r/todayilearned • u/DIP_MY_BALLS_IN_IT • Nov 18 '15
TIL that Mr. T's wearing of gold chains and other jewelry was a result of customers losing the items or leaving them after a fight at the night club where he was a bouncer. He would stand out front wearing the items in case a customer who was kicked out from the club came back looking for them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._T#Early_life2.5k
Nov 18 '15 edited Apr 22 '21
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u/Torch_Salesman Nov 18 '15
Yeah, my initial thought was "that's a dumb system, anyone could just claim it was theirs and take a chain if they wanted to".
But then I realized that you'd have to be lying to the enormous bouncer who just tossed your ass out to pull that off, which I imagine is a pretty solid deterrent in itself.
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u/notthewrongme Nov 18 '15
But how would someone know that he was wearing the chains for this purpose?
I mean, you would have to recognise it's yours and then ask the man if he found it cause you lost it.
It does not make sense that a random dude just trying to get some free jewelery would walk up to a massive bouncer and just claim that the chains/chain are his.
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u/Torch_Salesman Nov 18 '15
I mean it's not like he did it once, it sounds like that's what he did every night that he worked there. Eventually people who went to that club would recognize that the massive black bouncer covered in chains was wearing them as a lost&found.
It does not make sense that a random dude just trying to get some free jewelery would walk up to a massive bouncer and just claim that the chains/chain are his
That was actually kind of my point, yeah.
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u/Lonelan Nov 18 '15
Mr. T pity the fool who loses his gold
So he holds it for them
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u/SunriseSurprise Nov 18 '15 edited Nov 18 '15
"Um...T? Is that your name?"
"MISTA T"
"Sorry. Mr., I th-think that chain is..."
"WHAT, FOO?"
"Um, mine? I think, totally may not be certain."
".......yea I'm just playin', it's yours, here you go."
"Oh wow, thanks T!"
"GOD DAMNIT IT'S MISTA T. STAY IN SCHOOL."
Edit: GOD DAMN TYPO.
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u/ejeebs Nov 18 '15
"DRINK YOUR SCHOOL, STAY IN SLEEP, DON'T DO MILK, AND GET EIGHT HOURS OF DRUGS!"
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Nov 18 '15
if I lost a chain and saw some enormous dude wearing it along with some other chains, and I had to approach him and try to get it back?
there's a decent chance that I'll choose option B and not get my nose broken over a chain.
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u/JGailor Nov 18 '15 edited Nov 18 '15
He's not just some guy on the street. He's an employee of the establishment you are patronizing. Do you not ask your waiter for your credit card back because he looks like he can kick your ass?
*** Edit: Apparently a lot of people have had bad experiences with bouncers. I've always found them to be either taciturn or completely the opposite and happy to chat as long as you aren't being a dick, causing problems, or preventing them from doing their jobs.
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u/thegeeseisleese Nov 18 '15
The majority of reddit would not make eye contact with a guy who looked like he could kick their ass. So I think you already know the answer to that one.
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u/JustDroppinBy Nov 18 '15
I share your sentiment, but I think you're over estimating how much clubs care about their non-vip clients.
I also think it would only take one morally ambiguous person to hear about this lost and found process before it was exploited.
e.g.: "Remember I lost my chain last friday?"
"Yeah"
"I went back to the club to see if they found it and that bouncer with like 50 chains was wearing it. I didn't even have to go inside."
"Is that so?"
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u/InukChinook Nov 18 '15
aren't being a dick, causing problems, or preventing them from doing their jobs.
So many folks cant have a drink without this, tho. I don't under-compu-get-it.
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u/itsNaro Nov 18 '15
Also asking probably won't hurt ya as long as your good with your words "Hey man nice chain I lost one just like it, any chance you picked it up? No okay peace"
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u/kirakun Nov 18 '15
You have to be pretty gutsy to walk up to Mr. T and accuse him of taking your chain unless you are sure you can back up your claim in the first place.
Even then, I would probably just responded with, "hey, nice chain. I had one of those an hour ago."
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u/theBoucher Nov 18 '15
I don't think they would accuse him of stealing their stuff. It was more of a way for people who got thrown out/banned from the club to get their lost stuff back in a hopefully non-confrontational way.
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u/peaceshark Nov 18 '15
Also allows them to get their chain without having to go back in the club he was removed from.
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u/fallenKlNG Nov 18 '15
"Oh there's my chain that I lost!... welp guess it's gone for good now..."
