Take This Short Quiz and Vindicate Me

[tatertot]

The purpose of this test is to prove that my Brother in Law is indeed an idiot and that I am not "snobby". Even if you don't know the answers, take it anyway, just to make it fair.

No Cheating

1. Heidelberg, Germany is famous for ______
(two acceptable answers)

2. The currency used in Holland is the ______

3. Munich is in what country? _______

Bonus Question: Explain how it is possible that it takes longer to get from Heidelberg to Berlin than Heidelberg to Amsterdam, even though Amsterdam is in a seperate country.

Thank you for your time. :)

[Alpha]

1)The ruins, or the college
2)Guilder
3)Germany
4) Trick question. The premise is false.

[Danielinthewolvesden]

Fencing/sabre duels
Guilder or Euro
Germany

Dumb question. It takes longer to go 10 miles on a gridlocked freeway than it does to go 80 miles on I5.

[Typo Negative]

1) Don't the make Heineken beer there?
2) I have no idea
3) Germany
Bonus) I have no idea

[tatertot]

Re: The bonus question. It does indeed take between 1-2 hours longer to get to Berlin. Trust me on this one. The reason I threw it in is because I spent a full 1/2 hour trying to explain this to my brother in law, with no luck. He seems to think that all cities in the same country are automatically closer to each other than to a city in a bordering country. In his little world of ignorance, Seattle is closer to Miami than Vancouver.

So, the idjits went ahead and tried to make a day trip out of it, got as far as Frankfurt when somebody decided to open a map and they saw for themselves that is wasn't a pleasant little drive.


Daniel, while fencing is not the answer I was looking for, I will accept it because they still do something like that in the fraternities here. It seems a sword slash scar on the cheek is a mark of honor, much like the branding they do in some US frats.

And no fair opening and not answering! I promise I won't think you're stupid if you get one or two wrong. There are many, many more reasons I think BIL is an idiot. And if more people get them wrong than right (which I really doubt will happen), I will gladly admit to being "snobby".

[Spiny Norman]

Among EuroDopers, Heidelberg is gloriously known as tatertot's home city. OK, Heidelberg is famous for the university and the "mensur" fencing duels practiced among the students of said institution.

Dutch currency: The guilder, or, in my mother tongue, "gylden".

Munich was in Germany last time I was there. The beer is great, BTW.

It's a shorter distance to Amsterdam than to Berlin (OK, had to check a map for that).

tatertot, don't you worry - EVERYBODY's brother-in-law is an idiot.

S. Norman

[AHunter3]

::quickly scrolling down to "reply to thread" with eyes closed::

1. Heidelberg, Germany is famous for student princes and beer taverns

2. The currency used in Holland is the ...guilder?

3. Munich is in what country? Germany.


Do I win anything?

[Edwardina]

1. College, fencing/duels, (and apparently taverns)
2. Call me dumb, I thought it was the German mark.
3. Munich is in Germany.

[vandal]

1. Beats the hell out of me.
2. Hell if I know.
3. Germany.
4. No clue.

Now what?

[Delta-9]

I only knew number three.

Does that make me an idiot? FWIW, I am somebody's brother-in-law. :)

[jayron 32]

1. The University of Heidelberg
2. Guilders or Florins
3. Germany
4. What on earth do political boundries have to do with linear distance. I'd much rather drive the 6 hour trek from Boston to Montreal than the 72 hour haul from Boston to L.A. and yet Boston and L.A. are in the same country...

[Munch]

1. Maybe the birthplace of someone famous. Bach maybe?
2. Thought it was the mark - WAG
3. Germany
4. No idea, but am guessing that its closer. Kansas City, Kansas is much closer to Kansas City, Missouri than it is to Stanley, Kansas.

[matt_mcl]

jayron: and once you get here, you are very welcome.

[AHunter3]

I guess I overlooked the extra-credit question. Oh well.

