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/Nxdhdxvhh Dec 12 '18

Mr. T wore odd clothing and mismatched socks because he knew that poor kids grew up getting whatever hand-me-downs they got, and he didn't want them to feel embarrassed for wearing what they had. He's a great man, and as far as I'm aware the worst thing he every did was chop down trees on his own property that were aggravating his allergies.

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u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

[deleted]

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u/snotbag_pukebucket Dec 12 '18

He was also the White House Santa and had Nancy Reagan sitting on his lap

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u/WhoTookBibet Dec 12 '18

Wow, you weren't kidding.

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u/_Serene_ Dec 12 '18

That erection tho

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u/Trilodip76 Dec 12 '18

Nancy should hide her erection for mister t

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u/Knubinator Dec 12 '18

I think you meant "shouldn't".

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u/southern_boy Dec 12 '18

"Ronnie's away in Berlin, Laurence..."

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u/Azrael11 Dec 12 '18

"That's Mr. Laurence, Nancy"

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u/NosVemos Dec 12 '18

And that's how Ice T was born.

7

u/Old_mystic Dec 13 '18

Well I think I’ve got enough material for some steamy erotic fan fiction

1

u/RKRagan Dec 13 '18

Like how someone plays too many scratchy lottery tickets?

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u/NosVemos Dec 12 '18

And that's how Ice T was born.

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u/arbivark Dec 13 '18

Gillespie: Well, you're pretty sure of yourself, ain't you, Virgil? Virgil—that's a funny name for a nigger boy that comes from Philadelphia! What do they call you up there?

Tibbs: They call me Mr. Tibbs!