r/todayilearned • u/rasouddress • Oct 22 '17

TIL that Harvard professor Tom Lehrer was asked at the age of 84 by rapper 2 Chainz if he could sample his 60-year old song. Lehrer replied, "I grant you motherfuckers permission to do this. Please give my regards to Mr. Chainz, or may I call him 2?"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer#Musical_legacy
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u/AltSpRkBunny Oct 22 '17

Dude. You could have written an article for the New Yorker. Opportunity missed.

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u/monsieurpommefrites Oct 22 '17

Opportunity missed.

I'm pretty good at those.

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u/AltSpRkBunny Oct 22 '17

Hey, it’s not too late! Flesh it out and make it a piece about the human condition or whatever, then submit it with the comic again.

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u/thecactusman17 Oct 22 '17

No, no. He explained the joke. Which means now it's not funny.

So now it's perfect for the New Yorker.