German signs tell you what the speed limit isn’t

April 17th, 2008

German roads have a certain speed limit based on what type of road they are. For example, everyone knows the beloved Autobahn has no speed limit, but also a smaller category of streets, the Autostraße, also has no speed limit in most cases. However, certain stretches of these roads do have speed limits because of any number of factors that would make driving at 250 km\h a tad dangerous.

But there are other types of streets that do have speed limits, and your key to successful driving in Germany is being able to determine what type street you are currently driving on, because in their twisted logic, Germans think it makes sense to tell you what the speed limit isn’t, instead of what it is. Let’s take the following sign as an example:

60 kmh zone ended

Simple, right? There is no speed limit because the restriction has been lifted. Not so easy, since all you know now is that the speed limit is not 60. How easy would it have been to put 100 kmh on the sign, or just stripes to let you know its unlimited? It doesn’t matter. Every German will argue until they are blue in the face that it makes perfect sense to tell you what the speed limit isn’t. This is probably because they paid $2,000 to get a driver’s license, so they must know better.

deutsche Übersetzung für Astrid

Dogs welcome, leave your kids at home

April 17th, 2008

Dog vs. KidGermans love their dogs, but they hate their kids. This is probably why the German population is dwindling.

When you dine at a restaurant, the first thing you will notice is that some mutt will be running around, and no one but you will notice it. However, if kids show up to a restaurant, every German will take note and be completely annoyed by their presence.

deutsche Übersetzung für Astrid

Germans must eat exactly one warm meal per day

April 17th, 2008

haxn1.jpgI am not sure what would happen to a German if they mistakenly eat two heated meals in one day, but I am sure it would be devastation, because all Germans make sure that they eat exactly one warm meal each day.

In fact, if you eat with your colleagues at work in the cafeteria, you can tell which ones are married, because they will grab a salad and a roll, then remind you that they have a wife at home who will cook warmes for them later. Even if the cafeteria is serving their favorite heated dish, the German must consider that his wife will cook later, and he cannot break the cardinal rule of never, ever, under any circumstances, eating two meals above room temperature in one calendar day.

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Moving air causes death

April 17th, 2008

Although 300 million Americans have come to rely on air-conditioning as 20th Century necessity for comfort, 100% of Germans hate air conditioning with a passion. Germans would rather slave away at the office enduring 30°C temperatures and 90% humidity than be forced to cope with air the comes out of a machine at comfortable temperatures.

And it’s not just refrigerated air the Germans abhor so much, but rather any form of moving air at all. While Germans always love fresh air, the instant that air is set in motion it becomes deadly; a source of earth-shattering calamities.

Germans even have invented an illness, which is caused solely by the movement of air. The Zug, which couldn’t possibly be translated into English, because no English speaking person (despite our propensity for air conditioning) has ever been inflicted. But if a German tells another German, that they have caught a train?, then the sickly German receives instant sympathy for their suffering in this made-up affliction.

Also of note, temperature variations cause all kinds of bad things to happen to Germans. For example, if a German woman sits on cold concrete, she will lose the ability to become pregnant.

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Sunshine and Ice Cream

April 17th, 2008

Eis Cafe

Every German must go eat ice cream any time the sun is shining. It may be February and 2°C outside, but if there is even a hint of sunshine, be prepared for long lines at the Eiscafé. Although the image of people in parkas eating frozen milk is inherently ridiculous, you will witness this in every town in Germany if the sun ever shines on a Sunday.

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