initiate an improved growth in plants. As of now, studies are still continuing to dig deeper so as to gain ground into this matter.
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