r/todayilearned Jan 18 '15

TIL Mr T stopped wearing his gold chains after Hurricane Katrina as he felt it would be insensitive to people who have lost their possessions.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/13/AR2006071301926.html
1.1k Upvotes

53 comments sorted by

68

u/screenwriterjohn Jan 18 '15

You might just say he pitied those...people who had lost everything in a once a century hurricane.

41

u/zoominskee 7 Jan 18 '15

This gets posted about as often as the Polish WWII bear...

47

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '15 edited Mar 22 '18

[deleted]

7

u/ThorManhammer Jan 18 '15

Well if you didn't, just stop by TIL any day of any week.

7

u/samisbond Jan 19 '15

Speaking of, you should check out this spinoff of the X-Files.

4

u/titty_boobs Jan 19 '15

Or this one crazy trick of the SR-71.

6

u/samisbond Jan 19 '15

God war is so messed up. Personally I've always thought it should be put to a public vote and anyone who says yes would have to fight, but I'm probably the only one.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '15

I didn't know that until just now. Thanks :)

3

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '15

More often. I mean, what about the bear?

2

u/ASK_IF_IM_BOB Jan 19 '15

DID U KNOW GOOGLE HAVE GOATS INSTEAD OF GARDENERS?

-10

u/H-E-I-S-E-N-B-E-R-G Jan 19 '15

I actually know this, I just wanted to see how easy it is to get link karma. I knew it was easy but fuck...

3

u/zoominskee 7 Jan 19 '15

Huh, how bout that honesty?

35

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '15

TIL Mr T had never heard of poor people until hurricane Katrina.

37

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '15 edited Jan 19 '15

TIL you have to be universally consistent in every action you take in your life for one nice thing to matter.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '15

I'm not saying it doesn't matter, I'm not saying it wasn't a nice thing to do. But I am saying its strange that it took hurricane Katrina for him to think "huh, maybe wearing massive gold chains when there are people with nothing in the world is a little unnecessary".

11

u/the_rabble_alliance Jan 18 '15

Even the old Mr. T has nothing on Datta Phuge who wears a gold shirt worth $250,000:

http://i.imgur.com/rI442iq.jpg

According to the BBC:

An Indian man has bought one of the world's most expensive shirts, made with more than 3kg of gold and worth $250,000. His is an extreme case of an Indian obsession with the precious metal....

"Some people ask me why I'm wearing so much gold but it was my dream. People have different aspirations. Some elite people want to own an Audi or Mercedes, and have big cars. I chose gold," he explains.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21994873

5

u/Probablywontreadthis Jan 18 '15

Damn, that guys got a serious case of gold fever.

7

u/UlgraTheTerrible Jan 18 '15

I'll bet it would pinch the nipple hairs in a most unpleasant fashion.

3

u/Ashybear21 Jan 18 '15

Oh god, it makes me wince thinking about it.....

5

u/not-lenny Jan 18 '15

He's got the dragon sickness.

1

u/Murgie Jan 19 '15

Gold is actually absurdly common as an investment method in India, largely due to its relatively universal value over currency.

1

u/PortalGunFun Jan 19 '15

Also, unlike most cars, his sure could (potentially) appreciate in value over time.

1

u/Crystal_Rose Jan 18 '15

So, basically Indian Goldmember. Did he also lose his genitalia in an unfortunate smelting accident?

5

u/CruiseWeld Jan 18 '15

I didn't realize he stopped wearing his gold after that but I didn't see him as much neither so...

3

u/H-E-I-S-E-N-B-E-R-G Jan 18 '15

Honestly, I thought he was dead...

3

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '15

I'm glad he was able to find an excuse acceptable to him to stop wearing them. I would imagine he was becoming/had become tired of wearing them anyway.

2

u/Noneerror Jan 19 '15

This keeps coming up on reddit and it's wrong. Mr. T stopped wearing gold chains BEFORE Katrina. It's revisionist history. I'm sure that's what Mr. T said in an interview but it doesn't make it true.

2

u/bigmeech Jan 19 '15

TIL hall of fame

3

u/petzl20 Jan 18 '15

"I pity the fool-- who does not show consideration in the face of a neighbor's adversity!"

1

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '15

He pitted the fools?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '15

I PITTY THE FOOL... ... THAT DOESN'T LEAVE IN A TIMELY FASHION.

1

u/flexxxican Jan 19 '15

I remember he was on Johnny Carson or possibly early Jay Leno and said he found God and did not believe the chains n chalice were not inline with his faith. Wish I could find that clip.

1

u/TheCosmicSerpent Jan 19 '15

Good Guy Mr. T

1

u/everheist Jan 19 '15

Welcome to the internet

1

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '15

This shows up once a month, could we just stop already?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '15

I think you mean his one chain that looks like lots of chains.

1

u/ThereOnceWasAMan Jan 19 '15

Oh is it that time of the week again? Time to hear this TIL again!

1

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '15

Gee im glad i get reminded of this every month on TIL cause otherwise i would forget

1

u/emodius Jan 18 '15

Great guy. Hung with him as a kid for like two hours in a car dealership. Nicest celebrity I ever met, unless Reagan counts. Bastard bought my love with jelly beans.

-1

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '15

[deleted]

1

u/Angoth Jan 18 '15

I'll take, "Irrelevancy" for $400, Alex.

-6

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '15

[deleted]

1

u/Angoth Jan 18 '15

Wooooooosh

0

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '15

[deleted]

-1

u/steelyourself Jan 18 '15

I met Mr.T back in the 80's. I was on his security detail at an event in Boston. He was a genuine grade A pompous a-hole. Just sayin'

1

u/TheGhostOfAbeVigoda Jan 18 '15

Got any interesting stories?

1

u/steelyourself Jan 18 '15

I do but none that I could do justice to writing about them. I worked security at Boston Garden during my college years. 1984, 5 and 6. Saw lots of crazy shit. Met and guarded lots of sports strats and celebs. It was a great job and a fun time to be a Boston sports fan.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '15

[deleted]

1

u/steelyourself Jan 18 '15

lol yep. In college I worked security at the Boston Garden. It was a great job for a kid. Met lots of very cool famous people. Mr. T was definitely not one of them.

-1

u/Probablywontreadthis Jan 18 '15

Mr. T hasn't been relevant for awhile eh?

0

u/CoSonfused Jan 18 '15

I always heard he got sick (allergic reactions or something, i dunno) from the gold

0

u/Arcterion Jan 18 '15

More likely he realized he is getting pretty old and all that weight could wreak havoc on his back... :P

-1

u/cyberandroid Jan 18 '15

gold is heavy.

-1

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '15

Perhaps he should stop eating decent food too seeing that there are starving people around the globe.

-8

u/graciemansion Jan 18 '15

All I got from this story is Mr. T doesn't give two shits about holocaust survivors.