[Ads-l] Quote Origin: Everybody Talks; Nobody Listens. Good Listeners Are as Rare as White Crows

ADSGarson O'Toole 00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Wed Oct 21 18:25:07 UTC 2026


With Jesse's help the 1935 citation was verified, and I posted an
article about the Helen Keller quotation in the subject line. I
included a 1702 citation showing that the distinctive phrase "rare as
white crows" was circulating at that time.

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/10/21/white-crow/

[Begin acknowledgement]
Great thanks to Authentic Courtney and Luther Mckinnon whose
discussion thread led QI to formulate this question and perform this
exploration. Authentic Courtney found an online reprint of the May
1935 article by Helen Keller in “The Home Magazine”. Also, special
thanks to Jesse Sheidlower who verified the citation in “The Home
Magazine” with scans from The Interwar Culture: 1930-1939 database by
Adam Matthew Digital.
[End acknowledgement]

Here are links to the previous two QI articles I have not posted about.

Quote Origin: False Notion -- My Ignorance Is Just as Good as Your Knowledge
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/10/20/false-notion/

Quote Origin: It Is the Supreme Art of the Teacher to Awaken Joy in
Creative Expression and Knowledge
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/10/17/teacher-awaken/

Garson

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org


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