On Wed, Apr 23, 2014 at 1:16 PM, LizR <[email protected]> wrote: > Oh, and to really stick my neck out, I think the phrase "billions and > billions" became a cliché through Carl Sagan using it in the TV programme > "Cosmos" so I suspect (but have zero proof) that this quote is attributed > to Sam Clemens but is in fact either made up or misquoted. >
Good point! The "billions and billions" thing is interesting, because Sagan never actually used that precise idiom, although it became very popular. He discusses this in "The Demon-Hunted World". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan#Phrase_.27billions_and_billions.27 Another similar example is "Play it again, Sam!", which surprisingly is never said in that precise from in "Casablanca". I have a friend who researches the propagation of cultural fragments like this, and it's quite fascinating. > My theory is that someone either invented it or altered it from an > original quote which didn't include that phrase, and that they did so more > recently than the original broadcast of "Cosmos" which I think was in the > 1980s... > > :-) > > Just a hunch, my dear Watson. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Everything List" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
