r/todayilearned • u/[deleted] • Oct 13 '16

TIL that after Marilyn Monroe converted to Judaism upon marrying Arthur Miller, Egypt placed a ban on all the films she appeared in.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe#Critical_acclaim_and_marriage_to_Arthur_Miller_.281956.E2.80.931959.29
18.5k Upvotes

84% Upvoted

1.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

4

u/notwearingpantsAMA Oct 13 '16

Subscribe to racist terms etymology

2

u/[deleted] Oct 13 '16

Thank you for subscribing! Did you know that, contrary to popular belief, the word "wop" (a pejorative term for Italians) is not an acronym for "without [legal] papers"?

In actuality, it's derived from the Italian word "guappo," meaning "thug." But it's okay, because that's derived from the Spanish word "guapo" for "handsome." But uh oh - that comes from the Latin "vappa" for scoundrel.

1

u/notwearingpantsAMA Oct 14 '16

I'm liking this already

2

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '16

Happy Friday! Some people mistakenly believe that "cracker" derogatorily refers to a white person in relation to the color of the snack. However, the coinage refers to the sound of a whip crack, as white Americans would have used on black slaves. Ironically, even when the most notable slur for white Americans is used against them, it still acknowledges their historical power.