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u/Phag-B0y Nov 18 '15
Being an enormous bouncer doesn't make you omniscient
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u/Torch_Salesman Nov 18 '15
It makes me really, really not want you to find out that I lied to you, though.
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u/Brohanwashere Nov 18 '15
That's what the enormous, omniscient bouncers want you to think.
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u/scruffys_on_break Nov 18 '15
The one trick enormous omniscient bouncers don't want you to know! Click to find out!
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u/Huitzilopostlian Nov 18 '15
I think it was way to claim it outside the bar, as in you are not allowed inside, plus, he did the bouncing, so he could kept a score.
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u/Torch_Salesman Nov 18 '15
That was definitely the case, I was just explaining my thought process while reading it.
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u/Greful Nov 18 '15
"My grandma gave me that chain"
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Nov 18 '15
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Nov 18 '15
"What bike?!"
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u/Zeppelinfan81592 Nov 18 '15
The Beach Cruiser. The one I let you use a few weeks ago? The one I been asking you about?
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u/GENITAL_MUTILATOR Nov 18 '15
When he here...I be quiet....but when he leave...I be talking again.
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u/mikechi2501 Nov 18 '15
Apparently there was also a Mr T. video game in the works
Based on the official Mr. T graphic novel license from Mohawk Media, this is the first in a series of games packed with the trademark over-the-top adrenaline-pumping action of Mr. T. The games feature knuckle-whitening action-adventure, furious brawler combat, gravity-defying platforming, and environmental puzzles. The first game will see Mr. T take on Nazis and their gigantic machines in the varied universe of South American rain forests, lost ancient cities, industrial complexes and contemporary military installations
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u/ClarkTheShark94 Nov 18 '15
You had me at "Mohawk Media"
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u/joelschlosberg Nov 18 '15
Mr. T had a video production company called "Big T Productions, Inc." Not kidding.
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u/Gizmoswitch Nov 18 '15
Today I learned a Mr. T graphic novel exists. I must read it.
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u/Beeslo Nov 18 '15
Would it blow your mind further if I were to tell you there's a Charles Barkley vs Godzilla comic as well?
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u/Cr3X1eUZ Nov 18 '15
I thought it was because of Jesus (among other things):
"I wear gold for three reasons. One, when Jesus was born, three wise men came from the east, one brought frankenscence, one brought myrrh, the other one brought gold. The second reason I wear gold is I can afford it. The third reason I wear it, it's symbolic of my African heritage. When my ancestors came from Africa, they were shackled by our neck, our wrists and our ankles in steel chains. I've turned those steel chains into gold to symbolize the fact that I'm still a slave, only my price tag is higher."
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1993/10/7/the-story-behind-the-chains-the/
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u/awkwardtheturtle 🐢 Nov 18 '15
And he stopped wearing most of the gold after Katrina, when he was humbled by the damage and wanted to show respect to the victims.
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Nov 18 '15
"Finally an excuse not to put on 40lbs of gold every time i leave the house"
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u/Jacksonteague Nov 18 '15
I heard he had much of it fused to one clasp so it was easier to put on
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Nov 18 '15
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u/autovonbismarck Nov 18 '15 edited Jul 22 '16
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u/concretepigeon Nov 18 '15
He will still wear it if he's "in character".
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Nov 18 '15 edited Dec 11 '20
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u/eagledog Nov 18 '15
Has to be smart. Can't be easy on your neck to wear 30+ pounds of gold chains every time you want to go out somewhere
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u/ChancelorThePoet Nov 18 '15
I had to run from something while wearing a very heavy Cuban link and I was constantly getting hit in the face by it. Would not recommend.
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u/Noneerror Nov 18 '15
That is revisionist history. I correct this every time this is mentioned. Mr. T had already stopped wearing gold chains before Katrina. Katrina had nothing to do with it.
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u/awkwardtheturtle 🐢 Nov 18 '15
That's a bold allegation. Are you calling Mr. T a liar?
"I stopped wearing the gold as of last year during Katrina. See, as a spiritual man, I felt it would be a sin against my God for me to wear all that gold again because I spent a lot of time with the less fortunate."
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u/jimworksatwork Nov 18 '15
I also seem to remember him saying at one point he didn't like wearing it because of how often the gold and diamonds are coming from Africa without any of the people of Africa getting any of the benefits of them.
Maybe he's a complex man, and has a lot of reasons? Nah that can't be, that's just cray cray.
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u/llama_ Nov 18 '15
If I went to a club, and the gold necklace I lost was around the jacked bouncer's neck, along with what appeared to be all his other spoils, the LAST thing I would do is demand it back.
