# Coldfire, say it ain't so... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 1, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752 "2003-04-01T17:59:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/1 "2003-04-01T17:59:37Z")
From Sunday’s _Boston Herald_ > [@](#): > > **Hey, that’s a little extreme, dude** > Officials in copenhagen have announced that the city’s 30-year-old hippie colony, known as the “free city” will be demolished as part of an urban renewal plan. In response, the city’s drug dealers went on strike. Don’t city officials fear a _Hippie Rebellion_? ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/2 "2003-04-01T18:04:40Z")
Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark. **Coldfire** is _Dutch_. But he’s as qualified to comment on Denmark as anyone else, I guess. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/3 "2003-04-01T18:17:23Z")
Yeah… I read that blurb, and immediately/inexplicably thought of Coldfire. I posted it, and then sat there and thought to myself almost exactly what you posted, **Francesca**. Oh, well. Geography was never my strongest subject. ---
**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/4 "2003-04-01T18:32:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Winston\_Smith \* > \*\*Geography was never my strongest subject. \*\* That’s OK. With your username, it’s understandable. Is Copenhagen in Oceania or Eurasia? ---
**Author:** ![Kaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Kaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaf)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/5 "2003-04-01T18:33:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Winston\_Smith \* > \*\*Don’t city officials fear a _Hippie Rebellion_? \*\* No Peace, No Pot! Double bummer! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/6 "2003-04-01T18:35:05Z")
So are the hippies relocating, or will they just go their separate ways with nothing but their memories to carry them into their twilight years? ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/7 "2003-04-01T18:49:11Z")
I’d just like to say that I am sick-to-death of people conflating the Dutch and **Danish** cultures. One glance at a map of Eurpoe will reveal that these are two entirely different countries. And the difference is that the Dutch drug dealers would _never dream of_ going on strike. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/8 "2003-04-01T19:01:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > \*\*I’d just like to say that I am sick-to-death of people conflating the Dutch and **Danish** cultures. > > One glance at a map of Eurpoe will reveal that these are two entirely different countries. And the difference is that the Dutch drug dealers would _never dream of_ going on strike. \*\* Mmmmm. **Danish.** :drool: ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/9 "2003-04-01T22:37:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Francesca \* > \*\*Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark. **Coldfire** is _Dutch_. But he’s as qualified to comment on Denmark as anyone else, I guess. 😉 \*\* Ahem! - how about a Dane ? Anyhoo, according to Copenhagen newspaper “Politiken”, the police noticed no increase in trading in other locarions. One officer commented that the strike was too short to have any effect, and that he wholeheartedly recommended the pushers trying again for much longer. The hippie commune (“Christiania”) is apparently about to go legal, and that would mean kicking out the pushers. Some of the Chritianites consider that a pretty darn good idea - they may not be against marijuana per se, but they’re not happy with having a major city’s central pot-dealing location next door. The pushers apparently tried to demonstrate that if people couldn’t get pot in Christiania, dealers would pop up all over the city, and property values would fall or something. It probably sounded like a good idea at the time. Anyway, the strike is over and the little booths are manned again, with their displays of varieties, pre-rolled joints for the busy shoppers and sales personnel who seem to be staring dreamily at something far, far away… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/10 "2003-04-02T00:57:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Winston\_Smith \* > \*\*Yeah… > > I read that blurb, and immediately/inexplicably thought of Coldfire. I posted it, and then sat there and thought to myself almost exactly what you posted, **Francesca**. Oh, well. Geography was never my strongest subject. \*\* Okay, so the people in Denmark are Danes. The people in Holland, for some unfathomable reason, are called Dutch. But the people in Deutchland are called Germans. Don’t feel too bad, **Winston**. I’m pretty sure this is all part of a European plot to make Americans look dumb. Like we need the help. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/11 "2003-04-02T01:21:46Z")
Denmark, Danes; Netherlands, Dutch; Germans Deutsch; it’s all been bled dry on these very boards. All you need is a search function if only they’d give us one. Oh, they did… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/12 "2003-04-02T01:32:56Z")
Can’t we just call 'em all Vikings, like in the good old days? ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/13 "2003-04-02T01:41:27Z")
Yeah, but “Germans Deutsch” doesn’t follow the paradigm set forth in your first two examples. I must, regrettably, remain in the dark. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/14 "2003-04-02T01:51:28Z")
Paradigm? What paradigm? Sheesh. OK, open wide, here comes the aeroplane: [Why are there so many names for Germany, AKA Deutschland, Allemagne, etc.?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_162.html) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/15 "2003-04-02T02:09:00Z")
We’ve GOT to find out how come people keep associating Coldie rather than Norm with Hamletland(\*)… we’ve had it happen like twice in the last week. (\* I just noticed that, with Greenland, the Danes seem to be the remaining European power with the largest _land area_ in their overseas empire.) ---
**Author:** ![Meros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Meros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meros)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/16 "2003-04-02T02:18:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > \*\*Okay, so the people in Denmark are Danes. The people in Holland, for some unfathomable reason, are called Dutch. But the people in Deutchland are called Germans. But here in PA there are a goup of ethnic Germans who _are_ called Dutch :eek: Please make the confusion stop!!! ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/17 "2003-04-02T02:27:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Winston Smith \* > \*\*Oh, well. Geography was never my strongest subject. \*\* Pah. At least you know they’re on the same continent. 🙂 I once had a US vendor tell me that I’d have to deal with their European distributor because “New Zealand is a scandinavian country”. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/18 "2003-04-02T02:50:21Z")
That’s nothing. I once had a US vendor tell me they didn’t ship internationally when I ordered something to be shipped to New Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Pandora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eada6e/32.png) [@Pandora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pandora)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/19 "2003-04-02T16:31:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Meros \* > \*\*But here in PA there are a goup of ethnic Germans who _are_ called Dutch :eek: > \*\* We’re only called “dutch” because the english\* were too self centered to care to call us by a name that makes sense. - Amongst the Pennsylvania Germans\*\*, or at least those where I live “english” is used to refer to anyone who is not Pennsylvania German… basically, it’s used as a synonym for “outsiders”. I do not now, nor have I ever had anything against the residents of England or those of British decent. \*\* “Pennsylvania German” is probably used more commonly now, then “Pennsylvania dutch”. At least among people who aren’t trying to sell ugly knick-knacks or pie. Our language is still called dutch though 🙂 -Pandora (Proud to belong to a group of people still holding on to their own language and cultural traditions after over 200 years) (Sorry for the Hijack… back to confusing residents of the Netherlands with residents of Denmark now) ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752/20 "2003-04-02T16:47:39Z")
Heh. Here we go again. 🙂 Pandora, doesn’t part of the “Pennsylvania Dutch” thing stem from the Menonites, who were at the very least a significant part of the early Amish population (I hope I’m not using “Amish” incorrectly here), and named after the Dutch priest Menno Simons? See [here](http://www.800padutch.com/amish.shtml) for more details. From what I’ve heard of your language, it sounds like a dialect based on German, with very little Dutch influences at all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldfire-say-it-aint-so/165752.md?page=2)