"May you live in interesting times"

You know the old Chinese curse. You may even know that it was used by Robert F. Kennedy in a 1966 speech in Cape Town, South Africa. But did you know it was originally authored by Eric Frank Russel in a story called "U-Turn" originally published in the April 1950 issue of Astounding Science Fiction?

For centuries the Chinese used an ancient curse: "May you live in interesting times!" It isn't a curse any more. It's a blessing. We're scientific and civilized. We've got so many rights and liberties and freedoms that one can yearn for chains for the sheer pleasure of busting them and shaking them off. Reckon life would be more livable if there were any chains left to bust.