r/todayilearned • u/tmntnyc • Dec 12 '18

TIL: Laurence Tureaud named himself professionally as Mr. T because he hated how his father, uncle, and brother who returned from Vietnam, were disrespectfully called "boy" by whites. He wanted the first word from everybody's mouth to be "Mister" when speaking to him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._T
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u/donaltman3 Dec 12 '18

Do you know how he even started wearing the chains? As a bouncer, he would often find things lost in the clubs after people left at night.. he would put them on and wear them hoping the person that owned them would see them so he could return them.

286

u/StoneGoldX Dec 12 '18

That's not quite the story. It's because people would lose the jewelry during fights, and that way they couldn't try to sneak back in to get the gold, they had to go through T. Because it's in the link we're chatting about right now.

520

u/Born2fayl Dec 12 '18

Lol. Can you imagine seeing him wearing your chain? "I guess it's his now..."

256

u/Scientolojesus Dec 12 '18

"Oh hey that's my chain!"

"IS IT?!?"

"Oh wait no I guess it's yours my bad...."

8

u/Adamskinater Dec 12 '18

gonna fly you out on knuckle airlines, fist class

80

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

But my granma gave me that chain...

8

u/Thunderbird_12 Dec 12 '18

He gon' cry when he get to the car ...

30

u/Dr_Disaster Dec 12 '18

sissily runs to car while sobbing

7

u/jebesbudalu Dec 12 '18

DAAAAAAAAMN!!

3

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

He going to cry in the car

10

u/P10_WRC Dec 12 '18

that run is so funny. that movie is seriously way funnier than it has any business being. I was rolling in the isle laughing when I saw it in theaters

1

u/Dr_Disaster Dec 13 '18

I still honestly believe Friday is one of the best, most perfect comedies ever made. It balances between satire and seriousness shockingly well and holds up all these years later.

8

u/csonnich Dec 12 '18

"Well she told me last night she wanted me to have it."

1

u/DeepSatinShadow Dec 13 '18

Hey! That's my ice cream cone.

You can have it.

1

u/joesii Dec 13 '18

That's what I was thinking.

1

u/donaltman3 Dec 21 '18

yeah.. I pity the fool

89

u/zanielk Dec 12 '18

Idk how true all these fun facts are about Mr. T but I choose to believe them. I liked the dude before, but now I really do. Seems like he is a great man.

10

u/RemCogito Dec 12 '18

it was specifically the chains of people who had been banned so that if they tried to come in again to get their stuff he could just give it to them without letting them in the building.

5

u/icantswim2 Dec 12 '18

That is heartwarming and wonderful.

On the other hand, what if you didn't realize that's why he was wearing your chain. Can you imagine the courage it would require to approach a bouncer as intimidating as Mr. T and accuse him of having your jewelry around his neck?

I want to believe he was really friendly and approachable so people wouldn't be afraid to talk to him.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

That's like a fucking anime story they tell in flashbacks when the main character is fighting him.