Recent comments in /f/todayilearned

IndigoMichigan t1_j8omfav wrote

Reply to comment by Logondo in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow

The variation I heard of that one says Jim instead of first mate. I like knowing that Jim was a first mate. Jim's good at his job.

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nickeypants t1_j8oll45 wrote

Reply to comment by Logondo in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow

Once upon a time there was a Giant. The Giant squeezed Jack and said, "Tell me a better storey or I'll grind your bones to make my bread. And when your storey is finished, I'll grind your bones to make my bread anyway! HO, Ho, Ho!" The Giant laughed an ugly laugh. Jack thought, 'He'll kill me if I do, he'll kill me if I dont. There's only one way to get out of this.' Jack cleared his throat, and then began his story.

^(Once upon a time there was a Giant. The Giant squeezed Jack and said, "Tell me a better storey or I'll grind your bones to make my bread. And when your storey is finished, I'll grind your bones to make my bread anyway! HO, Ho, Ho!" The Giant laughed an ugly laugh. Jack thought, 'He'll kill me if I do, he'll kill me if I don't. There's only one way to get out of this.' Jack cleared his throat, and then began his story.)

^(Once upon a time...)

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thelandsman55 t1_j8ol1aw wrote

Reply to comment by ruiner8850 in TIL: The Chamblee Incident. In 1989, Kenneth Lamar Noid, a mentally ill man who believed that the Domino's Pizza "Avoid the Noid" ads were personally directed towards him, antagonizing him. He took 2 Domino's employees hostage at gunpoint. by SilentWalrus92

I imagine they're more or less in an endless cycle of:

  1. The economy is good, stockholders want growth, work on making the pizza better to grow the customer base.
  2. The economy is bad, stockholders want profit/cost cutting, find cheaper suppliers for ingredients even if it hurts pizza quality.

Pizza is a simple enough dish to make that the quality of a normal pizza is basically just the quality of the ingredients summed together.

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C_K_Fire t1_j8okhmq wrote

Reply to TIL that in November 1954, a woman in Alabama survived being struck by a meteorite that hit the roof of her house, bounced off a radio and hit her in upper thigh and hand. She was left with a large bruise on her side but was otherwise not seriously injured. by g_man2522

The worst part is: the husband ended up selling the meteorite chunk for only TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS because at the time of the hype, the U.S. Air force had kept the chunk to themselves.

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Vogon-Poetry-Slam t1_j8ojfdi wrote

Reply to comment by jusmellow in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow

2010 Grand Prize Winner:
For the first month of Ricardo and Felicity's affair, they greeted one another at every stolen rendezvous with a kiss--a lengthy, ravenous kiss, Ricardo lapping and sucking at Felicity's mouth as if she were a giant cage-mounted water bottle and he were the world's thirstiest gerbil.

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DJDevon3 t1_j8oer70 wrote

Reply to TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow

"You just listen to listen to the ol' Porkchop Express and take his advice on a dark and stormy night alright. When some wild-eyed 8 foot tall maniac grabs your neck taps the back of your favorite head up against a bar room wall and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if you've paid your dues. You just stare that big sucker right back in the eye and you remember what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like that. Have you paid your dues Jack? Yes sir the check is in the mail." ~ Jack Burton

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PersonNumber7Billion t1_j8oegdl wrote

Reply to comment by myeff in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow

Even though Bulwer-Lytton was a good writer and Paul Clifford a good book. He's only seen as bad because of Peanuts: Snoopy used his opening line in what is presumably a bad novel.

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dylancatlow OP t1_j8oeaoo wrote

Reply to TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow

I think what makes it such an iconic sentence is that it's so perfectly lacking in originality that all share equally in the embarrassment that if not for its author, those words might have been theirs. All that separates him from the rest of us is that when creativity was refusing to make an appearance at the desired moment, he wanted the world to know it too.

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bolanrox t1_j8odwvy wrote

Reply to comment by ruiner8850 in TIL: The Chamblee Incident. In 1989, Kenneth Lamar Noid, a mentally ill man who believed that the Domino's Pizza "Avoid the Noid" ads were personally directed towards him, antagonizing him. He took 2 Domino's employees hostage at gunpoint. by SilentWalrus92

its basically across the street from me, and i wont eat there.

my wife likes it from time to time, but i would rther not eat...

Opened up in the same strip as an old time pizza place, which was the last straw for the guy to decide to retire after his lease came up.. I had been eating their since i was a kid.

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ruiner8850 t1_j8ocg7b wrote

Reply to comment by bolanrox in TIL: The Chamblee Incident. In 1989, Kenneth Lamar Noid, a mentally ill man who believed that the Domino's Pizza "Avoid the Noid" ads were personally directed towards him, antagonizing him. He took 2 Domino's employees hostage at gunpoint. by SilentWalrus92

That might be the case because like I said, I didn't try it until last year which was well after the "we sucked so we changed our recipe" ads first aired. It might have been better for awhile, but it was awful and I have much better options between local places or other chains. Maybe it's just my local Domino's, but the dough, sauce, and cheese were all absolutely terrible. Maybe it's just nostalgia and my changing tastes, but I really liked a pepperoni pizza from Domino's growing up in the '80s.

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