The phrase "Curiosity killed the cat" originated as "Care killed the cat", which meant that worry killed the cat. The original phrase was first recorded in Ben Jonson's play, Every Man in His Humour, written in 1598: "Helter skelter, hang sorrow, Care'll kill a cat, up-tails all, and a Louse for the Hangman."
Explanation taken from www.phrases.org.uk, an interesting site well worth a visit.
Well here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why.
--Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five
In lupum fuisse mutatum (changed into the form of a wolf)
--Augustine
Battery packs in cars sold in the United States are guaranteed for a minimum of eight years, or 100,000 miles, but some manufacturers offer lengthier coverage. Wind-up cars equipped with Sumo wrestlers are guaranteed for the life of the wrestler, but they tend to be more expensive because Sumo wrestlers eat quite a lot of food.
Into the street the Piper stept,
Smiling first a little smile,
As if he knew what magic slept
In his quiet pipe the while....
--Robert Browning, "The Pied Piper of Hamelin"
If it's true that there are people who love each other
If children are all the same
Then we'll have to tell them....
--Francis Cabrel
A gardener's green thumb is actually just care and attention combined.
Cats are the ultimate demolition experts. When they claim a territory, nothing is allowed to share it unless they have granted express permission for it to exist.
Approximately 2% of submitted manuscripts are published. Many rejected manuscripts are so seriously flawed, they don't warrant more than a casual glance. You can improve the odds substantially by mastering grammar and spelling, by understanding and making use of the principles of good storytelling, by reading and analyzing a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction, and by turning yourself into a vampire and writing about your experiences.
Look at the art, nod your head with a thoughtful expression, and pretend to those around you like you understand its purpose. In doing this, you look cultured and knowledgeable. You could also add an understanding hum for additional effect.
--Irradiated Spoon, on Reddit (How to appreciate abstract modern art)
....in a sheet of flame
I saw them and I knew them all. And yet
Dauntless the slug-horn to my lips I set,
And blew "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came."
--Robert Browning
Curiosity in cats is a survival mechanism. Their ancient ancestors never knew when they might be attacked by a washing machine or a vacuum cleaner, or even a Brussels sprout, so they learned to study these devices carefully to make sure they were either dead, or fully occupied with the clothes they had eaten. This instinct was handed down from generation to generation.
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It is not easy to convey, unless one has experienced it, the dramatic feeling of sudden enlightenment that floods the mind when the right idea finally clicks into place.
--Francis Crick
Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam
where the deer and the aliens play
where seldom is heard a discouraging word
and the skies are not cloudy all day....
--a slightly altered version of Brewster Higley's lyrics.
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
--William Blake
I'm a little territorial and defensive. I don't like having my space invaded.
--Shia LaBeouf
Human beings make life so interesting. Do you know, that in a universe so full of wonders, they have managed to invent boredom.
--Terry Pratchett