Anecdotally speaking, our family had visitors from Europe who mentioned that as long as they were here ("here" was New Mexico) in the U.S., they wanted to take their rental care and go see some of the choice visitor's attractions on the west coast during the last couple weeks before they returned to Belgium--they figured they'd go due west and do Disneyland (Pasadena CA) for the kids, hike in Yosemite National Park (huge area starting around Sacramento CA), visit Yellowstone (Wyoming) and the Grand Canyon (Arizona), see Mount Rushmore (S Dakota) and then return to Albuquerque for the return plane home. They wanted to know if they should do a quick little dip down to Carlsbad Caverns (Carlsbad NM) before doing Disneyland, or perhaps nip down there upon their return before hopping the homebound plane.

The Atlas on hand only had miles, not kilometers, so we superimposed a map of Europe on the area they were discussing.

[Danielinthewolvesden]

Ahunter: umm, Disneyland is in Anahiem, in Orange County, 3-4 hrs South from Pasadena.

Ps, where is my prize?

[obfusciatrist]

In his little world of ignorance, Seattle is closer to Miami than Vancouver.


Well, if you want to blow his mind, explain to him how Seattle is about halfway between Vancouver and Vancouver.

BTW, I knew all four but also saw the answers in Alpha's post before I could hit reply. This doesn't help you, though, because I am a snob.

[AHunter3]

Ahunter: umm, Disneyland is in Anahiem, in Orange County,
3-4 hrs South from Pasadena.

Hmmph! What kind of Mickey Mouse outfit would locate in Anaheim and try to leave me convinced they were in Pasadena? Oh, ...mm, OK, fair enough...

[Johnny Angel]

2. The currency used in Holland is the Dutchmark?

[lee]

No Cheating
1. Heidelberg, Germany is famous for _Young men with scars from fencing, big printing presses, the absolutely great little spring on the side of the hill near the tower that gives water that tastes great and even Germans drink it straight. (no sign that says kein Trinkwasser! amazing!)_____
(two acceptable answers)

2. The currency used in Holland is the ___guilder, and it is quite pretty. I think they should have Euros soon.__

3. Munich is in what country? Muenchen is in ___Germany, formerly West Germany in the laender of Bayern. Oddly when i was there Bayern had an embassy [sic] in Bonn the capital. I was there. My advice, Beware the liver dumpling soup it looked like a can of tender vittles overturned in a bowl of urine. I honestly think that a can of tender vittles overturned in a bowl of urine would taste better, I am not willing to do a taste comparison because i won't try that soup again.____

Bonus Question: Explain how it is possible that it takes longer to get from Heidelberg to Berlin than Heidelberg to
Amsterdam, even though Amsterdam is in a seperate country.
Well, it is further away. When I lived there it was also restricted and it was much easier to take the train.

While in Heidelberg we were looking at a small castle that had an empty moat that was a full storey below street level. Some ppl were playing frisbee and a dog jumped up and back to catche the frisbee and landed, safely, in the moat. Since the castle was closed that day there was no immediate solution. The dog was really confused.

[CrankyAsAnOldMan]

1. No idea. My college german profesoor would kick my ass. We do have a local bar/german restuarant by the same name which is known for serving minors. Do I get bonus points?

2. Guilder. As in yelling "Ich Habe Kein Guilder!" over my shoulder as I flee the restroom after stiffing the attendant. Grammar may be off, but basic idea was gotten across. Bad Cranky. Bad ugly american

3. Munchen is in Southern Germany, I think. I mean, I know GERMANY, but not sure if South is right.

4. No idea.

[jayron 32]

jayron: and once you get here, you are very welcome.

Why thanks Matt. I've been before, and it's a lovely city. My GF (and current wife) and I really liked hanging around La Vielle Cite quite a bit. Unfortunately, my confidence in my French ability is not that good, so I end up saying a lot of stuff like "Bonjour Hello" and "Merci Thank You".

Unfortunatly, I'm in Chicago now, though New England will always be my spiritual home.

[chief]

1. beer
2. guilder
3. germany

[ricepad]

It would be easy for me (and not totally out of character, BTW) to cheat/lie and say I knew all of them, but I only knew the guilder/Germany answers.

