eairy t1_jcxh2cu wrote on March 20, 2023 at 9:12 AM

Reply to comment by Nukitandog in British man deported to Jamaica launches action against Home Office | Richard Wallace wrongly classed as Jamaican and deported after serving murder sentence, despite having been born in London by kwentongskyblue

It's going to be a long wait at A&E for that burn.

eairy t1_j9x0z1a wrote on February 25, 2023 at 4:12 AM

Reply to comment by Infamous-Anybody-693 in TIL there's an "ancient druids temple" in England that was actually built 200 years ago as a solution to local unemployment by alexwasashrimp

In 1800s Britain receiving welfare (i.e. free stuff) was seen as extremely insulting/embarrassing, and there was very little in the way of state provision, poor people were just left to die. The attitude was that even charity ought to be earnt. Hence the system of The Workhouse came into being. People were given really really horrible jobs to do in return for some food and a place to sleep. Workhouses were seen as a place for the completely destitute, they stigmatised those that lived in them and The Workhouse became something to be avoided at all costs, especially as they were seen as a trap that once entered was hard to leave.

Thus when economic hard times struck and lots of men ended up out of work through no fault of their own, local rich people would pay them to work constructing esoteric things, often referred to as 'a folly', to keep them and their families from falling into the workhouse system. These follies were usually some kind of stone tower on a local hill, but there was lots of variation.

It was busywork that was a fig leaf for receiving charity.

eairy t1_j9mxqrc wrote on February 23, 2023 at 2:59 AM

Reply to comment by SoggyFridge in TIL the worst snowstorm in the history of Los Angeles occurred in 1949 when up to two feet of snow covered the city for three days as it reached its lowest temperature ever recorded, 28 degrees Fahrenheit by SappyGilmore

?

eairy t1_j9lk5gc wrote on February 22, 2023 at 9:15 PM

Reply to TIL the worst snowstorm in the history of Los Angeles occurred in 1949 when up to two feet of snow covered the city for three days as it reached its lowest temperature ever recorded, 28 degrees Fahrenheit by SappyGilmore

That's -2°C in non-freedom units.

eairy t1_j6gyeu6 wrote on January 30, 2023 at 6:19 AM

Reply to comment by QuantumWarrior in TIL in the 1980s Monty Python got much of its exposure to the US through PBS, because of CBS censoring parts of "The Holy Grail" in a 1977 broadcast. This upset the comedy troupe, prompting them to withdraw the broadcast rights. by AnthillOmbudsman

> just air it later when the kids are in bed

The US doesn't have the concept of the 'watershed' like the UK does. I guess because of the multiple timezones issue.

eairy t1_j63ao92 wrote on January 27, 2023 at 12:21 PM

Reply to TIL that snooker was invented by a British army officer named Neville Chamberlain. He was a distant cousin of Neville Chamberlain, who would become famous for being Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. by Mr_BeardedBread

No no no no, this is wrong. It was invented by a guy named Snooker, in the village of Worksop. I remember seeing a documentary about it when I was a kid.

eairy t1_j1ymnj8 wrote on December 28, 2022 at 10:42 AM

Reply to TIL Siegfried Marcus invented the first automobile propelled by a gas engine (1864). The Nazi's tried to hide erase this from history and credited Carl Benz in his place. by Automite

For anyone wondering if this is American gas or an actual gas engine:

> The internal combustion engine was designed for liquid combustibles and made him the first to propel a vehicle by means of petrol.

eairy t1_iz52ciz wrote on December 6, 2022 at 3:22 PM

Reply to comment by dishonourableaccount in TIL "The Twelve Days of Christmas" STARTS on Christmas Day, and ends of January 5th (Three Kings Day). by HauntedHippie

Yeah it's weird how the 'festival' of Christmas has somehow been reversed.