# Differences between US and Germany, real and imagined **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 16, 2015, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844 "2015-02-16T19:37:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/61 "2015-02-25T15:48:03Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > If it wasn’t for us, you’d \*all \*be speaking German. 😉 Oh yes, how could I forget that difference. In Europe WW1 and WW2 are generally regarded as ancient history that people really don’t care about very much anymore, whereas nearly everyone in the US is a WW2 veteran and feels the need to incessantly remind everyone of how much “they” saved the world. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/62 "2015-02-25T15:54:28Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > If it wasn’t for us, you’d \*all \*be speaking German. 😉 Yes, that’s another difference. Americans think that sort of stuff is funny. You should try having relatives who starved to death because the occupation troops confiscated all the food, or who spent time in a German slave labour camp. You might not find it so funny when people born 30 years after the fact start flapping their mouths off about what a big contribution they made. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/63 "2015-02-25T16:07:48Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Please tell [these people](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/traffic%20light). Or, well, any of [these](https://www.google.se/search?q=traffic+light&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=fb7kVOfcBcn8UJaIgNgD). 😕 Do you just type things without actually reading what others are saying? Yes, \*\*those \*\*are traffic lights. Exactly. That is exactly what people have been saying. And those traffic lights are not the “Walk/Don’t Walk” “Red hand/White walking man” pictograms. The “Walk/Don’t Walk” pictograms are never called traffic lights. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/64 "2015-02-25T16:15:01Z")
> [@slaphead](#): > > Yes, that’s another difference. Americans think that sort of stuff is funny. > > You should try having relatives who starved to death because the occupation troops confiscated all the food, or who spent time in a German slave labour camp. You might not find it so funny when people born 30 years after the fact start flapping their mouths off about what a big contribution they made. If I may… **Elvis** was quoting the movie “A Fish Called Wanda”. I’m sure he didn’t mean to insult anyone. ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/65 "2015-02-26T13:40:54Z")
After two weeks with this student, I find myself wondering how much of what I’m seeing is a cultural difference and what’s just the nuances of this one student. For example, she doesn’t pickup after herself at all. Twice she was eating a lollipop in my daughter’s room, and apparently didn’t want to finish it. So she just put it down on the dresser, no wrapper, so naturally it stuck to the dresser. She had a bad cold for a few days, and left her tissues all over the floor. They stopped at the grocery store the other day after picking up the kids from school, and both my kids helped carry the groceries in, while she just walked a head of them looking at her phone. After eating, she just walks away from the table, leaving her plates etc. Are German teens expected to pick up after themselves or help out with the chores? ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/66 "2015-02-26T14:35:36Z")
> [@batsto](#): > > After two weeks with this student, I find myself wondering how much of what I’m seeing is a cultural difference and what’s just the nuances of this one student. > For example, she doesn’t pickup after herself at all. Twice she was eating a lollipop in my daughter’s room, and apparently didn’t want to finish it. So she just put it down on the dresser, no wrapper, so naturally it stuck to the dresser. She had a bad cold for a few days, and left her tissues all over the floor. They stopped at the grocery store the other day after picking up the kids from school, and both my kids helped carry the groceries in, while she just walked a head of them looking at her phone. After eating, she just walks away from the table, leaving her plates etc. > Are German teens expected to pick up after themselves or help out with the chores? That’s very common behavior with entitled teens all over whose parents can afford to send them to exchange programs. Best to nip that in the bud. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/67 "2015-02-26T14:56:52Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > If I may… > **Elvis** was quoting the movie “A Fish Called Wanda”. I’m sure he didn’t mean to insult anyone. It was an old joke even then. And yes, it’s a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/68 "2015-02-26T16:39:47Z")
> [@slaphead](#): > > Oh yes, how could I forget that difference. In Europe WW1 and WW2 are generally regarded as ancient history that people really don’t care about very much anymore, whereas nearly everyone in the US is a WW2 veteran and feels the need to incessantly remind everyone of how much “they” saved the world. > [@slaphead](#): > > Yes, that’s another difference. Americans think that sort of stuff is funny. > > You should try having relatives who starved to death because the occupation troops confiscated all the food, or who spent time in a German slave labour camp. You might not find it so funny when people born 30 years after the fact start flapping their mouths off about what a big contribution they made. If you want to debate or rant about your perceived problem with American attitudes on this subject take it to the Pit or GD (depending on your tone). If you have a problem with a particular poster using an old joke take him to the Pit. Anything further here will be a thread hijack. And since it inevitably happens in threads I give instructions in, just because I singled out slaphead doesn’t mean anyone else has the opportunity to get the last word in. Drop it. No warning issued. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/69 "2015-02-26T16:42:31Z")
> [@batsto](#): > > After two weeks with this student, I find myself wondering how much of what I’m seeing is a cultural difference and what’s just the nuances of this one student. > For example, she doesn’t pickup after herself at all. Twice she was eating a lollipop in my daughter’s room, and apparently didn’t want to finish it. So she just put it down on the dresser, no wrapper, so naturally it stuck to the dresser. She had a bad cold for a few days, and left her tissues all over the floor. They stopped at the grocery store the other day after picking up the kids from school, and both my kids helped carry the groceries in, while she just walked a head of them looking at her phone. After eating, she just walks away from the table, leaving her plates etc. > Are German teens expected to pick up after themselves or help out with the chores? I agree with Dorjän. Although most of my interactions were with German adults that does not seem to be a particularly German attitude. Just a shitty teenage attitude. Du bist nicht der Chef von mir . ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/70 "2015-02-26T17:36:44Z")
