Comments on: Little known fact: Germans are better Capitalists than Americans

By: Stephen H

Stephen H — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:33:21 +0000

Andreas, that was the most nonsensical post I’ve seen in a long time…in any language.

How do you go from “these americans” to “Coke is a swindle” and then say “I have to pay for frozen water” and then throw in “Americans are so fat” and “don’t pay attention on fat free” but “drink sweet coke”.

Even in Germany you can get Coke Light which is relatively calorie & sugar-free. And other sodas are sloooooowwwwllly beginning to sell light versions of their stuff here. Are you seriously equating sweetness with caloric/HG Index load? I guess we should expect this type of thinking from people who believe a fan blowing on their neck causes a herniated disc…

There are these things called “science” and “technology” that generally help a society to dispel old superstitions and advance quality of life in many industries including food. And Germany could stand to get on board in regards to it’s food industry (among others) because, I don’t know where you live, but there are some fat Germans where I live that could rival the heftiest Midwestern US Cow.

Why is that? Could it be that using your national Soccer team to hock Spreadable Diabetes like Nutella on bread as a “wholesome” pre-training breakfast has something to do with it? Or cereals like Nougatt Kussen where the stuff gushes out of the cereal square or “Wellness” Flakes that has some rosewater in it yet has almost as many calories and sugar as the previous cereal? Or how about “Sport” chocolate? Or what about your sugar-substitute in the ‘Diabetiker’ section that’s made of pure Fructose? That’s JUST what a diabetic needs! LOL Do I need to go on?

By: Bird of Prey

Bird of Prey — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:00:35 +0000

“I find it hilarious how even multinational junk food chains have all those national variations and have to respect local quirks.”

I wonder if McDonalds does something like “Hüttengaudi” in America too?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwq9bClVBY8&feature=related

By: Florian Blaschke

Florian Blaschke — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:47:56 +0000

KFC and Subway offer free refills here, Pizza Hut too. In Munich. So it’s not just McDoof - a local nickname for the chain; it could even ironically be called “der Schotte” vel sim. (my favourite is “das kleine schottische Spezialitätenrestaurant” - I still remember a slogan “das etwas andere Restaurant”, which might be parodied here), analogous to “der Chinese” for a Chinese restaurant -, and it’s even more than one refill at least at KFC and Pizza Hut. I find it hilarious how even multinational junk food chains have all those national variations and have to respect local quirks. Though the fact that most Germans have no idea that US American McDs, BKs, offer multiple free refills makes it easy for their German counterparts to deny that convenience to their German customers without having to fear complaints.

By: Andreas

Andreas — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 01:07:21 +0000

These americans…
I never drink coke because for me it’s one of the greatest swindle on the planet. Paying expensive for a sickly sweet soda drink…and even I have to pay for frozen water ;-))) It’s altough the reason why a lot of americans are so fat. They pay attention on “fat free” but they don’t stop drinking a lot of sweet coke ;-)))

By: Tcherman

Tcherman — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:40:14 +0000

Gregor, stop trolling. It is most certainly not okay to bring your own bottles when you dine out.

By: Gregor

Gregor — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:19:30 +0000

The idea of paying for grocery sacks isn’t necessarily capitalist, so much as a method to keep the supermarkets “greener”. They realize that the extra resources used in producing so many cheap plastic bags could easily be cut down and allocated somewhere else.
The refills are a different story. Because sodas are so expensive at restaurants, most places really don’t mind if you bring your own bottles. During my time spent there I would bring my backpack and a GIANT bottle of water along with me for the day, wherever I went. Most rational Germans realize the absurdity of paying for water, and are more than willing to accommodate. I was even allowed to bring my dog with me to most eating establishments and grocery stores, where food was laying out in the open and she could clearly cause sanitation problems. Most american markets and restaurants put their foot down on these two issues. Alas, not only are the german people notoriously fond of dogs, but they’re also quite rational.
My recommendation? Stop off at a grocery store before you go out for the day, buy two of the giant - and I mean GIANT - bottles of water, because the supermarkets are the only places where you can expect to get anything but mineral or sparkling water in most dining situations. Although going to IKEA and getting free refills for the first time in a month was pretty damn cool.

By: Rauscheglatze

Rauscheglatze — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 23:46:09 +0000

The opposite is true, drinks are extremely expensive in restaurants, too expensive. Free refills in germany exist only in IKEA cantina

By: ATLgrl

ATLgrl — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 04:11:11 +0000

I missed free refills when I was in Europe, but I accepted it because I am from Atlanta, Georgia, the home of Coca-Cola. I expect coke to be cheap here- but not all the way over in Europe. What I really wanted was some good old free tap water served in restaurants!

By: Peter

Peter — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:29:00 +0000

If US-grocers give every customer 20 free plastic bags, the supermarket is paying for these bags. so the market has to raise the prices - and in the end the customers are paying for the bags.
BTW: you can get free refills in germany, but only at IKEA

By: cg5

cg5 — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:56:21 +0000

in my american university, i have to bring my own paper to the library if i want to use the printer. as if my tuition can’t pay for those 10 sheets i print a semester.
and just the fact that i am paying so much for higher education would cause riots in german colleges.

both countries have capitalism figured out.

ps: i do like the paying for air at the gas station comment. i was in shock the first time i had to pay for air.