system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[The Princess Bride] How did Sicilians get such a fearsome reputation?

We all know that it's a very bad idea (second only to getting involved in a land war in Asia) to go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line. But how did this become such common knowledge? Who was the poor soul who learned this, and how?
gpt
Ol' Alcibiades got some of the first well-documented examples of why it's a bad idea. Then Carthage had a pretty bad time of it. The Servile Wars added a bunch to the legend, and Belisarius made sure the Ostrogoths learned the lesson well. And the Emir of Tunisia spent a *lot* of time and treasure and blood learning the lesson, too. Roger de Hautville brought the idea back into vogue *hard*, and eventually the Aragonese got a front-row seat to the issue, as well. 

Basically, Sicily has a long, bloody history of being full of right bastards who have a skill at making themselves seem a lot more dangerous and successful than they really are. Hence the laughing, and then the silence and falling to one side, dead.