2 Comments TIL about Speibecken. A basin for vomitting installed in men’s washrooms at pubs in Germany. by whatilearned June 16, 2022, 9:22 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
3 Comments TIL about London’s “Frost Fairs” back when the river Thames used to freeze over about once a decade. People would set up shops, pubs and ice skating rinks on a layer of ice thick enough you could walk an elephant on it. The last fair was held in 1814, that was the last time the river ever froze. by whatilearned February 22, 2022, 4:31 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
3 Comments TIL Irish pubs all over the world have their interior designed, built, shipped and installed by specialized Irish companies. Bar owners can choose the style they want, and at least one company will even work with consultants on menu development. by whatilearned September 30, 2021, 11:49 am 12 Points Upvote Downvote
2 Comments TIL the Guinness book of world records is named after Guinness beer because the book was a promotional stunt for the company . The first pressing of the Guinness World Book of Records in 1955 had only 50,000 copies that were intended to be given away to English pubs for their advertising value. by whatilearned July 24, 2021, 5:40 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
2 Comments TIL about The Battle of Bamber Bridge, an incident between Black and White American servicemen stationed in the UK during WWII. White MPs attempted to arrest several black soldiers as retaliation for local pubs refusing to observe segregation laws, resulting in a shootout between allied soldiers. by whatilearned June 25, 2021, 3:17 am 12 Points Upvote Downvote
2 Comments TIL the renouned British pub meal, ‘Ploughman’s Lunch’, was invented in the 1950s as a marketing exercise. The Cheese Bureau, a marketing body, began promoting it in pubs as a way to increase the sales of cheese, which had recently ceased to be rationed. by whatilearned May 13, 2021, 3:46 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
1 Comment TIL that Keith Flint (of The Prodigy) became a popular pub owner in Essex following his music career. Flint eventually brought in a jar to collect one-pound fines from customers who referenced the song “Firestarter” as he tended to the pub’s fireplace. by whatilearned May 5, 2021, 4:33 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
5 Comments TIL that the reason old pubs have “Ye Old” instead of “The Old” is because when the printing press was invented in Germany, they didn’t have any letters for the old letter Thorn, which made a “th” sound. Thorn ultimately was replaced with Y because they looked similar until the Th start was popular. by whatilearned April 28, 2021, 7:12 am 12 Points Upvote Downvote
3 Comments TIL about the battle of bamber bridge, an outbreak of racial violence in England caused by US commanders demanding a ‘coloured’ bar for black GIs to drink in resulting in all 3 pubs in town posting signs saying ‘black troops only’ by whatilearned April 20, 2021, 6:19 am 12 Points Upvote Downvote
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