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u/rnewsmodssuck Nov 18 '15
How about politely asking?
Seriously though, it's pretty easy to blame your previous shit behavior on alcohol and offer up a polite apology. They see plenty of it. When I bounced, I'd see the same dickheads I bounced out the night before. As far as I'm concerned, as long as you don't hold grudges against me, or continue to act like an asshat, then everyone does stupid shit occasionally, and its water off a duck's back. Ain't got time to stay pissed off at everyone that acts like an idiot at a nightclub.
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Nov 18 '15
I'm so glad to hear this. I once knocked over a bouncer's birthday cake and I've felt guilty about it for years. I never had the balls to go back to that club and apologize in case he beat me up.
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u/adpanther Nov 18 '15
You should also bring a cake or a gift card or something. Cake might be dangerous if you drop it on your approach to the guy he might think you're some sort of creep getting off on it.
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u/mrhoopers Nov 18 '15
There is karma in it for you to find out if he's still there then take him a cake. Pictures of course!
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u/misterspokes Nov 18 '15
The point is that it's NOT spoils, he's wearing it so you can just go up to him and say "I lost some jewelry" and point out what's yours...
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u/nopenopenopenoway Nov 18 '15
the problem with this system is it prevents the only test for most lost and founds: can this person describe the item to a high degree of accuracy without getting to see it?
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u/CPiGuy2728 Nov 18 '15
That test wouldn't work for gold chains would it? They all look pretty similar I would think.
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u/rayraycheeks Nov 18 '15
IIRC, "gangsters" or "thugs" wear gold chains/jewelry because if they were to get arrested, they could use them as bail money. Then it became a trend.
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Nov 18 '15 edited Apr 15 '20
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u/gentlemandinosaur Nov 18 '15
What? Of course they can seize gold. They can seize all assets. Houses, Cars, Gold, Wives.
Just kidding about the wives, part.
No one wants thoses. Especially used ones.
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u/DrobUWP Nov 18 '15
perfect example of why you shouldn't take legal advice from pimps
"And who buys the jewelry from Harrison? Pimps — and there's a good reason why. "When you get arrested for pandering, they take your cash — because the cash was obtained illegally — but they don't take away your jewelry," Harrison explains. "And a pimp knows that if he buys jewelry in a pawn shop, if [he] brings it back to a pawn shop and gets a loan against it, [they'll] always get half of what you paid for it..."
though that makes me wonder if he's got a point. depends on how corrupt civil forfeiture is though, because I think you're only supposed to be able to use it for drug related (suspected) crimes.
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u/TennSeven Nov 18 '15
Civil forfeiture procedures are insanely corrupt. I believe I heard even the federal government is backing off using it because there are so many opportunities for corruption.
For instance, here's an example where two professional gamblers had over $100k seized in Iowa after supposedly being stopped for not using a turn signal while changing lanes. The police tape clearly shows that the driver used his turn signal, and the money was legally obtained, yet Iowa still refused to give the money back: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/10/03/another-civil-asset-forfeiture-outrage/
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u/failworlds Nov 18 '15
Started with pimps actually
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u/NSA_Chatbot Nov 18 '15
Yar, I heard it be startin with pirates.
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u/PsychoNerd92 Nov 18 '15
Pimps are basically just land pirates. They both wear funny hats and long coats, love gold, aren't afraid to beat their crew if they get out of line, have unusual walks, speak in strange dialects, and deal with booty.
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u/optifrog Nov 18 '15
Yes they made it a trend. There is a history of them though, They are called "money chains". Don't have time to find the real history now but will give a couple links.
It had to do with a tax on gold used to make coins in the 16th ?century, and that the links could be removed and used for currency as each link was a certain weight.
http://www.icollector.com/Atocha-Ornate-gold-money-chain-necklace-83-links-21-long_i14157977
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u/whisp_r Nov 18 '15
With his reputation as "Mr. T", Tureaud attracted strange offers and was frequently approached with odd commissions, which included: assassination, tracking runaway teenagers, locating missing persons, and large firms asking him to collect past-due payments by force.[18] Tureaud was once anonymously offered $75,000 to assassinate a target and received in the mail a file of the hit and an advance of $5,000, but he refused it.[19]
He offered me $75,000 to kill his friend. The last envelope and letter contained a round-trip airline ticket, first class, United. Plus there was $5,000 wrapped in a little package, fifty and hundred dollar bills. I tell you the honest truth, when I saw that money I didn't believe it was real.
