You've probably seen the signs everywhere. At HomeGoods. In the doctor's office waiting room. In the housewares aisle at Target. The messages are all the same: Live, Laugh, Love. Sometimes, it's written on an actual sign. Other times, on a mug. But no matter what, the message has become inescapable.

It's even surpassed the popularity of that other trendy phrase, "Keep Calm and Carry On." While the origins of that saying is clear — it was a slogan from WWII-era Britain — "Live, Laugh, Love" has a slightly murkier history. That's because it's a condensed version of a much longer work that has been falsely attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, thanks to a 1990 "Dear Abby" column.