Henry Fairfield Osborn, President of the American Museum of Natural History: "In a lecture at Columbia University I said: 'Drinking is deadly. Every drinking man I knew in 1876 and every drinking student of mine up to the year 1890 has paid the death penalty. I have every reason to believe that the Cro-Magnon cave man of between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago could enter any branch of the intellectual life of this university on equal, if not superior terms with any of the 30,000 students here.'"

George Nathaniel Curzon, onetime Foreign Minister of England: "My son-in-law, Oswald Mosley, wrote a letter to Prime Minister MacDonald stating that he intends joining the Independent Labor Party. This young man is the one who, a year ago, described a note written by me to Premier Poincare as 'pompous', adding: 'All the ministers went to bed for a month, so arduous was the exertion of maintaining their dignity.'

Eric von Stroheim, famed cinema director: "While testifying in an effort to obtain a reduction in alimony payments to May von Stroheim (once my wife), I was interrupted by counsel. Said I: I'll smash your face.' Said his honor: 'That statement takes a $50 fine.'"

Heywood Broun, famed theatre critic: "In a play criticism I concocted a mixed metaphor: 'It is not unreasonable that it [the Provincetown Playhouse] should occasionally bring forth base metal.'"