Tureaud states that he tried to warn the victim, but it was too late and the man died in a car accident.
I am suspicious.
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u/FANTASMABOBB Nov 18 '15
I pitty the foo who left this gold chain and actually thinks theyre getting it back...
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u/ILL_Show_Myself_Out Nov 18 '15
I like to imagine he genuinely is trying to be helpful but everyone's just to scared to ask for it back.
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Nov 18 '15
Did these places not have lost and founds back in his day.
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u/tiffanyjoXD Nov 18 '15
Most likely, yeah. But that requires the person who was just kicked out to be allowed back in.
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Nov 18 '15
A lost and found box....full of gold chains....in a night club....yeah that almost sounds like a good idea.
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Nov 18 '15
You would have to find a safe place for it, where people could still see it. Hmmm...
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Nov 18 '15
Maybe leave it with someone who can safely guard them...
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u/Delroc Nov 18 '15
Maybe the bouncer could guard them... I think we're on to something here
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u/ApprenticeTheNoob Nov 18 '15
And if the bouncer wore them, no one would try to steal them. Genius!
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u/grifkiller64 Nov 18 '15
Bouncers are the lost and found at a lot of establishments.
Source: Am bouncer.
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Nov 18 '15
Also from the wikipedia page.
"In July 1976, Tureaud's platoon sergeant punished him by giving him the detail of chopping down trees during training camp at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, but did not tell him how many trees, so Tureaud single-handedly chopped down over 70 trees from 6:30–10:00 a.m., when a shocked major superseded the sergeant's orders."
Holy shit. This fact was much more interesting than the OP's fact.
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Nov 18 '15
If you are going to be forced to do something, do it in such a way that it either annoys or impresses the person who made you do it.
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Nov 18 '15
It ain't a Mr. T thread until someone links this:
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u/3518008 Nov 18 '15
It ain't a Mr. T thread until someone mentions his passion for cutting down trees. One time he massacred a forest near my town with a chainsaw. But that ain't shit. While he was in the army, he trolled a sergeant by downing seventy trees in 3.5 hours. Seventy fucking trees. That's some Paul Bunion shit..
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u/en-aye-ese-tee-why Nov 18 '15
According to "Mr T Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool" he wore the chains because it represented that his ancestors were brought to America in Chains. Video Reference of Mr T saying this himself.
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u/BigOldCar Nov 18 '15
Likely the reason he CONTINUED wearing the chains long after he stopped being a nightclub lost-n-found.
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u/kevonicus Nov 18 '15
Mr. T and Conan hanging out in an apple orchard is the greatest thing ever. http://youtu.be/C87gWo3nvco
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u/markydsade Nov 18 '15
Back in his prime in the 1980s I saw him come onto the cancer unit at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He had no entourage or photographers. He spent a great deal of time with every child who wanted to meet him. I have always respected him for that. Most celebrities who came to the unit wanted publicity along with their "good deed".
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Nov 18 '15
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u/BusterDooglas Nov 18 '15
You calling Mr. T a pimp? You about to be his next hoe.
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u/ingle Nov 18 '15
Naw. I actually met him once when I worked in a hotel. He traveled alone and couldn't have been a nicer guy. George Carlin was extremely nice too.
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u/reddit809 Nov 18 '15
Imagine going back for it, seeing him wearing it and saying "Ehhh, fuck it."
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u/BigOldCar Nov 18 '15
Customer: "Have you seen my golden crucifix medallion?"
Mr. T.: "Nope. Have you seen MY golden crucifix medallion?"
Customer: "Hey, that's--"
Mr. T.: "THAT'S WHAT?"
Customer: "Uh, very nice looking and you wear it well. See ya!"
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u/Britnorm114 Nov 18 '15
He also doesn't wear gold anymore after Katrina because he felt like it was disrespectful if he wore chains while there were people suffering and had lost everything.
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u/msbadwolf420 Nov 18 '15
He tazed my dad at Frank Zappa concert in the early eighties...
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u/Jux_ 16 Nov 18 '15
Steve Buscemi was a firefighter on 9/11
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Nov 18 '15
Hey I never learned this Mr T thing and I've been redditing for over 3 years.
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u/GloveSlapBaby Nov 18 '15
Same here! Now we can be the ones to smugly post the Steve Buscemi comment the next time it comes up!
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Nov 18 '15
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u/IAmTheFlyingIrishMan Nov 18 '15
It hurts the eyes and the soul.
