[Ads-l] Request help verifying quotation of polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen

[Stephen Goranson]

Here's a slightly earlier version with "miraculous," in different sequence.  Durham Herald-Sun, [NC], Sunday, Nov. 28, 1943, 16/7,
[America's Historical N.] Out of My Mind, Katharine Brush, Non-Sequiturs

I've only lately learned (and I'm thrilled by) the motto of the Army Service Forces, i. e., "The impossible we do immediately--the miraculous takes a little longer."

Stephen G.
________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, January 3, 2024 12:46 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Request help verifying quotation of polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen

Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>  1948 George Bruce & Bertram Millhauser _Walk a Crooked Mile_ (film): The
> miraculous we do immediately. The impossible takes a few minutes longer."

Interesting variant. Thanks for sharing it. Inspired by your discovery
I found an instance with "miraculous" in 1943. This citation is now
included in the Quote Investigator article which begins with a 1794
citation. The update should be visible within 24 hours.

Quote Origin: The Difficult We Do Immediately. The Impossible Takes a
Little Longer
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/06/10/impossible-longer/__;!!OToaGQ!o8xVwarGsuSbIIOKi_CiCL7q_9WC_HwimRRGXEE0n1oz2QavcCNI3iJU6-L5llPZQ5xzdiLpnnahvZhWCy3MO5UZFg$

In 1943 "The Christian Science Monitor" published an article about the
successful large-scale production of aircraft engines at the Ranger
Engine Division of the Fairchild Airplane & Engine Corporation:

[ref] 1943 December 11, The Christian Science Monitor, Ranger Staffs
Do 'Impossible' For Air Force: Mass Output of Aircraft Engines by
Albert D. Hughes (Aviation Editor of The Christian Science Monitor),
Quote Page 7, Column 1, Boston, Massachusetts. (ProQuest) [/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
By this feat, Ranger also is considered to be carrying out an Air
Force maxim that spurs not only those in the service but also those
who are supplying it -- "The miraculous we do immediately. The
impossible takes only a little bit longer."
[End excerpt]

[Begin acknowledgement excerpt]
In addition, thanks to Jonathan Lighter who found the variant with the
word "miraculous" in the 1948 film "Walk a Crooked Mile".
[End acknowledgement except]

Garson

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