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CLEAR Temp: 63 °F Wind: S at 4 mph Sunday, October 13, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 24, 2002 Since you asked Ah, sweet mystery of ‘who said?’ Please settle a bet. My husband says it was Mark Twain who said "Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." I say it was Winston Churchill. What do you say? — Martha M., Medford Winston Churchill? Are you putting us on? Mark Twain is certainly in the running for the guy-with-the-most-witty-things-attributed-to-him-whether-he-said-them-or-not title. But in fact, it was editor Charles Dudley who wrote those words in an editorial in the Hartford Courant in their first known use. Interestingly, Dudley’s brother-in-law was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Which raises the question, did he hear the quip from Twain and use it first, honoring the old writer’s dictum of always stealing from the best? Or did Twain hear it from Dudley and like it well enough to swipe it, maybe use it in the lectures he was always giving? Or neither of the above? Ah, mystery. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S