As for your ignoramus brother-in-law, mebbe he thinks that crossing a border somehow takes hours, days, or even weeks (perhaps its those body cavity searches that take so long), whereas driving from LA to St. Louis, fer instance, could be done in two shakes of a lamb's tail.

[JBurton99]

1) Octoberfests! Hiccup. 'cuse me. :D
2) Hmmm, i could have lied and said Guilder, but i didn't know that one either till i read the other posts, so i'll be honest and say: Have no clue
3) Germany
Bonus) It all depends on the relative distance from point A to point B, and i don't mean the Brother-in-Law to Earth Distance. Hello?!? Earth to Brother-in-Law. :D

[lswote]

1. Heidelberg, Germany is famous for ______
Beer

2. The currency used in Holland is the ______
No idea

3. Munich is in what country? _______
Germany

Bonus Question: Explain how it is possible that it takes longer to get from Heidelberg to Berlin than Heidelberg to Amsterdam, even though Amsterdam is in a seperate country.
My wild guess is that you have to cross the communist part of Germany to go from one city to the other

[lswote]

Danielinthewolvesden Ahunter: umm, Disneyland is in Anahiem, in Orange County, 3-4 hrs South from Pasadena.
Have the freeways in L.A. gotten that bad? When I lived there in the early 80's, even when traffic was bad, an hour was about the longest it took to go from Pasadena to Anaheim.

[Xgemina]

1. The cool medieval torture museum they have, or the large US Army Headquarters?

2. the guilder

3. Germany

bonus: Berlin is farther away, right?

[BoBettie]

I had no idea about the first two questions...why would I??

I did know that Munich is in Germany, though.

I don't know about the bonus, as I have no idea where any of those places are. However, if you had asked a similar question about the US, I would have been able to tell you what you were looking for.

Zette

[tatertot]

1. Although lots of people gave the right answers, my prediction that everybody would score 100% was inaccurate. Since I am not the brightest bulb, I just assume that if *I* know something, everybody else will, too. Got to learn to be less "tatertot-centric" in my thinking. :)

2. Brother in law is still an idiot. I say this because what kind of a person spends thousands of dollars on a European vacation and doesn't bother to look at a map before leaving?

And now for the answers (and why I though he should have known these things)

1. Heidelberg, Germany is known for the historic University of Heidelberg, where fraternity students still cut each other up with fencing swords. A big kiss for the people who mentioned "The Student Prince", a play which is still performed every year in the castle grounds. Speaking of, I was expecting everybody to say the Castle, which is one of the most beautiful in Germany. This being Germany, of course there is lots of beer (some brewed in Heidelberg) and taverns.

I was suprized that BIL was shocked that we had anything of historic or tourist value here in Heidelberg. First, because he knew we lived here, and one with think he would look it up on the internet or something. Second, because his brother (Hubby) often tells him about the neat things we do and see here. And third, because we have sent many postcards with pictures of the Old City, Castle and University.


2. They use guilders in the Netherlands. To be honest, I thought everyone knew that, but sometimes I am wrong.

I just thought it strange that he waited until five minutes before they left for Amsterdam to bother inquiring about the currency and how to get some. Speaking of, he brought no travelers checks, no ATM or credit card, barely any cash. Instead, he brought checks drawn on an American Bank!!!! Luckily, we could cash them, but it meant depleting our funds to dangerously low levels, while we waited for them to clear.

3. Munich is indeed in Germany. Best damn town in the world if you ask me. Don't tell Clogboy, but I prefer it to Amsterdam.

The first time I had to tell him this, no big deal. It was around the fourth time that I mentioned Munich and he said "that's in Austria (or Switzerland, or France), right?" that I began to lose my temper. And one of his traveling companions had never heard of Octoberfest! Well, he had, he just thought it was a kind of beer...couldn't believe me when I told him it was an actual event.

Bonus Question. I don't expect anyone to just know that Berlin is about 150K farther away from my house than Amsterdam. I do expect that most people will understand that sometimes a place in a foreign country can be closer than a place in the same country. It's really not that difficult a concept. It really shouldn't take half an hour to explain this to someone.

