See how the Barmakid Blade of Indian steel has been struck

By the steel of the Hashimites!

The stars of generosity are out;

The hand of benevolence is closed.

The seas of bounty have ebbed away

Now that the Barmakids are gone.

Fate has betrayed the sons of Barmak,

Did Yahya not govern the whole earth?

Yet he woke to find himself beneath it.

Source: The Golden Road Book

Idi Amin, the Ugandan Dictator who had thrown thousands of his countrymen into prison, once told his foreign ministerthat Uganda should be named "Idi". "There is a problem", the sharp Ugandan foreign minister told his boss.

"The people of Cyprus are called Cypriots; the people of Idi will be called Idiots"

Idi dropped the idea.

Source: Economist

I am reminded of an old Oxford essay question: “Was Hegel a good philosopher? Be brief”. One smug student wrote, simply, “Yes”. When the paper came back, the examiner had given it a high mark but scribbled a comment in the margin: “This was a good, brief answer. But a better, briefer answer would have been No.”

Source: Anonymous

In ancient Greece, symposium was an occasion where intelligencia met to drink wine and have intellectual conversation. Master of ceremony was responsible for mixing appropriate amount of water in wine so that things don't go out of hand.

Source: La Cite Du Vin

In ancient Egypt, wine was used to treat liver disease as a part of standard medical practice.

Source: La Cite Du Vin

“That’s not writing, that’s typing”. But Randall Jarrell did just that, opining that a book by Oscar Williams “gave the impression of having been written on a typewriter by a typewriter”.

Source: Economist

At some point, you will find someone who is obsessed with you and wants all your time. That person is your manager at work.

Source: Internet

If a diplomat say "yes", he means "maybe"

If he says "maybe", he means "no"

If he says "no", he is no diplomat

If a Lady says "no", she means "maybe"

If she says "maybe", she means "yes"

If she says "yes", she is no lady"

Source: Warren Buffett

A perfect European should drive like a Frenchman, cook like the Dutch, be as organized as the Greeks, and as humorous as a German.

Source: Economist

"How dirty are electric vehicles?", you asked. I am reminded of the quote from Lee Iacocca when he was at Ford: "How much clean air do we need?"

Source: Economist

If innovation has an iconography, it involves a genius, a breakthrough and a dash of serendipity. For example,

Alexander Fleming notices mould growing on a plate of bacteria and discovers penicillin.

John Snow produces a map of the victims of a cholera outbreak in 19th-century London and traces the outbreak to a single water pump.

A German chemist called August Kekulé falls asleep, dreams about snakes eating their tails and realises upon waking that the benzene molecule has the shape of a ring.

Source: Economist

If one marries the right person, he is complete. If one marries the wrong person, he is finished.

Source: Self thought

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,

It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,

It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,

It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair

We had everything before us, we had nothing before us,

We were all going direct to Heaven, We were all going direct the other way

Source: A Tale of Two Cities

Richard Hamming, a mathematician, famously asked chemistry fellows at Bell Labs

what the most important problems in their field were,

then what they were working on at the time, and

then why they were working on things that were unimportant.

This may not have been the best technique for making friends, but asking what was the most important problem he could be working on is pretty much exactly what is needed.

Source: Economist

Richard Hamming, a mathematician, famously asked chemistry fellows at Bell Labs

what the most important problems in their field were,

then what they were working on at the time, and

then why they were working on things that were unimportant.

This may not have been the best technique for making friends, but asking what was the most important problem he could be working on is pretty much exactly what is needed.

Source: Economist

When literature was considered transfressive, moralist couldn't get people to stop buying and reading dangerous books. Now that books are considered virtuous and edifying, moralists can't persuade anyone to pick one up.

Source: The Atlantic

The gold coin of honesty and scrupulous respect for one's engagements is a currency valid everywhere, which will preserve its owner from dishonor even in the most turbulent circumstances. If you are faithful and true, people will love you; deceit will only make people shun and loathe you!

Source: Mirza Ata

Working takes up hours that might be spent in libraries, browsing online, learning new languages, and reading classical texts, all activities foundational to the acquisition of specialized knowledege.

Source: The Atlantic