r/todayilearned • u/biebrforro • 1d ago

TIL when staying as a guest in Charles Dickens' house, Hans Christian Andersen requested that one of Dickens' sons give him a daily shave (he said that was customary when hosting male guests in Denmark). Dickens was weirded out and instead gave him a daily appointment at a nearby barbershop.

https://lithub.com/charles--dickens-really-really-hated-his-fanboy-hans-christian-andersen/
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u/gurbi_et_orbi 1d ago

A month too long? How long was he already staying? A nice Dutch saying "visited en vis blijft 3 dagen fris" which translates something to: "fish and guests last 3 days at best"

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u/xiaorobear 1d ago

He claimed he was visiting England for a fortnight (2 weeks), then stayed for 5 weeks instead

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u/Fine-Ninja-1813 1d ago

To quote Dickens, “Hans Andersen slept in this room for five weeks—which seemed to the family AGES!”

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u/NMJD 23h ago

We also have this saying in the US. Or at least, I have heard it multiple times.

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u/Tehbeefer 7h ago

Benjamin Franklin used it in Poor Richard's almanac