So, to wrap this up, I am a semi-snob and brother in law is a big fat idiot. Plus, he left his smelly socks all over my living room...what kind of rude shit is that?

[Coldfire]

I'm laughing my ass of with you Yankees. Florins?? We haven't used Florins since 1800 or so. But this one takes the cake:

2. Guilder. As in yelling "Ich Habe Kein Guilder!" over my shoulder as I flee the restroom after stiffing the attendant. Grammar may be off, but basic idea was gotten across. Bad Cranky. Bad ugly american

Hello? Bad Ugly GERMAN is what they thought. You got the currency right, CrankyAsAnOldMan, but we speak Dutch, not German.

Oh well... you're free to speak English anytime. We all speak it here, well, at least 90%.

Tater: you prefer Munich to Amsterdam?? Blasphemy :D

[iampunha]

1. Heidelberg, Germany is famous for:

I thought there was a university there. In addition, there's probably a beer.

2. The currency used in Holland is the:

Euro. However, that doesn't mean your average lunatic (such as your BIL) isn't trying to use US dollars.

3. Munich is in what country?

Germany.

Bonus Question: Explain how it is possible that it takes longer to get from Heidelberg to Berlin than Heidelberg to Amsterdam, even though Amsterdam is in a separate country.

In theory, it takes longer to go 80 miles than it does to go 10 miles, unless traffic is bad. Anyone who would argue against this theory, given that the mode of travel is the same for each route and that there are no unforeseen obstacles is, IMO, off their nut.

[ricepad]

Just out of curiosity, does your b-i-l also think that cities within the same STATE must be closer than cities in different states?

[panamajack]

Does he imagine, too, that if a state has a coastline, and is perhaps even famous for a certain beach culture, that everyone in the state lives by the beach or is a surfer? (Yes, I'm from California.)

And I might also point out to AHunter that anyone who comes to Sacramento looking for Yosemite will be as disappointed as a Mouseketeer in Glendale. Moreso in fact, since Yosemite's at least 100 miles away as the crow flies, and a good 3-4 hour's drive into the mountains.

(pretty funny about your visitors touring the Western US, though.)

panama jack

_____________

Florin is the sworn enemy of Guilder!

[Crunchy Frog]

1. Heidelberg, Germany is famous for ______
(two acceptable answers)
The Heidelberger with cheese and for the world's largest concentration of people from Heidelberg.

2. The currency used in Holland is the ______
Hollandollar

3. Munich is in what country? _______
Munichia

Bonus Question: Explain how it is possible that it takes longer to get from Heidelberg to Berlin than Heidelberg to Amsterdam, even though Amsterdam is in a seperate country.

Taking a plane to Amsterdam would be faster than taking a drive to Berlin.

[CrankyAsAnOldMan]

Coldfire: I'm aware of the language, but I didn't know Dutch, I knew German. And I thought spewing something other than English would make me slightly less of a shit. LOL

[MetallicAsh]

1) The Heidelberg Uncertainty Principle, which states that you can know either the currency used in Holland, or the location of Munich, but not both at the same time.

2) Tulip bulbs...I mean internet stocks...the Euro...oops, I repeat myself... :)

3) ER...I forget.

[MetallicAsh]

OH! WAIT! I remember...Munich is in Germany!!!

...but now I can't seem to remember the answer to #2...

...how odd...

[Boris B]

1. Heidelberg, Germany is famous for beer. I know that's the lamer of two answer, but I can't remember the less lame one.

2. The currency used in Holland is the guilder.

3. Munich is in what country? Bavaria. Some say Bavaria is part of Germany, but I know better. (last sentence = joke)

Bonus Question: Explain how it is possible that it takes longer to get from Heidelberg to Berlin than Heidelberg to Amsterdam, even though Amsterdam is in a seperate country.

Heidelberg is much closer to the Dutch border. Assuming a reasonably easy border crossing, it is natural to assume that the dash across the border is going to be quicker than going all the way across Germany, which is fairly wide by European standards.