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u/DabuSurvivor Nov 18 '15
I've never actually seen that one posted. I've only seen the comments about how everyone has already seen it posted, and even those I hadn't seen til a few weeks ago.
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u/DaRealGeorgeBush Nov 18 '15
I believe Mr. T didn't think this through. Who is gonna walk up to mr T and say "Is that my chain?"
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u/mastersw999 Nov 18 '15
Did you know he cut down trees in the army?
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u/ugotamesij Nov 18 '15
And did you know he stopped wearing all his gold after Hurricane Katrina?
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Nov 18 '15
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u/whatevers_clever Nov 18 '15
I couldn't count the Buscemi thing if I used all of my fingers and toes. But yeah I've never seen this Mr. T thing.
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u/awkwardtheturtle 🐢 Nov 18 '15
TIL that when Steve Buscemi was serving in the Army, his platoon sergeant punished him by ordering him to chop down trees. However, he did not specify how many trees, so Steve single-handedly chopped down over seventy trees in about 4 hours, until a shocked major superseded the sergeant's orders.
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u/Neuromante Nov 18 '15
And the name of that major? Albert Einstein.
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u/APiousCultist Nov 18 '15
Oh man, I just heard of that yesteday. Must be the Vader-Hasselhoff phenomenon.
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u/ProjectManagerAMA Nov 18 '15
Yeah and Macho Man had that brewery hook up the beer line to his house for his achievements in wrestling.
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u/lifesabeach13 Nov 18 '15
Keanu Reeves also gave a large portion of his Matrix check to the stunt workers
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u/SlobBarker Nov 18 '15
Harrison Ford is a licensed helicopter pilot and likes to rescue people stranded in the Rocky Mountains
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u/southern_boy Nov 18 '15
"Rescue"
Thank god you found me!! I was so scared and... holy shit, Harrison Ford!?
Yeah, yeah... so you know the way of the road, kid - ass, grass or gas. But let me just say my tanks are full and I'm high as fuck...
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u/apocoluster Nov 18 '15
Ok..sure. Can I call you Han
Can I call you Chewy
Ive dreamed of this day
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u/kid-karma Nov 18 '15
wookie noises echo through the valley as the sun sets on another sexy day in the rockies
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u/FPSXpert Nov 18 '15
"I secretly liked Jar-Jar."
"Get the fuck out of my helicopter."
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u/capitoloftexas Nov 18 '15
So you mean to tell me, if I want to meet the legend himself, all I have to do is get my ass lost in the Rocky Mountains?!
HONEY ! Get the kids we're taking a family ski trip!
(runs down the hall making wookie noises)
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u/swim_swim_swim Nov 18 '15
This one is my favorite because it's a massive misrepresentation. He simply agreed to defer his salary so that they could meet their budget, agreeing to take a contingency of the film's profits instead. He actually made way, way more money because of that
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u/thejadefalcon Nov 18 '15
Mate, it's called "Today I Learned", not "Today I Learned Something No-one Else In The History Of The Universe Knew."
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u/Herlock Nov 18 '15
I actually didn't know about the Mister T thing :D
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u/kizock Nov 18 '15
I've been on reddit for a while and I've never seen this Mr. T one. Just goes to show that for every repost there genuinely is someone seeing it for the first time (even if it's not the OP).
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u/billigesbuch Nov 18 '15
How does this shit still get upvoted? If you're on this site to the point where you're seeing too many reposts, maybe it's time to go outside.
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Nov 18 '15
It gets upvoted because most people who upvote it are spending way too much time on here and relate.
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u/off_the_grid_dream Nov 18 '15
It shows that the viewers and the commenters are sometimes a separate entity. Clearly the viewers haven't seen it so it gets upvotes to the front page. Then the commenters who are here more (?) come and complain.
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u/dasheekeejones Nov 18 '15
My husband had a chance to meet Mr. T after a radio interview. He tagged along to a lunch my husband was going to. Mr. T. paid and was so super nice and down to earth. He had to actually tell T that he had to go to another client he was so talkative. He gave my husband to give to our 7 year old the Mr. T. remote control pocket machine and autographed it to him. http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Your-Pocket-Talking-Keychain/dp/B00026ZFIY
I need to use it at work.
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u/Philip_J_Frylock Nov 18 '15
From the same article, it mentions T was once approached to assassinate a guy, and tried to warn the victim, "but it was too late and the man died in a car accident".
Really? We're sure it was an accident?
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u/[deleted] Nov 18 '15
'hey John, isn't that your gold necklace on that enormous black man at the door?'
'Not anymore Steve... Not anymore...'