# Famous First Words **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 1, 2000, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588 "2000-02-01T08:14:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/81 "2000-02-02T05:28:00Z")
“Who is John Galt?” – _Atlas Shrugged_ by Ayn Rand. (See, I can get the easy ones!) A couple more children’s classics. Looking at them they are easier than I thought but wotthehell: P12: “Once there was a tree … and she loved a little boy.” P13: (for the well, duh! category) “Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife.” Remember, _The Grapes of Wrath_ has already been used! ---
**Author:** ![dekayx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@dekayx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dekayx)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/82 "2000-02-02T05:33:00Z")
It was Wang Lung’s marriage day. ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/83 "2000-02-02T05:43:00Z")
One more, then I’m going to bed. (You notice I do a lot more asking than answering. That makes you feel smart and I don’t have to work hard. LOL!) This one is trivial to the afficianado, but possible for the casual reader. Anyone who’s noticed my various sig lines over the last few months will have a major clue: P15: “Marriages: Wimsey-Vane.” ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/84 "2000-02-02T05:44:00Z")
I guessed a few more that haven’t been found yet: **Da Ace** _DA2) “What’s it going to be, then, eh?”_ Anthony Burgess, A clockwork orange **pluto** _P10: “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”_ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone _P11: “Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tidewater dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego.”_ Jack London, The Call of the Wild _P13: (for the well, duh! category) “Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife.”_ well, duh! I’m stuck at work right now, watching over a database reload, so I’ll try to click my heels. “There’s no place like home… There’s no place like home…” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Raven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@The\_Raven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/85 "2000-02-02T05:47:00Z")
Yeah! Useless knowlege CAN be fun! “It was the Summer of the Late Rose.” This is from Redwall, By Brian Jaques I believe…read that one a while back… “It was Wang Lung’s marriage day.” I think this is The Good Earth. I had to read that for class. Most of the others I probably could figure out if I didn’t need to sleep… ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/86 "2000-02-02T05:50:00Z")
neuro, pluto, obviously, y’all are right. T4 is, indeed, the Time Machine. (The only book I’ve read in less than 24 hours in the last few years. ^\_\_^) * * * _Eschew Obfuscation_ ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/87 "2000-02-02T05:54:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by The Raven: > \*\*“It was the Summer of the Late Rose.” > This is from Redwall, By Brian Jaques I believe…read that one a while back… > \*\* Yay, Raven! Wonderful book, innit? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/88 "2000-02-02T06:51:00Z")
Oh, what the hell, I’ll add a few: J-1) In 1815, M. Charles François-Bienvenu Myriel was Bishop of D------. J-2) Mr. S[deleted] H[deleted], who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occassions he was up all night, was seated at the breakfast table. J-3) As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. (Easy one, eh?) Extra Bonus Point question: J-4) It was summer, I remember. I was ten or eleven. I was roller skating with Howie and Steve. * * * “I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.” ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/89 "2000-02-02T07:39:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Jophiel: > **Oh, what the hell, I’ll add a few: > J-3) As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. (Easy one, eh?)** Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka, correct? * * * _Eschew Obfuscation_ ---
**Author:** ![Sylence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b19c9b/32.png) [@Sylence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylence)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/90 "2000-02-02T07:51:00Z")
Correct, Tengu. J-2 is obviously by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but I’m not sure which book it is. _The Hound of the Baskervilles_, I think. – Sylence * * * If a bird doesn’t sing, I’ll wait until it sings. - Tokugawa Ieyasu ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/91 "2000-02-02T08:07:00Z")
**John Rush** I hope you’re listening, that’s one of my favorite books of all time…You wrote: > [@](#): > > Try this one: > > “I am too young to die. Just eighteen years old – and now I’m as good as dead. My grip is weakening, my fingers slipping, and the elevator shaft below me is a kilometer deep. I can’t hold on any longer. I’m going to fall…” I know it! It’s the beginning to _The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted_ by Harry Harrison. Man I looove that book. * * * _Fat Guy in a Little Coat, SDMB Self-Righteous Clique_ > [@](#): > > “And on the eighth day, God Created beer > to prevent the Irish from taking over > the Earth.” ---
**Author:** ![aseymayo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aseymayo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aseymayo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/92 "2000-02-02T08:17:00Z")
P15: “Marriages: Wimsey-Vane.” Busman’s Honeymoon? ---
**Author:** ![TaleraRis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@TaleraRis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaleraRis)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/93 "2000-02-02T08:18:00Z")
You know your Stevenson, TomH, Kidnapped is the exact book I love Treasure Island, but that’s always been the one I preferred. ---
**Author:** ![TaleraRis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@TaleraRis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaleraRis)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/94 "2000-02-02T08:41:00Z")
There should be a period after book there, too. 😃 And pluto, I’m not ashamed to say that I have every single one of the Harry Potter books on the bookshelf next to me. They’re great 🙂 You guys should know this one - you got all those obscure ones - but it’s always been a favorite "When shall we three meet again? In thunder lightning or in rain? ## When the hurly burly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won." When are you going to realize being normal isn’t necessarily a good thing? ---
**Author:** ![TomH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@TomH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomH)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/95 "2000-02-02T10:58:00Z")
TaleraRis, it’s _Macbeth_. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Thin\_Skin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@Mr\_Thin\_Skin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Thin_Skin)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/96 "2000-02-02T12:57:00Z")
MoosieGirl: MG3 - _A Farewell to Arms_, Ernest Hemingway. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Thin\_Skin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@Mr\_Thin\_Skin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Thin_Skin)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/97 "2000-02-02T13:34:00Z")
This may be easy for TomH as well: MTS-3: “This little book arose from a course of public lectures, delivered by a theoretical physicist to an audience of about four hundred which did not substantially dwindle, though warned at the outset that the subject-matter was a difficult one and that the lectures could not be termed popular, even though the physicist’s most dread weapon, mathematical deduction, would hardly be utilized.” ---
**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/98 "2000-02-02T13:36:00Z")
pluto: > [@](#): > > P12: “Once there was a tree … and she loved a little boy.” ## That’s _The Giving Tree_ by Shel Silverstein …but when you get blue, and you’ve lost all your dreams, there’s nothing like a campfire and a can of beans! ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Thin\_Skin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@Mr\_Thin\_Skin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Thin_Skin)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/99 "2000-02-02T13:49:00Z")
This is from one of my favorite books. MTS-4: “Everyone now knows how to find the meaning of life within himself. But mankind wasn’t always so lucky.” ---
**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2000, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588/100 "2000-02-02T13:53:00Z")
A few more from the world of Science Fiction (that’s what we like to call a hint): DA6) to wound the autumnal city DA7) In the nighttime heart of Beirut, in one of a row of general-address transfer booths, Louis Wu flicked into reality. DA8) You see, I had this space suit. DA9) His followers called him Mahasamatman and said that he was a god. DA10) He doesn’t know which one of us I am these days, but they know one truth. (This is actually a short story.) * * * …but when you get blue, and you’ve lost all your dreams, there’s nothing like a campfire and a can of beans! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-first-words/13588.md?page=6)