On Encyclopediae, German Germans, and Patrol Cars
The French have also seemed to have a penchant for special or thematic encyclopediae, at least that's the German view on the French. The French publisher Bayard has now revealed its newest addition to their range called "Dictionnaire du monde germanique", a compendium which aims to explain the German world and its global significance and influence to the French.
Apparently, the publisher is aware of their rather unfortunate title choice but they kept it in order to be able to incorporate bits about the Austrians and the Swiss who, I'm sure, will be very pleased about this consideration.
The "Dictionnaire received a welcoming review in the SZ, the main South German newspaper, even though words such as Gemütlichkeit were missed out. However, the article notes that it doesn't start in 843, Treaty of Verdun, which would indeed have been a very French approach but rather with the some Gothic Bible by Wulfila.
Only 6% of all Germans have a Germanic paternal forebear. 10% have jewish forefathers and 30% are Eastern Europeans according to a study done by some Swiss institute for Bild am Sonntag. Whilst that is of course a shocking revelation for habitual readers of Bild, it isn't really surprising to anybody who has some extremely rudimentary knowledge of history.
It does remind me a line by my old Bavarian chemistry teacher. Whenever he had been flabbergasted by some North German habit that he wasn't familiar with, he'd quib that looking the around the class, he could spot several proofs, that the Romans did cross the Rhine more successfully than he'd been taught at school. Not sure he can still get away with that.
Also, German women are more Germanic than German men which again is also not that surprising. I do disagree however with the comment by some spokesperson for the institute that modern genetics refutes racist notions by showing that there is no such thing as a German.
Any half-decent racist, and unfortunately there are far too many of them out there, will be able to point out that you can now isolate the degenerate genes more effectively than before and by strategic interbreeding you can gradually eliminate those unwanted intruded genes. Come on, you have to tackle racists on a different playground than that.
Some 23-year old has tuned his Opel Astra to look like a police patrol car. Apparently, that is NOT illegal because he used the word Streifenwagen instead of Polizei (See German article with picture). So impersonating a policeman is illegal but imitating a patrol car isn't. hmmm...
His father is rather chuffed about the feat because they live in a 30km/h zone with a kindergarden. They like watching people slam on the breaks outside their house. His son isn't so amused that everybody around him sticks to speed limit when he's on the road.
My uncle, whenever somebody in the car behind him gets too much on his nerves, puts on his captain's hat which, through a car's rear window, looks like the cap German policemen wear. For "educational purposes" as he puts it.
Comic of the Day:
(Click to enlarge)
Apparently, the publisher is aware of their rather unfortunate title choice but they kept it in order to be able to incorporate bits about the Austrians and the Swiss who, I'm sure, will be very pleased about this consideration.
The "Dictionnaire received a welcoming review in the SZ, the main South German newspaper, even though words such as Gemütlichkeit were missed out. However, the article notes that it doesn't start in 843, Treaty of Verdun, which would indeed have been a very French approach but rather with the some Gothic Bible by Wulfila.
Only 6% of all Germans have a Germanic paternal forebear. 10% have jewish forefathers and 30% are Eastern Europeans according to a study done by some Swiss institute for Bild am Sonntag. Whilst that is of course a shocking revelation for habitual readers of Bild, it isn't really surprising to anybody who has some extremely rudimentary knowledge of history.
It does remind me a line by my old Bavarian chemistry teacher. Whenever he had been flabbergasted by some North German habit that he wasn't familiar with, he'd quib that looking the around the class, he could spot several proofs, that the Romans did cross the Rhine more successfully than he'd been taught at school. Not sure he can still get away with that.
Also, German women are more Germanic than German men which again is also not that surprising. I do disagree however with the comment by some spokesperson for the institute that modern genetics refutes racist notions by showing that there is no such thing as a German.
Any half-decent racist, and unfortunately there are far too many of them out there, will be able to point out that you can now isolate the degenerate genes more effectively than before and by strategic interbreeding you can gradually eliminate those unwanted intruded genes. Come on, you have to tackle racists on a different playground than that.
Some 23-year old has tuned his Opel Astra to look like a police patrol car. Apparently, that is NOT illegal because he used the word Streifenwagen instead of Polizei (See German article with picture). So impersonating a policeman is illegal but imitating a patrol car isn't. hmmm...
His father is rather chuffed about the feat because they live in a 30km/h zone with a kindergarden. They like watching people slam on the breaks outside their house. His son isn't so amused that everybody around him sticks to speed limit when he's on the road.
My uncle, whenever somebody in the car behind him gets too much on his nerves, puts on his captain's hat which, through a car's rear window, looks like the cap German policemen wear. For "educational purposes" as he puts it.
Comic of the Day:
(Click to enlarge)