Yeah, I’d call that a teenage attitude–and probably one that would get her in big trouble at home. She may be thinking “Hey, Americans are messy types–I can get away with this!” I read an interesting blog post yesterday from a guy living in Germany. His relative was having an operation at the hospital, and he explained that Germans (esp. in the east) do not want you hanging around the hospital while your wife/mom/dad is in surgery. You go away, and you do not expect any updates. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/71 "2015-02-26T17:41:45Z")
> [@batsto](#): > > After two weeks with this student, I find myself wondering how much of what I’m seeing is a cultural difference and what’s just the nuances of this one student. > For example, she doesn’t pickup after herself at all. Twice she was eating a lollipop in my daughter’s room, and apparently didn’t want to finish it. So she just put it down on the dresser, no wrapper, so naturally it stuck to the dresser. She had a bad cold for a few days, and left her tissues all over the floor. They stopped at the grocery store the other day after picking up the kids from school, and both my kids helped carry the groceries in, while she just walked a head of them looking at her phone. After eating, she just walks away from the table, leaving her plates etc. > Are German teens expected to pick up after themselves or help out with the chores? Are her parents wealthy? She may be under the assumption that there is someone whose job is to clean that up. Hopefully you’ve already let her know that would be her! It doesn’t fit with any of the German folks I have known. To a man they were extremely clean and tidy people. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/72 "2015-02-26T17:46:38Z")
You may have heard that Germans drink beer (and most other drinks) warm. That’s just not true. There’s the Family Guy skit that pokes fun at the lack of education about WWII in Germany and I wonder how true that is. I have several friends in Germany, but never really wanted to dive into the topic. I just wonder how that history is handled in school. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/73 "2015-02-26T19:53:51Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > You may have heard that Germans drink beer (and most other drinks) warm. That’s just not true. Yes, their refrigerators are made by Bosch, not Lucas. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/74 "2015-02-26T21:32:36Z")
Oh, I dunno… both countries [do have similarities…](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/24/us-germany-capitalism-idUSKBN0LS1AI20150224)😛 ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/75 "2015-02-27T01:20:15Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Upon returning to the States, I had to relearn that part of driving. In Europe, you could change lanes from the left to the right lane without even bothering to look over your shoulder. Nobody dreamed of passing on the right. Hah, hereabouts in the NE Corridor of the U.S., if you’re in the left lane and SIGNAL a change to move right, it’s at least 50% odds that a driver one or two car lengths behind you to the right will speed up to make sure you merge behind instead of ahead of him. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/76 "2015-02-27T18:16:09Z")
> [@analogqueen](#): > > :mad::mad: Omg yes. EVERY time I have traveled, there was always some know-it-all local on the train/plane/lobby of hotel/you name it/ that had to criticize US policy, whomever the latest president or even some political US policies that I had no idea that even existed. One memorable account was about 15 yrs ago on a train and some douche would NOT shut up about Clinton and bored me for about 2 hours of non-stop blabbing and criticizing. I wish I was not so polite then and had the gall to say “you know what? I didn’t’ ASK your opinion.” Ah yes, how did that Simpsons quote go, something like, “Ugh, I can’t take one more lecture from a German backpacker about how we don’t appreciate the national park system!” I’ll just leave [this Onion article](http://www.theonion.com/articles/us-high-school-gets-raw-end-of-student-exchange,1314/) here… ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/77 "2015-07-04T01:37:58Z")
> [@batsto](#): > > And for our part, a representative from the exchange program told us that no one in Germany drinks plain water, only “sparkling” or carbonated water. Our student had no idea where that idea came from, either, and has happily been drinking water here. > > . So my daughter is in Germany and is finding this this true…the family she’s with only drinks seltzer and think she’s crazy asking for regular water. And the tap water she said tastes awful. Is there a brand of water she should be looking for at the store? This family seems to think there is no plain water but that seems hard to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/78 "2015-07-04T03:43:58Z")
Volvic is pretty easy to find, as is Evian. But there’ll also be a cheap store-brand “stille” wasser. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/79 "2015-07-04T11:48:46Z")
> [@analogqueen](#): > > :mad::mad: Omg yes. EVERY time I have traveled, there was always some know-it-all local on the train/plane/lobby of hotel/you name it/ that had to criticize US policy, whomever the latest president or even some political US policies that I had no idea that even existed. One memorable account was about 15 yrs ago on a train and some douche would NOT shut up about Clinton and bored me for about 2 hours of non-stop blabbing and criticizing. I wish I was not so polite then and had the gall to say “you know what? I didn’t’ ASK your opinion.” My mom would sometimes insist I talk to the son of a German cousin, every single time years apart he would start a lecture about how horrible Bush was. Literally hi…so how do you feel about president Bush, did you know… :rolleyes: I couldn’t imagine how out of touch he was if he thought I was a Bush supporter, or the average American young person was. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844/80 "2015-07-05T03:40:05Z")
> [@grude](#): > > My mom would sometimes insist I talk to the son of a German cousin, every single time years apart he would start a lecture about how horrible Bush was. Literally hi…so how do you feel about president Bush, did you know… Were you ever temped to bring up Hitler in conversation? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-between-us-and-germany-real-and-imagined/712844.md?page=5)