Post * 16klV — Curious Curator

› added 10 months ago

49

TIL that "U and non-U English" was a British theory of dialects in the 1950s that noted that the aspiring middle classes actually used "more refined" language than the upper classes - like "pardon?" instead of "what?", and to "pass on" instead of to "die"

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0dabv TIL Beethoven was challenged to a piano duel by pianist Daniel Steibelt, who tried to bend the rules by handing Beethoven a Cello and Piano piece instead of just a Piano piece. Unfazed, Beethoven turned the score upside down, played it, then improvised on the inversed themes for half an hour.

EwZw TIL Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver initiated a campaign to move British schools towards eating healthy foods and cutting out junk food. British parents protested by delivering junk food to the students from local shops through the school fence. In the UK, 64% of adults are considered obese.

NXGZP TIL of Ernst Haeckel a German scientist who in 1914 was the first person to call The First World War, The First World War.

e0rRD TIL James Cameron was in the works on writing and directing a Spider-Man flick (starring Leonardo Dicaprio, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Maggie Smith) in the mid 90s. The script was grittier than the later versions and included a full sex scene with Mary Jane on the Brooklyn Bridge.

GLnj TIL the creator of the American incarnation of Mothers Day’s later denounced the holiday and tried to have it removed from the national calendar because it became too commercialized.